Chapter 6: Rome

Despite my admittedly horrible geography training, even I know enough to realize the impact of Rome in both modern times and throughout much of antiquity. I remember memorizing scads of information about Roman mythology in middle school. I've studied many of the great works of art found there. I've read fiction and non-fiction books set against the backdrop of Rome, not to mention Rome in the Biblical era. It was here that I felt the most sense of wonderment and was nearly driven to tears a few times.

Together with Franz's parents and two other couples, we hired a private tour guide. Franz was thrilled to ride around in a Mercedes van the whole day. We knew we could cover more ground with a small group than with a large one and it was important to us to see everything we could in one day. So it was that we met Marco, or Maaaaa-rco as he referred to himself; father of six, maybe seven depending on the results of his wife's test in a couple of days. He is wholly devoted to his family, his church, his country, soccer, and an unrequited love of Ferraris. He referred to the ubiquitous scooters as mosquitos and kept an empty water pistol to shoot at them when they cut him off.

A serious accident blocked the road from the port to Rome, making the trip longer than an hour and a half, so we changed up the order of our itinerary and pushed on.

The Ampitheater Flavium, or the Colosseum as we know it today, was so much bigger than I realized. In fact, there are several rows higher that are missing today and only when you stand inside can you realize the scope of this work. The name Colosseum suggest colossal size, but it actually referred to a thirty-meter high statue of himself that Nero had commissioned and placed next to the stadium. Obviously, he was a humble man. Wonder what he would think about the fact that the statue is no longer standing?

There are three internal extensions that create natural walkways around the exterior. See how small the people are in comparison to the structure? Thankfully Marco stopped by a lesser-known spot to purchase our entry tickets because the lines were ginormous.
Here is a glimpse toward the center of the stadium from one of the lower levels. All of today's stadiums are designed based on the specs developed specifically for the Colosseum in ancient Rome. It is amazing the scope of this project.

From upstairs are visible the small rooms beneath the partially reconstructed floor (left side of picture). In these rooms under the floor, they kept the prisoners, the gladiators, and the animals before they were released to fight in the center of the stage. People fought each other. Animals fought each other. Animals and people fought. Apparently, they would place obstacles throughout the stage, with trapdoors behind/under them and the fighters would know something was coming, but wouldn't know what type of opponent they would face or from where it would come. The bloodlust within these walls must have been terrible. In the foreground of this picture you may be able to see a cross, representing the Christians persecuted here. It is said that St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, was the first martyr to die in the arena; killed by lions.

Inside the upper level was a museum with displays of sculptures, bas reliefs, and mosaics all depicting scenes of war, parades, statesmen and politics, etc.

From there, we proceeded on to the Roman Forum. The ancient city-center is surrounded on all sides by the new city.

This central area was made up of temples, basilicas, forums, shops, and homes.

If you've ever seen Ben Hur, you know the chariot race scene. It was staged at the Circus Maximus, a chariot raceway surrounded by an immense amount of seating and the emperor's box. Well, to the back of this picture is Palatine Hill. The Roman Forum is on the other side. The grassy area is what is left of the Circus, and to the back of that area, near the clearing, is where the emperor's box once stood. It's not surprising the seating is gone. One several occasions, the upper, wooden seats collapsed and killed thousands of spectators.

Lunch, in Rome, consisted of the back room of a family-owned restaurant, where we were served Pasta Carbonara and Italian wine. According to Marco, that version of pasta was first invented in Rome.

Holding tightly to our belongings, we forded a human river of tourists and gypsies to see Trevi Fountain. Overseeing all, stands Poseidon. Next to him are two men taming the sea, represented by a wild horse and a tame one - the two moods of the ocean.

The Pantheon was stunning in scale and detail. Originally dedicated to all the pagan gods, it was converted by Pope Boniface IV into a Christian church honoring the Madonna and all the martyrs; a scitzophrenic switch that did nothing to undermine its grandeur.

This is a close up of the floor, completely fabricated of marble from different sources.

An absolute highlight for Franz and myself was our visit to the Vatican, the smallest independent entity in the world. (Did you know Rome has two US embassies? One for Italy and one for the Vatican.) There are no words to express the awe I felt walking through those halls, standing in the Sistine Chapel, peeking through a window at the private Vatican grounds.
Every Sunday, the Pope waves to the crowd that gathers in this square. Apparently, Sunday is the best day to visit the interior since everyone else is outside. While we were there during the week, it was quite crowded inside.

This picture only begins to show the infintesimal number of masterpieces housed in the Vatican halls. The tapestries, in particular, were so large and so intricate we could not believe them.

Because of restrictions on flashes (they damage the old paint), cameras could only be used surreptitiously and without a flash in the Sistine Chapel. It was not a very reverant atmosphere although I could scarcely believe I was there. Guards patrolled the packed space, maintaining order and decorum. We were shoulder to shoulder staring at the ceiling. The volume of voices would rise and guards would collectively shush the crowd. Quiet would last a couple of seconds and then swell again, only to be shushed a minute later.
St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Roman Catholic church in the world. Inside, on the floor, you can see the measure of other great churches around the world and know how big they are by comparison. Our guide, Stefania (she is a licensed Vatican guide - Marco had to wait outside) said that a larger church was built somewhere in Africa recently and they had to tear down part of it to bring it back into compliance. The space was ornate, but I was stunned to learn that there were no paintings inside. Instead, high above us, the color was all infused by mosaics. Amazing.
However, to me, the most amazing sight and the greatest spiritual experience came at the foot of this great sculpture - the Pieta. It is a horrible picture, I admit, but it was difficult to take one without flash, behind a think glass wall and a gate. The camera had to zoom all the way in and without the flash, the shutter was open too long and it moved too much. But, I have studied this sculpture for years. It represents so much to me. Here, Mary holds her son, Christ, after he has been taken from the cross. It is said that Michelangelo modeled the face of Mary on that of his own mother, who died when he was young. You will notice that she does appear younger than Christ in her features.

At the end of this day, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I felt like I had been on a pilgrimage, and in a way I had.