Rome 2010

Rome Italy: April 21 and 28, 2010

Our Italian adventure began and ended in Rome.

We started at the Vatican, within this wall, including the Vatican museum, then St. Peter's Square, including the Pope, the colosseum, Roman forum, Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica and the lights of Rome at night.

An advantage of the guided tour, aside from excellent information from the certified guides, is that we get special access. We arrived at the Vatican museum one hour before the doors open to the public, and we went right in without a line.

A dream trip comes true. Can you tell that Sherry and Stewart are happy to be here?

Before the crowds arrive, we have the museum almost all to ourselves.

Photography within the Sistine Chapel is prohibited, so our guide described the work by Michelangelo with posters located outside the chapel.

The ceiling.

The end wall.

The ceiling was completed 500 years ago, between 1508 and 1512. A major restoration project (left) was done recently to clean the surface. Notice the difference above, where the head and arm were still awaiting cleaning.

"Golden arches" takes on a whole new meaning in the Vatican. The art and beauty above and all around is amazing.

These ceiling figures appear three dimensional. In reality, the shadows are painted on. This is all a flat surface!

Walls, floors, domes or even a view out an open museum window, the views are all spectacular.

Elegant stairways, marble columns, and ceiling art everywhere.

Hallways dedicated to giant tapestries display the fine details of this fiber art.

Don't get dizzy!

You have to love this spiral staircase.

Time to see the Pope. We headed for St. Peter's Square, passing through the security controls.

Under tight security by the Swiss guards, excitement was in the air as thousands awaited the Pope's arrival.

Our guide led us to the perfect spot to catch the Pope as he turned a corner just yards away from us.

Although we could not enter the Basilica that day, we did return at the end of our trip to see the beauty within.

St. Peter's looks big from a distance, and up close it is amazing. Look at the size of these columns!

Once inside, the art and architecture continue to astound.

Marble floors and sculptures fill the giant spaces.

Light and shadow, color and gold abound in this world's largest church.

We ended our brief visit enjoying the marvelous sculptures.

On our first day in Rome, we marveled at the old bridges still standing after 2,000 years, and still in use!

Then we marveled more at the colosseum! Below, Margy poses in front of this engineering wonder of the world, built nearly 2,000 years ago in only 7 years, and capable of seating 50,000 spectators.

To appreciate the magnitude, yes, the colossal size, look carefully at the people along the middle rim of the stadium.

The animal cages, left, and the stadium underground structure.

When the stadium was in use, there was a wooden floor over these remaining structures. All was covered in sand, and later the blood from gladiators, animal fights to the death, and other "entertainment" of the age. The punishment for criminals was often to be put to death in these events.

From the colosseum we walked to the forum, Rome's center for economic and judicial activity for the empire.

Can you imagine the history of this place, with orators and leaders such as Julius Caesar right in this spot?

A mural along one wall of our walk depicted the growth of the Roman empire, from the small white spot in Italy (at far left) to progressively larger sections of Europe and Asia shown by the ever expanding white area of the map to the right.

Today, the city of Rome, with its population of about 3 million people, is jammed packed. Look closely at the left and you see creative parking of a Smart car, perpendicular to the street!

Other sites we passed in Rome included the Sant' Angelo castle, referred to in Dan Brown's novel "Angels and Demons." This tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian, was erected on the bank of the Tiber River, between 135 AD and 139 AD.

Our walking tour included what is called the "Spanish Steps."

We were lucky to visit the Spanish Steps while a concert was being performed by the Italian Military. As you can see, this is a popular place to gather, and window shop in the exclusive stores nearby.

We walked up and down this exclusive shopping street, enjoying the music in the background.

Our next stop, the Trevi Fountains.

Unlike the colosseum which was completed in seven years, this personal mansion project took 37 years to finish. All the water is gravity fed to the fountains. There are no pumps, and the fountains still work.

We each took our turn to toss in a coin for good luck, and the hope to return to this beautiful place someday.

Yet another picturesque plaza filled with artists and crafts.

This city model shows how the Pantheon looked 2,000 years ago, with its circular structure and dome.

The actual building stands as the most complete Roman structure on earth, having survived 20 centuries of plunder, pillage and invasion. The scaffolding at the right is for exterior rehabilitation. The interior appears new and an almost contemporary design.

The monolithic (single pour) concrete dome is the largest masonry dome in the world, at 142 feet across.

Photographs don't do justice to the awe inspiring feeling you have when you enter this structure. Its perfection, design and space are spectacular.

As our first days of the tour came to a close, we were having a great time and knew we would enjoy all that followed.

As the sun set behind the Vatican, we eagerly anticipated the next day's trip to Pisa and more. Please click the link below to follow the Italian tour with us, or return to the home page to reach any particular part of the trip (or elsewhere on our site).

Pisa to Florence via Lucca, Siena and Castello Verazzano

or

Go to our Homepage

		An advantage of the guided tour, aside from excellent information from the certified guides, is that we get special access. We arrived at the Vatican museum one hour before the doors open to the public, and we went right in without a line.

A dream trip comes true. Can you tell that Sherry and Stewart are happy to be here?


		Before the crowds arrive, we have the museum almost all to ourselves.


Photography within the Sistine Chapel is prohibited, so our guide described the work by Michelangelo with posters located outside the chapel.


		The ceiling was completed 500 years ago, between 1508 and 1512. A major restoration project (left) was done recently to clean the surface. Notice the difference above, where the head and arm were still awaiting cleaning.


"Golden arches" takes on a whole new meaning in the Vatican. The art and beauty above and all around is amazing.


These ceiling figures appear three dimensional. In reality, the shadows are painted on. This is all a flat surface!


		Walls, floors, domes or even a view out an open museum window, the views are all spectacular.


Elegant stairways, marble columns, and ceiling art everywhere.


Hallways dedicated to giant tapestries display the fine details of this fiber art.


Time to see the Pope. We headed for St. Peter's Square, passing through the security controls.


Under tight security by the Swiss guards, excitement was in the air as thousands awaited the Pope's arrival.


Although we could not enter the Basilica that day, we did return at the end of our trip to see the beauty within.


		St. Peter's looks big from a distance, and up close it is amazing. Look at the size of these columns!

Light and shadow, color and gold abound in this world's largest church.


Then we marveled more at the colosseum! Below, Margy poses in front of this engineering wonder of the world, built nearly 2,000 years ago in only 7 years, and capable of seating 50,000 spectators.


To appreciate the magnitude, yes, the colossal size, look carefully at the people along the middle rim of the stadium.


		The animal cages, left, and the stadium underground structure.

When the stadium was in use, there was a wooden floor over these remaining structures. All was covered in sand, and later the blood from gladiators, animal fights to the death, and other "entertainment" of the age. The punishment for criminals was often to be put to death in these events.


		From the colosseum we walked to the forum, Rome's center for economic and judicial activity for the empire.


Can you imagine the history of this place, with orators and leaders such as Julius Caesar right in this spot?


A mural along one wall of our walk depicted the growth of the Roman empire, from the small white spot in Italy (at far left) to progressively larger sections of Europe and Asia shown by the ever expanding white area of the map to the right.


		Today, the city of Rome, with its population of about 3 million people, is jammed packed. Look closely at the left and you see creative parking of a Smart car, perpendicular to the street!

Other sites we passed in Rome included the Sant' Angelo castle, referred to in Dan Brown's novel "Angels and Demons." This tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian, was erected on the bank of the Tiber River, between 135 AD and 139 AD.


		Our walking tour included what is called the "Spanish Steps."

We were lucky to visit the Spanish Steps while a concert was being performed by the Italian Military. As you can see, this is a popular place to gather, and window shop in the exclusive stores nearby.


Yet another picturesque plaza filled with artists and crafts.


		This city model shows how the Pantheon looked 2,000 years ago, with its circular structure and dome.


		Photographs don't do justice to the awe inspiring feeling you have when you enter this structure. Its perfection, design and space are spectacular.


As our first days of the tour came to a close, we were having a great time and knew we would enjoy all that followed.