Mountains and Cathedrals

Impressions of Rome

2007-10-22T23:56:00.001-07:00

We left the Amalphi Coast a mere five days ago, feeling sad and unready to go home. Rome squeezed every last ounce of energy out of us so that yesterday we were ready to be done with this saga.

Carlo, an assistant guide on one of our tours has always lived in Rome. Many of his friends have moved to the suburbs, wanting a cleaner, greener place to live. Carlo explained, "Rome will never be a modern city. To live in Rome you must eat what the city offers--otherwise you will not thrive."

We ate and were sated in four full days. Of course the city showed her impetuous side as we left in the midst of an air traffic controller strike day...but we escaped her grasp.

It will be good to be home! This has been the trip of a lifetime that we all dreamed of! We've missed you all so much and are ready to re-enter our day-to-day lives again.

Finale: Pantheon

2007-10-22T23:51:00.001-07:00

We ended our tour with Diane at the Pantheon. While the architect is still uncertain, she explained latest research that Hadrian is most likely due credit. This dome was not duplicated until very recently, that's how advanced its structure is.

Bernini Turtles

2007-10-22T22:24:00.001-07:00

As we walked with Diane, we passed another fountain with turtles courtesy of Bernini. See them up there at the top? The fountain had seemed incomplete, so they asked Bernini to add something above the nymphs' hands.

Crypt of Balbi

2007-10-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

Diane took us through this crypt, which is an active archaeological dig during the week and open to the public on weekends. She showed us the layers of antiquity being revealed. This spot had been a theater, then medieval housing, an industrial site, a renaissance convent, burial ground, dump--simply paradise for an archaeologist!

One Last Tour: Classical Rome

2007-10-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

Diane was our last tour guide, and she was extremely knowledgeable. From Vancouver BC, she is a PhD architecture and archeology professor, in Rome for three years. This view of the Tiber river shows Ponte Fabricio, one of two bridges surviving from antiquity.

Piece de Resistance

2007-10-22T22:18:00.001-07:00

This photo cannot do justice to this huge sculpture of Marcus Aurelius from 179 AD. It was astounding!

Angel

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I liked this piece a lot--also at the Capitoline museums.

Final Day: Capitoline Museums

2007-10-22T22:16:00.001-07:00

Sunday was cold but clear. We had taken Saturday afternoon off, so we headed out early for the Capitoline museums. This relief is typical of those we saw there.

Colosseum

2007-10-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

And our Roma Antiqua tour ended at the Colosseum.

Day 3 Rome: Roma Antiqua

2007-10-22T22:11:00.001-07:00

The tour of ancient Rome began on Palatine Hill.
Here's a view from there.

Day 2 Continues: Borgese Gallery

2007-10-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

After the fountains, we made our way over to the Villa Borgese for our 5 p.m. reservation at the Borgese Gallery. This collection of sculpture in particular was a favorite. Yet another Bernini we viewed there, Apollo and Daphne, is unforgettable.

Trevi

2007-10-22T21:39:00.001-07:00

Trevi was spectacular, a monumental baroque fountain by Salvi! While it was quite crowded, the mood was festive and exuberant, the rush of water and beautiful sculpture filling your senses.

At Piazza Navona

2007-10-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

This Bernini sculpture/fountain was under construction but was fun to see anyway. Piazza Navona was so relaxing, a series of three fountains with cafes and lots of people out and about.

An Afternoon of Fountains

2007-10-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed the beautiful, sunny afternoon by visiting fountains all around the city. Republican Square sports this lovely work.

Day 2 Rome: Mosaics

2007-10-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our tour of Mosaics and Icons with Eric started at Santa Maria Maggiore. This cathedral was built in the 5th century response to the council of Trent decision affirming Mary as mother of God. It was a medieval and renaissance amalgam with many mosaics.

Our experience there, however, was frustrating. The mosaics line the nave in the area between the top of columns and the ceiling—way above eye level—and each block is divided horizontally, so two stories are depicted in each. In addition, the renaissance facelift blocked half the windows so light was at a premium—and the church installed metered lights giving tourists 2 minutes of illumination for a euro. The upshot was that we couldn’t see them; it became almost comedic as our guide whispered in the dark the scene we would see (we couldn’t hear him), runs back and feeds the light meter, returns to us and whispers for another minute before the lights go out. No other tour leaders were paying for the lights, so poor Eric, clearly a grad student, is paying for about 100 tourists to see these darn things while we didn’t really learn what they were.

We left there a bit weary, but the next stop proved to be much more interesting. The basilica of St Praxedes (who ever heard of her?) had some wonderful mosaics and much better light, so we appreciated them a lot. We saw some interesting early conventions; for example, these mosaics marked living people with a square around there heads and halos indicated people had died—not that they were holy.

Our final stop was a 4th century church with fabulous mosaics. All showed the glorious vision of Christ, a much easier conversion tool than the suffering Christ, Marty observed. We all left with a deep appreciation of mosaics.

Favorite Frescoes

2007-10-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

Marty and I spent a lovely hour at Santa Maria Novella in Florence thanks to Michele's suggestion we visit there! (This was before the Sistine Chapel of course!) Lisa, our guide from back in Venice, pointed out that dalmations (black/white dogs) are a symbol of the Dominican order, "dogs/workers for God." It was fun to see them in occasional paintings and here in this fresco. Marty stayed and took this picture while I went to the farmacia to check out the oldest perfumerie around. It was heavenly!

Beard is back!

2007-10-21T13:59:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite shots.

Laocoon

2007-10-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Also at the Vatican, this sculpture from antiquity was found during the Renaissance; Michelangelo, the story goes, fainted when he saw this sculpture he had only seen in sketches.

Laocoon and his sons are being suffocated by snakes (sent by Athena, protector of Greece) because Laocoon advised against bringing the Trojan horse into Troy. "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."

Pieta

2007-10-21T13:45:00.001-07:00

At St Peter's Basilica, Michelangelo's Pieta was poignant--a favorite.

Happy Birthday Martin!

2007-10-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

So—what could be the perfect ending to a day at the Vatican? We decided to go out and celebrate Martin’s 80th birthday that very night!

We chose a special place near our hotel called “La Scala” that had great food. Veal scallopini, risotto, gnocchi with basil, grilled seafood, eggplant Parmesan--multo buono! Dessert however, was a highlight worth mentioning—rum cake simply soaked and dripping with rum. Delicious!

We reminisced about birth stories and memories that Marty has of Martin's and Teddi's parents, remembering places and people that carry the stories of our lives. Peter and Dee, Julie and Tom, Jo, Mollie and Dave, and all the grandkids and cousins, you were all with us in spirit that evening.

What a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of a new decade for a very special man! Happy birthday Martin! Best wishes for many more years of health and happiness!

Sistine Chapel and St. Peters

2007-10-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

Visiting the Sistine Chapel is a bit like Christmas. You spend a lot of time waiting and preparing, getting excited and hearing stories about what it will be like. Our guide John, did an excellent job of educating us about the context of the art. He explained the scenes of the chapel ceiling (using charts), pointing out colors, figures and scenes so that when we finally arrived, we were familiar with the material and could just experience its personal impact. Stories of Michelangelo’s temperament and dislike of painting brought the material alive as well.

So spending some time in the Sistine Chapel was pretty special! I particularly enjoyed the colors—lapis lazuli, golden oranges, reds…The bodies so beautifully robed (or not), the feeling of motion and beauty and God’s action through the ages came beautifully alive. We left feeling pretty sated and did our "post-Christmas dinner walk" over to St Peters.

Here again, John did a lovely job of preparing and leading us through the experience. He made explicit the intentional illusions of size that occur in the Basilica. Across the piazza, statues of saints welcome pilgrims as they enter. From the entrance, I felt surprisingly comfortable—the cathedral didn’t feel overwhelming. As an individual, I felt invited in to pray. Michaelangelo's Pieta here was stunning, absolutely beautiful.

As we moved forward through the nave of the church, its enormity began to dawn on me. The ceiling is decorated in gold. Huge marble columns line the nave on both sides. We heard music and responses as 5 o’clock mass began at a distant side alter. Markers in the center aisle indicated the length of other great cathedrals as we continued to move forward. Surpassing Chartres, surpassing St Patrick's in NYC, still we moved forward, closer we got to the bronze canopied alter.

When John pointed out the use of the original pillars from the old St Peter's Basilica, I was amazed! They looked like candy canes, not full size structures! It was the size and design of the bronze columns of the canopy that will stay with me, that and the golden “chair of St Peter” with its "gloria" alabaster window designed by Bernini behind the main alter. WOW.

We left the church quietly and felt a sense of peace. It had been a very moving and memorable experience for each of us.

Roma Etruscan Museum

2007-10-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

Did you know that 40+ million tourists visit Rome each year? We’ve been in good company here and found the city has much to keep us busy! Switching into ‘city mode’ after our days on the coast woke us up quickly. After a hair-raising taxi ride to our bed and breakfast place in the near suburbs; a forcefully worded warning about pickpockets from our host; and a metro ride during rush hour traffic where Marty nearly got his arm caught in the train door—we realized the focus and energy that cities require.

We have four days in Rome, so we are filling them at our usual ridiculous pace. Day 1 we had the 4-hour Vatican tour starting at 1 pm, so you might imagine a morning off? No, I guess my regular readers would find that choice more shocking than our actual one: we walked from our hotel through the Villa Borgese park to the Villa Guilia “Etruscan” Museum, took about an hour. There I loved the building, an Italian villa with open central court of gardens, beige pea gravel paths, lovely stone building.

The art was amazing, especially the “newlyweds” sarcophagus. Probably the biggest insight I’ve had from this visit to Italy is that the art of the ancient world was truly advanced and amazingly sophisticated. Not simply, “Oh isn’t it cute that they made vases” but truly complex work that renaissance copied because it was so advanced. This carved sarcophagus showed expressive faces, graceful hands with manicured fingernails, shoes with laces, draped clothing…awesome detail from the 6th century bc.

Oh yes, we were on our way to the Vatican…we walked about 40 minutes through the Borgese Park (lovely), took a metro, and huffed into the meeting place for our tour about 25 minutes to spare. A quick lunch refreshed us--Martin and I had pretty mediocre ravioli but Teddi delighted us all by having fresh fruit tart and gelato for lunch--she had the right idea! Now we were ready to go visit the Vatican.

At the Vatican

2007-10-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

St Peter's Basilica in the background, we're on our tour of the Vatican.

Strolling through Sorrento

2007-10-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

Sorrento has high bank waterfront--this picture gives a sense of how far below the 'beach' was from town.

Naples

2007-10-18T14:17:00.001-07:00

Lorenzo showed us around Naples...