Rome and the Vatican City

Friday, July 25, 1997
8:00 AM

Last night was awful. We were placed in a compartment with four individuals who were certifiably insane. It was extremely hot on the train and the people we were with insisted on keeping the door to the compartment closed and the windows locked. It was like a pressure cooker and I was sweating profusely . As tired as I was (not sleeping but an hour or so on the boat last night), I only got about two hours of sleep. I even had to get up at about 3:00AM to go outside and gasp for air due to the general stuffiness of the room. There was no source of water on the train and I did not have the foresight to bring some with me. I bet you could have lit a match on my tongue as dry as my mouth was.

I did however make it through the night, and as we stepped off the train about an hour ago we ended a period of 42 hours of continuous travel. I was not able to shower after the swim aboard the ship yesterday and I wasn’t able to shower on the train, so I am a bit sweaty from the train and sticky from the salt water right now. Shola and I were just told that the showers here in the Rome train station are broken. This is most unfortunate because we are on a tight schedule here. We’re going to have to find a shower later, we’ve got to go. A little deodorant will just have to do for now.

	3:30PM
	From the train station, I traveled via the Rome subway on "Line A" (known as the "pickpocket train") to the Vatican. This had to be top priority as the museum was only fully open to the public in the morning. The Vatican has a strict dress code for visitors. They will not allow anyone to enter wearing either a tanktop or shorts. I had packed only shorts, but luckily Shola had an extra pair of pants that I wore rather uncomfortably in order to get in.
	One of the few "golden" ceilings of the Vatican that could be photographed	The first portion of the Vatican museum contains several rooms done by the Raphael school. One in particular left me dumfounded. There was one particular ceiling that was flat, but painted with the illusion of being arched like the others. As I looked straight up, I could not tell that the ceiling was flat, although it was only several feet above me. Only when I looked at the end of the corridor could I see that the ceiling was actually flat. The ceiling displayed a mastery of shadows and perspective. I desired to take a picture of the ceiling, but the Vatican officials were quite clear that they desired no photos to be taken. I doubt that on the rest of my trip I will see anything as amazing as what I saw on that ceiling. The other Raphael rooms contained golden artwork and paintings, roman sculptures, and marble floors that were absolutely gorgeous. I am particularly fond of marble and I have never seen a more impressive or beautiful collection than what I saw earlier today at the Vatican.

	After the initial series of rooms, the Vatican Museum commenced. There I saw gallery after gallery of priceless artwork that seemed to stretch on for miles. Many of the galleries were connected via thin pathways, cramped doorways, and peculiar, staircases. I saw works by Raphael, Pinturicchio, Caravaggio, and Leonardo da Vinci. I was quite frankly up to my neck in art by the time I reached the Sistine Chapel, but I found it magnificent none the less. Originally designed to be a vault, the Sistine Chapel is now one of the crowning glories of the Vatican, containing some of the world’s most impressive paintings. The new popes are voted on from this venue and it has come to symbolize much more than the humble purpose for which it was initially intended. Michelangelo was the painter who slaved over this project as he was asked to paint each portion with a different theme. One wall depicts the life of Jesus including portrayals of The Last Supper and the Crucifixion and the other wall depicts the life of Moses. Pope Julius II had Michelangelo connect the walls by painting the ceiling. Each scene on the ceiling portrays a different day of creation. In the center of the ceiling is one of the most famous paintings of all time, The Creation of Adam. I found myself starred at it for a considerable time, just appreciating the overall gentleness of the outstretched finger of God and the symbolic fellowship between the two. I spent equal time gazing at the wall above the alter on which was painted Michelangelo’s The Final Judgment. The painting is absolutely huge. It stretches from the ground to the ceiling about fifty or sixty feet high. In the painting, the rapture is occurring, complete with angels blowing their horns and the dead rising from the grave. It’s extremely powerful, not the kind of thing you observe in passing. Again, there were no photos allowed, but the following link has a pretty good one.For a truly unique photo of the Sistine Chapel, follow this link. From the Sistine Chapel, I went to St. Peter’s Square. It has been said that the design of the square was intended to symbolize the role of the church (embracing the world.) Whatever the intent, I found the result to be quite an interesting spectacle. The wide-open area of the square was a refreshing change of pace from the hundreds of objects I had been viewing in the more crowded, indoor Vatican museum.For some good photos of St. Peter's Square, follow this link
	St. Peter's square in Vatican City - Rome, Italy	The "swiss guard" are the official guardians of the papalcy. Their costumes were designed by Michaelangelo
	The "arms of the church embracing the world." Atop the columns are statues of the saints of the catholic faith.	The front of one of the largest churches in the world

	From St. Peter’s square, I had planned to walk through the streets of Rome, across the Fiume Tevere (river), and try to see the Pantheon on the way back toward the Coliseum. On the way to the Pantheon, Shola and I decided to ask someone for directions. We asked a person on the street to point us in the direction of the Pantheon. Upon hearing our request, the gentleman got a very worried look on his face, grabbed his trousers and asked us in a questioning tone, "pantalones?" After assuring him that we were not desiring to steal his pants nor were we interested in his pants at all, we decided to trek onward and attempt to find the Pantheon on our own.
	The Pantheon was built by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus Caesar (27 BC)	Eventually, the Pantheon was found, but it was not at all what I expected. According to my Frommer’s Guide, the Pantheon is "one of the world’s finest buildings," and it certainly was impressive. Yet, its location shocked me. It’s tucked down a little side street in a non-impressive portion of town, surrounded by drab buildings and tiny shops. Then, all of a sudden, there’s this gigantic, temple-style structure reminiscent of an ancient society’s dominance with very little fanfare associated with it.
	The Pantheon is rather marvelous. I found its size to be its most interesting attribute. It’s only about four stories tall and not very wide, yet it oddly emanates a strange energy. Like nothing I’ve seen before, I feel this building’s power. The outside seems to lack detail which aids its message to me. It seems to say to me, "I am strong, I am dominant, I have no need for "pretty" designs, look at me!, I am awesome!" Yet, it is not a "cocky" building as it has not chosen a primal location for itself. The Pantheon has decided to associate with the humble buildings of the inner city. I believe it's the dominant, yet humble nature of the Pantheon that draws me to it. The inside is quite impressive also. The Pantheon contains a marvelous dome with a round, open area at the center which provides the building’s only source of light. It is said that the original design of the building was for the sunlight shining through the ceiling to operate as a sundial. The rest of the structure is interesting also. There’s an alter at one end and around the sides of the interior, lie the final resting places of the artists Raphael Sanzio and Annibale Carracci and two former kings of Italy. Pleased with the Pantheon and tired of walking, Shola and I decided to take a taxicab to the Coliseum before returning to the Eurorail station. However, on the way we approached this incredible building that had us both saying to the cabdriver, "Stop, we’ll get out here." What we saw was the Palazio Venezia.

Remember what I said about the utter awesome size of the Pantheon. Well, double it for the Palazio Venezia. When the taxicab turned the corner, I thought I was approaching heaven’s gate or something. The Palazio is set up on a hill in a crescent shape with columns adorning the length of its structure. On each palace end is a giant sculpture of a chariot and horses which seems to scrape the sky. Half way up the hill is Italy’s tomb of the unknown soldier which is guarded twenty four hours a day by two guards, one on each side of a memorial wreath hanging over the tomb. There are rows of steps cascading down from the tomb to a steel gate from which is one’s best hope of getting a good photo. I know a picture won't do it justice, and a photo actually seems like a wasted pursuit. I was quite impressed with the palace overall and wished I knew more about its history.

The Palazio Venezia - If you look very carefully, you can judge its enormous size by the two guards who are standing midway up the staircase

Standing in the Coliseum in the midday heat

It was not a long walk from the palace to the Coliseum (about five minutes or so) and that is where I went next. Admission to the lower level of the Coliseum (ground floor) was free, but you had to pay to go up to the higher levels. I felt that paying was a total waste. It was like having to pay to see the Coliseum from the cheap seats. The ground level was excellent.

The Coliseum got its name from a huge statue that was erected outside of the stadium. The statue was called, "the Colossus" and it was extremely large. The Colossus was destroyed in a war however, and was never rebuilt. The stadium which bore its name still stands to this day with moderate damage.

I appreciated the history of the site and the architecture, but overall I felt quite solemn standing in the midst of this particular location. Taking a moment for reflection, I tried to imagine what it was like for the Christians who were unfortunate enough to have to run from the Lions in the maze beneath me. I also realized that two thousand years ago, I very well could have been one of the ones down in the maze.

After the Coliseum, Shola and I took Line B back up to the Eurorail Station Termini where I am writing from now. At this point, we have done a "lap" of the city and we have a couple of hours to hang out until the ATAC tour leaves at 4:00PM. Once a day the city busline (ATAC) gives a tour for only 10,000 Lire (6.50 dollars.) I figured we could see what we wanted to see in detail in the morning and then catch some of the things that we missed on the afternoon tour.

While I investigated the tour, Shola went off to track down some postcards and try to make a phone call. I am out in front of the bus station right now and I am pretty darn tired. It has been non-stop touring with little or no sleep for the last three days. I managed to find some a shady spot in front of the bus station. I think I might just take a short nap until Shola arrives.

	9:00PM
	The tour was a lot of fun. The best part about the tour was the tour guide. Shola and I immediately noticed that is seemed like the tour guide was making up the details as he went. Anytime he would have to recall a date or a specific detail, he would pause for a moment and then say the answer as if he was not sure himself. He also seemed to call our attention to things that didn’t seem very important. Shola and I spent much of the tour laughing at the tour guide and dozing off due to the warm temperature on the bus.
	On the tour we met Americans! Two of the girls sitting near us were from California. We hung out with them for several hours as the tour stopped at different locations for pictures. It was nice to be around people who spoke English and by the end of the tour we had made a couple of friends.	Wish they all could be California girls
	One of the places we had the opportunity to see on the tour was the Roman Forum and Palantine Hill. I didn't get to take a tour of this area although I saw it from a reasonable distance. The Forum is a throwback to when Rome ruled the world. The residence of Remus and Romulus (the legendary founders of Rome) was in the Forum. The most impressive portion of the Forum has got to be Palantine Hill. It looks like a giant mud-sand castle, but in the days of Christ it was one of the city centers. Rome was originally built on seven hills and Palantine was the first. Next to Palantine Hill was the Circus Maximus. The Circus Maximus was the ancient site of the chariot races (like the one featured in the movie, Ben Hur.) At one time it was considered a marvel, but today it looked more like a stretched out version of my high school track. It seemed like a good place to have a picnic or play a game of tackle football. One can still see the indentations of where the original track once was, yet it would take a lot of imagination to be impressed by it today. One of the other stops was at a small church that contained the Bocca della verita’ (the Mouth of Truth.) The Mouth of Truth is a large head that sits on the outer wall of this church. Legend has it that if one places their hand in the Bocca and he/she happens to be a liar, the Mouth will close on the individual and snap off their hand. For a good photo of the Bocca, click here. After the tour, Shola and I returned to the train station to await the arrival of our Eurorail train to Venice. Shola has run off to take care of some more errands and I am again writing in my journal. I feel really good about my stay here in Rome. I believe I got the most out of the short time I had here in Rome. In retrospect, there are several places like the Vatican and the Roman Forum that I would have liked to have seen in greater detail. However, I managed to see and spend adequate time at each place and that gives me great contentment. At times today, I found myself completely awe-struck. It has been simply amazing to see a city that has been flourishing since before the time of Christ. During my short time here, I have found Rome to be very similar to Athens in two respects. First, both cities display a wonderful balance of ancient and modern attributes. Rome has modern day businesses and culture, yet appears falling apart at other places. Second, the common people of both cities smell bad. Having gone showerless for two days now, I probably fit right in. My Eurorail train should be arriving shortly and I am anxious to get some sleep.

Next day

Click here to see photos from my second trip to Rome in 2001
which includes dozens of excellant photos and screensavers