emy travels: 9.10.2012 Rome, Italy (Day 2.5)

Here we are, coming out of the "secret" side-exit with St. Peter's Basilica on the right.

The people on the ground are lining up to visit the Vatican crypt.

St. Peter's Basilica

Michelangelo's Pieta
The bullet-proof glass makes viewing the statue difficult. It's understandable though, you never know what lunatic will try to hack at the statue with a geologist's hammer again (no really, that happened.)

Fun trivia: Pieta ("Pity") is the only work Michelangelo ever signed. Right on Virgin Mary's sash, it says "MICHAELA GELUS BONAROTUS FLORENTIN FACIEBA" ("Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this".) A little too on-the-nose, but this was all because he overheard someone mistakenly attributing the sculpture to another artist.

Another fun trivia: Michelangelo completed this piece just before he turned 25. Now doesn't that make you feel inadequate and a total loser? I know it did me.

There is a dress code when visiting sacred sites like a church (i.e. no bare shoulders and no shorts) but I have never seen anyone actually turned back at the door except at St Peter's Basilica. Well, to be fair, the two girls were trying to get away with a makeshift apron over daisy dukes (seriously!? Visiting the Holy See in denim hotpants?!? What were these girls thinking?) I did see the emergence of many a pair of side-zippered track pants underneath sundresses. Not a great look, but whatever works for them.

Inside the Basilica.

All I will say is that given the solemnity of the space, a little background psalm chanting would go a long way. (What?! Don't look at me like that.)

For some reason, my camera refused to cooperate inside the basilica, hence the blurry photos. I would hate to think that God doesn't like photos of his house (or rather, to punish me for making silly comments in my head.)

Angels? Saints? Or just nice-looking statues? If only I was fluent in Latin... ubernerd, you're on notice: hurry up with all that Latin learning.

Sparkly... I wonder if they are made out of real gold... or does the Vatican keep all the good stuff in their ginormous vault?

A nice shot, if I do say so myself.

Yes! Finally, a sighting of the famous Papal Swiss Guards in their dress uniform (Woot Tricolour! Go Gaels Go! [End tangent]) The side guard is holding what is known as a halberd or Swiss voulge.

Hmm... I wonder where I can get my hands on one of their sweet-looking berets...

Exterior of St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Square

The Canadian Embassy to the Holy See.

Woot! And guess who else is in the same building?

Ta Da! The Taiwanese Embassy!

Three members of the group (who shall remain nameless) wanted to go inside for a visit.

Their logic - they are tax-paying citizens and should enjoy some benefits (e.g. a cup of tea and some free ac.) Luckily, the sole sane member *coughs* managed to talk them out of the heat-induced madness.

Castel Sant'Angelo
Now a museum, the fortress was originally the mausoleum of Hadrian (my third favourite Roman emperor.) Unfortunately, much of the mausoleum was lost through wars or re-used to build churches elsewhere.

Alas, there was no time to visit this cool-looking castle. Onwards!

The Tiber River

Ponte Sant'Angelo/Aelian Bridge ("Bridge of Hadrian")
Although the bridge was built by Hadrian, the angels were added at a much later date by students of the great Bernini. Each angel holds an Instrument of the Passion (column, whips, crown of thorns, sudarium, garment and dice, nail, cross, superscription, sponge, and lance)

"Rome-ing" the streets. Get it? :D

Piazza Navona - Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi ("Fountain of Four Rivers")
My personal favourite. I love the fact that the fountain is so rich with allegories. The four river gods depicted represent the Nile (Africa), the Danube (Europe), the Ganges (Asia), and the Plata (America). The center obelisk represents papal power. The lone dove, made famous by Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, symbolizes the Pamphili family from which the patron Pope Innocent X originated.

This fountain was brought to us by the genius Bernini. Look at the wonderful horse emerging from the fountain pool, symbolizing the ocean. It is only appropriate, the horse being the creation of Poseidon, lord and master of the oceanic domain.

The Danube and the Ganges (holding an oar) looking on. And the Nile with his covered head in the corner, referencing the fact that the source of the river was a mystery during that time.

Last but certainly not least, the palm tree swaying in the breeze with the lovely lion underneath. The devil is in the details, as they say. Just admiring the flora and fauna on the fountain, it is remarkably easy to forget that they are carved out of marble and not real. And therein lies Bernini's genius.

And on either side of the piazza, two more fountains. More neglected than their famous brethren perhaps but beautiful regardless.

Piazza Navona - Fontana del Moro ("The Moor Fountain")

Piazza Navona - Fontana del Nettuno ("Fountain of Neptune")
The central figure of Neptune fighting against an octopus (or is it the Kraken?) reminds me of a phrase used in Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens, "... And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance." That quote still cracks me up.

The Pantheon
The original Pantheon was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa (portrayed by the dashing Allen Leech in HBO's Rome, whom currently plays Branson in BBC's Downton Abbey. Where was I again? Right. Agrippa and the Pantheon. OK.) Anyways, Agrippa was a superb military general and a loyal friend to Caesar Augustus (Octavian). He was also Augustus' son-in-law (!!!), a fact that I try not to dwell on (oh ancient Romans and their crazy inter-family/inter-generations marriages...)

Although the original Pantheon was destroyed in a great fire, it was eventually rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian (yes Hadrian to the rescue!) Hadrian honoured Agrippa by inscribing the following to the front of the Pantheon: "M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS· TERTIUM·FECIT" ("Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made this building when consul for the third time")

Fun fact: The portico columns are shorter than the blueprints intended by about 12 Roman feet (One Roman foot is the equivalent of 0.9708 English feet. I guess that implies the average ancient Roman is shorter than the average Englishman? Also, accurate to four decimal places? Seriously? If interested, the paper is called "A Discourse on the Roman Foot and Denarius" by a Mr John Greaves and was published in 1647.)

Holy [awordnotsuitabletodescribeaplaceofworship]!

The coffered ceiling is awe-inspiring. It's easy to see why so many later-dated European buildings are modeled after the Pantheon. And just imagine, once upon a time, these panels were covered with bronze stars. At night, the stars would reflect the candlelight as to imitate the celestial sky. Again, to think this was built almost two thousand years ago. Mind-boggling.

And who might have once stood here? Athena? Apollo? Or Agrippa himself? I wonder.

The centre of the Pantheon.

Being right underneath the oculus, this spot gets wet whenever it rains, hence the velvet rope.

Being the architectural geniuses that they were, ancient Romans drilled small drainage holes around this spot.

Side view of the Pantheon

The best thing about visiting Rome is just walking around the city centre. Don't take the bus, just walk. On our stroll back towards the hotel, we came across this - an elephant and an obelisk - in a small piazza. I thought it was cool-looking so I took a photo and kept walking.

Well, call me a fool because that monument turns out to be designed by the great Bernini, with the ever-apt title of "Elephant and Obelisk."

Piazza Venezia - Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II

aka. The Typewriter or The Wedding Cake

Personally, I find the typewriter comparison more fitting. What say you?