A Brief Roman History, or an oxymoron

I slept with the enemy.  And by that I mean bed bugs.  My rustic Roman hotel's rich history and beautiful old paintings apparently come at a price.

I met with my Italian host family my second day in Rome.  They came down from their northern home in Emilia Romagna to spend their All Saints vacation touring with me in the capital (when does capitol get a chance to play?).  What a beautiful family!  The youngest, Bea, is 9 years-old and a complete love bug (so adorable).  Richi is 11 and fast becoming a man, so it will take a bit more to break through his exterior.  Neither speaks very much English, although no one speaks much of any language when they're intimidated.  Bea and I bonded over this goofy, head-splitting yet catchy song Pulcino Pio (little chicken).  You can listen to it here, but take an Advil first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juqyzgnbspY.  I in turn shared Gangnam Style with her and we practiced the dance.  She held my hand everywhere we went the rest of the trip through Rome.  K-Pop really is crushing borders everywhere.

We booked a tour guide to walk with us for half a day.  Rome is very conducive to walking, which ranks a city high on my list.  Our hotel was right outside the Vatican museum + St. Peter's Basilica, and within a thirty minute walk of all the places I will describe.  Besides scattered showers, the weather was gorgeous; sunshine and ~60-70 degrees.  Apparently Rome is moderate all year long, so even visits in December can be pleasant.  I advise bringing an umbrella or some kind of rain gear, though, because when it rains, it pours.

Statue of Michael

The guide took us first to Castel Sant'Angelo, of which I had been ignorant.  The Castle was once used by the Popes as a fortress which housed their treasure and themselves against invaders.  They used a secret corridor to get from the Castle to the Vatican (see picture below).  There is a statue on a veranda of Archangel Michael, because a Pope had a vision of Michael in front of the castle sheathing his sword.  Thus ended the Black Plague.

See the secret walkway raised above the street on the right heading toward St. Peter's?

The Pantheon was one of my favorite sites.  It is so OLD; originally built in 31 B.C.  Talk about gifted architects!  It was originally intended to pay tribute to the gods of ancient Rome, but was eventually converted into a Catholic worship, which is why the Popes allowed it to live on.  Most other pagan structures were stripped of precious material (i.e. the Colosseum) to be used in new Catholic constructions.

The Pantheon

Anfiteatro Flavio, AKA the Colosseum, was our next stop.  The Italians are extremely dedicated to their history, which makes me a little embarrassed about my specific knowledge of my own.  The detailed information that my host family threw at me was incredible.  Apparently the popular picture portrayed of the Gladiator thumb up= life, thumb down=death, never took place.  In fact, there was only a brief period where any performances involved human deaths before a law was passed to prohibit it.  The amphitheater was mainly used for battle reenactments and theater performances.  The sight of il Colosseo was originally the playground of Emperor Nero, who had the river put underground and built himself a lake. Nero's Nazi-Fascist ideology made him controversial, so when his reign ended his playground was destroyed.  Nero had had a "colossus"-sized statue of himself on the property which was torn down, but the name recycled. 

The emperor sat just to the right of where the wooden platform restoration ends.

Walking in Julius Caesar's footsteps.  NBD

Ran, this is for you.  Breakfast at the hotel.

Julius Caesar's tomb

The Fountain of Four Rivers depicts the major river in each of the four continents in the world at the time: The Nile, Ganges, Rio de la Plata, and the Danube.  The segment for the Nile (opposite) has a face covered with a towel because it was unknown where the river originated.

The Trevi Fountain.  I could have sat here all day.  Probably my favorite spot.

On the last day we made it at the buzzer into the Capella Sistina.  I don't know if it was the season or because we got inside just before it closed, but we swam in a sea of bodies all the way through the building.   The sheer mass of humanity coupled with an enormous amount of artwork was overwhelming; a wonderful demonstration of the Roman syndrome of "horror vacui" (fear of empty spaces).  The floor was decorated with gorgeous marble and mosaics.  Walls were covered in tapestries, featured statues and held paintings.  And the ceilings, well, I'm sure you've heard something about that.  All of this combined with my 1.5 square inches of personal space, I am not ready to run back inside, although it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Umm, no pictures please!

Rome is so full of history.  My brain hurt by the end of the trip, but you can't help but fall in love with history.  I noticed that the subway system was very rudimentary, and initially chalked it to their active lifestyle of walking.  My host father told me, however, that every time they try to expand the subway they dig up a new ruin, so construction is halted and a new monument is born.  Unbelievable