Rome is the first trip that our class took. (Yeah, we had to take notes and then produce analytical sketches. No fun and games here!) We started our day in the area around our hotel, which was a block away from Piazza Navona.
Gelato for our lunch break.
Campo dei Fiori was this large open air market in the same area. I'm pretty sure prices are better in Florence... Note the statue of Giordano Bruno, who was burned by the Roman inquisition in 1600 for crimes of heresy, aka scientific discovery. The statue overlooks the market, (Makes me wonder if the assassin's creed games took note of the style?)
Any casual person would winder why this statue looks so discomforted. It is because he has pigeons climbing all over him.
Location: Piazza Navona
Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers, Pizza Navona.
Large imposing Italian civic building across the river.
SAN PIETRO, Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
Saint Peter's Square. Crossing into the world's smallest country.
We went around the side to get to the Vatican Museum entrance. And noteworthy were these guys, always standing in a line trying to push silly items on to tourists. They seemed to be arranged into a particular order, probably told exactly what to do. My favorites were the ones who threw these little colorful balls with animal faces on them. They would throw them on white boards, where they would squish, then slowly return to form. The guys would have this little kazoo like thing hidden in their mouth and they would make a really funny squeaking noise when they threw it. Once I got past the idea of completely ignoring them, I felt bad for them. I'd rather bag groceries or wash dishes any day.
Since the Sistine Chapel was a place where there should be silence (and no photos either, sorry guys,) the guy told us info about the place before we went in.
Surprisingly, photography was allowed in all the other parts of the museum.
My favorite one was this hall of historical maps. Maps have always held a special place in my heart.
Italy!
Famous wall by Raphael. The Vatican is cool, because it doesn't house artwork, the walls and ceilings of the rooms themselves are the art.
After the museum, we went into Saint Peter's.
It was BIG!
We wanted a group photo, so we grabbed anyone near us who we knew and made one. Margarida, AJ, Aaron, Tim, and myself.
Trying to fit it all in the camera frame was difficult.
The front facade was so big that you could not see the dome if you were anywhere close to it.
We were given a pretty nice sunset that evening.
Aimlessly wondering to dinner, but taking the scenic route, of course.
I ended up getting in touch with my friend Amanda from back home in PA, who is studying in Rome. Ben, Timo, Aj, and myself met her in Piazza del Popolo. We all walked to the top of the hill next to it to see the view above, walked down the Spanish Steps, and found a decent place to get dinner.
And then we ended up at the Pantheon. Which is an ancient Roman temple, now a church, with a dome that stood as the largest in the world for over a thousand years. (Overtaken by the Duomo in Florence in the Renaissance.) It is an incredible structure for sure. And we didn't even get to see the inside that night.
Inside the portico were these two musicians. Playing what I believe was a Mozart tune. (I think. I know it was used in a advertisement recently. Probably either a car or jewelry. Maybe highmark?) They then transitioned into their arrangement of Pink Floyd's "Wish you were here".
Pink Floyd music in one of the world's most famous ancient structures. I guess it makes sense. (Pink Floyd did actually record a movie in an amphitheatre in Pompeii)
No comments:
Post a Comment