Rome Day 1: Churches, Markets, and Very Large White Buildings

Unknown 3:37 PM Add Comment Edit

Rome Day 1 was intense! We did so much that I am actually going to have to split it into two parts! This is, obviously, the post about the first half of the day.

We got up bright and early and headed out in the same direction we went the night before; The Pantheon. This time we could actually enter the building.

Now that we actually got into the Pantheon, I can tell you a little bit more about it. The reason it is still in such amazing condition is because it was never abandoned like most other Ancient Roman buildings. (I will note that it did burn down a few times). In 609 AD it was gifted to Pope Boniface IV who converted it into a Christian church, and it has been maintained ever since, with some additions added and removed over time. Apart from a church it also took on the role of a tomb. The first and second kings of Italy are buried there along with a queens. Also buried there is the famous artist Raphael Sanzio.

It was just as magnificent in the daylight as it was in the dark. The weather started out cloudy, so it was all a bit gray....

Moving into the Pantheon was overwhelming. The entire building is one giant room, and boy is it ENORMOUS. And the ceiling has this design on them that was almost dizzying to look at.

It really is difficult the describe. At the far end of the room was a spectacular altar with a golden cross on it. All around the room were statues and paintings...and tombs. Everything was so brightly colored and gleaming. My eyes got tired from taking it all in.

My favorite thing, however, was this creepy statue of a sheep. I don't know who sculpted it, but I am not sure they had ever seen a sheep in person before, because what they made it look like was not like any sheep I have ever seen.

Look at that face. That is not the face of a sheep. That is the face of a monster.

Moving on from senior creeper sheep, we spent quite a bit of time at the Pantheon taking it all in before moving on. Our next stop was the Piazza Nevona and The Four Rivers Fountain.

This fountain depicts the four river gods of the greatest rivers in the world known at that time; The Nile, The Ganges, The Danube, and The Rio de la Plata. The last one is shielding his face from the church with a look of horror. This is because the guy who made the fountain was a rival of the man who built the church, and he was making a commentary on how ugly he thought it was. Rude.

Apart from that aspect the fountain was pretty cool. Of course it featured one of the hundreds of obelisks stolen from my beloved Egypt in its center, but the sculptures were fantastic. My favorite was this funky little fish guy who has legs and is wearing armor. He came from the river ready for a brawl.

As a side note, some of you might be wondering why we went to Italy in the middle of winter. Well, money was the biggest factor, but this picture pretty well illustrates our rational:

No crowds!!!

After we got done looking at the fountain, we went into the church to take a look. As with many of the churches we visited, photographs were not allowed. However it was much like the thousands of churches around Rome; extravagant, covered in sculptures and paintings, and lots of gold. It really was breathtaking, and every one was just as splendid as the previous. After the church we headed to a market place that was nearby. Outdoor markets are a thing of the past in the US for the most part, unless it is a farmers market, but in Rome they are year round and they are everywhere! This one was filled with spices, fruit, and different types of oil.

At these markets you can, and are expected to, haggle over prices. I got a carnival mask for 5 euros below what the vendor originally asked for. I cannot take credit for this, Brodie was the one who got the price down. Apparently he likes doing that sort of thing so I let him take the lead.

Next up was the archaeological site of Largo Argentina. There are two interesting things about these ruins of ancient Roman temples. First, it was the place were Julius Caesar was assassinated. This is a fact I literally did not know until this moment when I was looking up the name. That is really sad.

Secondly, it is the location of a stray cat colony. There are supposedly 250 cats living there. They are all spayed/neutered, given their shots, and fed. Fed to excess I would say. Many were pretty obese. However they were also gorgeous cats. I wanted to adopt all of them.

My favorite, however, was this tiny little three legged kitty that was orange and white. He or she came up to the fence where I was kneeling and was meowing and purring at me. They rubbed their sweet little face against the fence and stared at me. Their eyes said "take me home and love me forever"

Do you know how hard it was leaving that cat behind? DO YOU? Ugh I hope he is alright. Poor thing, limping around on three legs....

Alright I am done crying about the cats. Next off we headed to the Victor Emmanuel Monument. It is the largest monument in the world.

Yes, that is all one colossal statue. Apparently there is some controversy around it. It is built on Capitoline Hill, the ancient center of Rome (The Forum is right behind it), and a Medieval neighborhood was destroyed in order to build it. Who knows what treasures lay beneath this colossus....

But until the day they decide to do something about it, all we can do is look at this structure.

It was built in 1885 and houses The Tomb of the Unnamed soldier which, like its equivalent in the US, is constantly under guard.

The statues that covered the monument were gorgeous and impressive. Although seeing the ancient statues later on was amazing, it is always nice to have something that can give you a picture of what they looked like before they were destroyed.

Its enormous size, something local Romans hate, allows it to have pretty fantastic views of the city.
It is also during this point in the day when the sun started to emerge.

It was also at this location that I encountered my first seagulls of the trip. Seagulls, you ask? Yes. These giant birds had no fear and would stare you down from less than a foot away. They also had a knack for posing dramatically against the scenery. I ended up taking quite a few photos of these birds...more than I am willing to admit.

Halfway through the day and I was already exhausted! We had walked everywhere and my feet were killing me. Plus the air is so dry in Rome my lips felt like they were going to fall off! (I had lost my chap-stick at this point). But the sun was shining! I got more sunshine in this one day in Rome than I have gotten in months in Britain! Okay that might be an exaggeration but the sun is actually warm in Italy, whereas in Britain it gives no warmth at all.

This is where I am going to stop for now. The second half of the day was spent in the most ancient part of the city, so this seems like the best place to split it up. Here is a tiny preview of what is coming up next....

As a bit of an update: These pictures are by no means even close to the amount I took. Soon I will be putting up a link to my Flickr where you will be able to see all the photos I took on not only this trip, but all the trips featured on this blog!