Day 60 - [R]ome

Too much touring in Rome

As I mentioned earlier, I had pre-booked several tours around Rome to make sure that I got to see the important sights with explanations. Today, I had scheduled two such tours: the Colosseum, Roman Imperial Forum, and Palatine Hill, followed by the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basillica. It was always going to be a big day, and it proved to be very big. By the end of the Vatican tour, I was tired, foot sore, and filled to overflowing with information and impressions from the whole day of touring. I learned an important lesson through that busy day: two half-day tours in one day are too much (for me). On reflection, I remember at least one day on the Rhine River cruise involved two touring adventures in a day and it had also been pretty exhausting. I think I have developed a rule of one formal tour a day, for future reference. Also, as usual, I’ve taken hundreds of pictures, that I will sift out for this post.

The first tour operator had told me the night before (over Whatsapp) that my ticketed time for entry to the Colosseum had been moved to 10 am by the Colosseum, so I only needed to be at the meeting point at 9:45 am. That made my morning more leisurely and I had a very nice breakfast at Mammo Trastevere (where I’d tried to have breakfast the day before). Then I walked across ancient Rome to an address beside a basillica.

The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II	More detail of the bronze statues
Other statues on the monument	Detail of statue that represents a river (I believe)
Trajan’s Column	Two churches for St Mary opposite Trajan’s column
The photos above are less than ideal because the area around them is a busy traffic intersection and lots of hoarding is erected while various monuments are renovated for the forthcoming jubilee. Also, I was in a bit of a hurry to get to the tour.
The Roman Imperial Forum, as I walked passed it.

I gave myself plenty of time for the walk, and it turned out to be just as well. The address on Google Maps looked like an office beside a basillica. I found one of them but it wasn’t a tour group office. It turns out, there were two guys standing on the roadside without any signs or indicators that they were the tour operators, checking people in and shepherding them into groups near the basillica. Anyway, I worked that out by watching the goings on around me and checked in just in time. (Time-keeping turned out not to be too ruthless, as some folks showed up well after the 9:45 am check-in deadline.)

Julius Caesar (in front of the forum)

Amazing statue where we waited for our guide

The building behind the left-hand tree (with yellow plastic pipes attached) is the one that had a fatal internal collapse of structure recently

In the fullness of time we were introduced to our guide, Loriana, who rounded up her 12 tourists and headed off up the boulevard created by Mussolini leading from his headquarters to the Colosseum.

Barrel vault pointed out by Loriana	Display of stages of the Roman empire (1/2)	Display of stages of the Roman empire (2/2)
Views of the Colosseum as we approached on foot

The first thing that Loriana told us was that “The Colosseum” is a nickname for the building. Originally, it was the Flavian Amphitheatre, named for the Emperors that built it. She also later said that “amphi-theatre” meant two theatres, as the normal theatre was a semi-circular audience section, facing the actual theatre, which had a backstage. The amphitheatre has two semi-circular audience sections facing each other with the ‘theatre’ space in the middle, and back-stage was underground.

Loriana led us through the entry (two layers of security, including a metal detector) and into the corridors that lead out to the arena. She explained the different types of gates in ancient times: general entry, noble/patrician entry, triumphal (the victor’s) gate, and the libitinaria gate (where corpses of people and animals were removed). She pointed out the huge construction, the brick and marble materials, and pointed to graffitti from down the ages (mostly 18^th and 19^th century), now prohibited. Then she sent us out to have our first view of the arena.

Every arch was an entry, numbered above	Entry arch LII (detail)	A concourse walkway under the seating
Arches under the seating ramps	Original floor surface	Loriana pointing out dated graffitti
Along the curve of the seating	Directly out across the arena	Along the curve of the seating in the other direction

Then Loriana led us further around the arena so that we could enter the arena floor proper, through the libitinaria gate. The overwhelming feeling being in the Colosseum was that the scale of the place is unbelievable. If you’ve been in modern sports stadiums you would have a sense of the feeling of space/size, except that (what’s left of) the Colosseum is completely masonry, which gives it a much more massive feeling. And knowing that it’s all but 2000 years old lends even more weight to that sense of overwhelm. In its day, it must have been staggeringly impressive to the ‘common man.’

Showing how reconstructed wing wall is helping integrity of the original structure

The libitinaria gate

The view down the corridor to the arena floor

Panorama of the Colusseum from the arena floor

The rest of the arena floor (missing) with ‘backstage’ corridors and operations visible	View of the understructure of the former seating areas	Marble seating for dignitaries (senators, other nobles, etc)
More under-stage corridors, where gladiators and animals were provided access to the arena, using lifts centred on posts resting in the white marble holes (central in the corridor)	Detail of the main central corridor, showing the supports for more lifting mechanisms	A reconstructed trapdoor mechanism illustrating how people and animals were brought onto the arena

Then Loriana led us up to a platform above the libitinaria gate, from which Mussolini gave many speeches, and which provided an unparalled view over the Colosseum.

View of the Colosseum arena from above the libitinaria gate

We went around the arena at this level and when we had reached the far end (overhead the triumphal gate), Loriana pointed out an arch externally and also provided the explanation of the nickname “Colosseum.” The story is that Emperor Nero had a colossal statue made of himself, which was relocated from near his palace to near the Colosseum after the fire for which he is most famous. It was during the middle ages that the building was attributed with the name ‘Colosseum’ for its proximity to this colossal statue, which has since vanished.

Original (steep) stairs going to higher levels of seating	Looking back to the libitinaria gate from overhead the triumphal gate	Attempting to capture more detail of the reconstructed lift and trapdoor
The Arch of Constantine from the Colosseum	The temple of Venus from the Colosseum	The ‘vomitorium’ through which we exited – original, steep staircase

Loriana led us around the Arch of Constantine and up to the Arch of Titus on the way to the Palatine Hill. We stopped in a museum there associated with the Roman forum for a nature break, and an unescorted look around.

Views of the Arch of Constantine
Views of the Arch of Titus
Displays of artefacts found on the site
The temple of Apollo	The temple of Venus	Example of original painted plaster wall linings in the temples

The postcard view of the Colosseum, from the temple of Venus

Loriana led us up the Palatine Hill and reported the legend of Romulus and Remus at a couple of stops on the way up the garden hill. We went through the gardens created by the family Faranese, past the tomb of Giacomo Boni, and out onto the Terrazzo Belvedere del Palatino, which has a commanding view over the Roman forum.

Gardens on the Palatine Hill	Gardens on the Palatine Hill	Ruins of a palace/stately home
The aviaries built by the Faranese family to house exotic birds	Formal gardens that once housed examples of exotic plants from roman conquests	The tomb of Giacomo Boni

Panorama of the Roman Forum from the terrace on the Palatine hill

Loriana led us down off the Palatine hill through Domitian’s Imperial Ramp. It is a very impressive, huge-scale structure and you pass through a sixth century chapel at the bottom of the ramp, which is also very impressive.

The imperial ramp from above (on the terrace)	Part of the walkway down – truly grand arches	A house off the imperial arch
The nave of the church	Original frescoes in the chancel	A shrine to the side of the main altar area
The main altar niche	Original flooring in the chapel nave	Madonna and Child – reminded me strongly of the art crime committed by someone years ago that ended up with “monkey Christ”

Loriana then led us along the main axis of the Roman forum to our final tour stop, in front of the place where Julius Caesar’s body is said to have been brought for cremation.

The (alleged) cremation place for the assassinated Caesar

The view down the forum from that cremation site

The front of the Antoninus and Faustina Temple

I had tried to assess how best to get between the two tours. I checked with Google Maps about getting from the forum to the Vatican while we were having a break in the museum associated with the forum. I checked with Loriana how much longer the tour would last, did some mental calculations and thought that the brisk walk was likely to be a suitable approach. By the time we got to the end of the tour, we’d taken nearly 30 minutes longer than Loriana had predicted (not strictly her fault) and I resolved to catch a taxi to make sure that I got there in good time. Loriana pointed out that there was a taxi rank on the big boulevard directly outside where the tour had completed. I walked out there and hailed a taxi almost immediately. I showed him the address of the next tour company on my phone and he said, “That’s €28. It’s over the river.” That was fine with me (I mean, probably too much in reality, but I wasn’t really in a place to argue over the fare) and off we went.

Rome traffic was everything that it is made out to be, but really not nearly as chaotic as traffic I’ve eperienced elsewhere (e.g., Cairo, Dhaka, Manilla, come immediately to mind). The biggest ‘concern’ I had about the trip once it was over was that he’d driven almost completely around the Holy See to get to the address I’d given him. I know that he followed Google Maps to get there, but I wondered afterwards if there was a more direct route by taking a different bridge over the Tiber. Anyway, I guess I got my €28 worth.

Former customers, including some famous faces

This time the pick-up address was the tour office so check-in was simple. I had arrived in good time and watched with increasing disdain as folks showed up seemingly as they pleased for the tour to start. The group led by Maria appeared to be all Americans and me. While I was waiting in the tour office, I noticed on the wall a collage of photos of (I presume) past customers, and right in the middle was former Australian PM, Julia Gillard! I still don’t know how to feel about that.

Maria is a late-middle aged woman (I’m going to say a couple-to-a-few-years older than me) and she was suitably determined and forthright in her views on how the tour would proceed. Friendly and engaging but also concerned about boundaries and behaviour. She led us up to the Holy See and then through two security check points (including one metal detector scan) and into the foyer of the Vatican Museums. It was like an airport arrival hall. Very modern and with some fascinating sculptures.

The entry area to the Vatican Museums	More of the entry area
Another look at that statue	An homage to Apollo(?) in the entry area

From the entry area, Maria led us into the museums proper (another entry checkpoint) and was disappointed to tell us that we had to climb three storeys up a sinuous stairwell because the escalator was ‘out of service’. Maria seemed certain that its extended period of maintenance was mostly laziness on the part of ‘them’. As it happens, the spiralling ramp was a treat in itself, circulating around (a replica of?) the boat that St Peter was claimed to have used (he was a fisherman before a disciple of Christ, of course). Maria took us to an anteroom at the top of the spiral ramp to show us a plaster model of the famous Pieta by a very young Michaelangelo. She explained that she was showing us this plaster version first because we could get very close to it to admire the sculpture. She explained that the original has been placed behind bulletproof glass in a small alcove in the basillica after someone attacked it with a hammer (!) in the 1970s (before security screening). Maria seemed to think that they’d overdone the security precautions and had definitely spoiled the viewing experience. As we left the viewing of the ‘fake’ Pieta – which was astonishing – Maria pointed to two other plaster staute copies (photographed). She said to be sure to remember the pose of the guy fighting the snake and to recognise that all the white statues that we were about to see were likely to have been painted in the primary colours illustrated by the other statue (of Julius Caesar).

St Peter’s boat in the spiral ramp
Pieta by Michaelangelo (in plaster)	Pope Pious Eleven	More plaster sculptures that Maria used as references

We emerged in the Cortile della Pigna (the pinecone courtyard – I’ve looked that up). A beautiful formal courtyard formed by former palaces and current museums. Maria led us over to a triptich of boards showing the paintings and frescos in the Sistine Chapel. She provided us with the whole tour guide explanation of the chapel and its painting by Michaelangelo here because photography, videography, and talking are all forbidden in the Sistine Chapel – not least because it is an active place of worship. The story of a very young Michaelangelo learning how to paint frescoes on the ceiling with a team of experienced painters, then resorting to ‘freehanding it’ solo because the traditional approach of transferring templates then filling in that outline was taking forever was fascinating, and resonated with all the stories of legendary genius just cracking on. Complementing Maria’s interesting presentation was some stuff that I’d heard on YouTube (from a reputable art historian) about Bertolucci’s contributions to the frescoes on the walls of the chapel. I must say, the anticipation was certainly building for this visit to the famous chapel.

First glimpse of St Peter’s Basillica’s dome

Cortile della Pigna – Maria said that the modern ball sculpture was presented to the Pope (Francis, I think) as Head of State of the Holy See, rather than as the head of the Roman Catholic Church

The pinecone after which the courtyard is named

After our visit to the courtyard, Maria led us into the (claimed) longest gallery on Earth. It was astonishing. We transited through four large sections, first sculpture (Museo Chiaramonti), then through the Braccio Nuovo – the building opposite the one with the pine cone – then the Galleria della Arazi (tapestries), and finally, the Galleria della Carte Geografiche (huge detailed paintings of Italy from the 16^th Century). And several of the gallery sections were also artistic in their own right. It was one of those circumstances where I didn’t really know what to photograph to record the impression of the place. I mean, it was a lot!

Museo Chiaramonti
The long view of the gallery	Fascinating artistry in the wall frescoes	Not many photos in this gallery because I’ve been photographing Roman statues all over Italy and there weren’t any that really said, “I’m unique.” Maria explained that statues/busts were ancient Rome’s selfies
Braccio Nuovo (and associated courtyard)
The courtyard outside Braccio Nuovo	A huge granite fountain in the courtyard	Apollo in a niche off the courtyard – Maria was not as enthusiastic about this as other art historians have been. I think it might be a copy, which Maria tended to disdain
A statue of the personification of a River – apparently reclining men depicted rivers or river gods	Lacoon and sons – quite a story here about what the statue depicts, and also that the right arm is shown bent (in defeat) rather than upraised (in victory) as in the copy (shown earlier)	Funerary cask and relief
Example of the statuary displayed in the Braccio Nuovo	Detail of some mosaic floor	Detail of the painted vault in one section
Bacchus – Maria and I had established that he was our favourite Roman god	Nero – one of only three remaining bronze/gold sculptures in Rome	A marble sculpture most important because it is Greek and illustrates how Greek aesthetics influenced Roman sculpture (especially in showing men’s physiques)
The central vault in Braccio Nuovo	The porphyry font under the vault	Detail of the exquisite mosaic floor
Another amazing mosaic	The gallery goes on	Painted ceiling panel
Just going to leave these here
Galleria degli Arazzi – the tapestry gallery These tapestries are all of silk and wool and even close up look like paintings rather than woven objects
Christ appears to the disciples (after cruicifiction)	Christ emerges from his tomb	Painted ceiling panel – the whole ceiling is a smooth painting, giving the illusion of carved relief elements
Galleria della Carte Geographica The huge map paintings in this gallery are apparently over 85% accurate depictions of the geography of Italy, even today
The gallery in overview	Detail of the ceiling vault (this one does have physical relief elements)	The ‘coat of arms’ of the pope that commissioned the detailed maps of Italy (one of the Gregorys, I think)

It had been a long walk by the time Maria called us all together to explain our visit to the Sistine Chapel. As well as the stuff seen in the morning, I was starting to feel a bit ‘full up’ of wonders. However, I set my mind to absorb the chapel experience as best I could as the rules meant I would not be able to make personal mementos of the visit.

The Sistine Chapel is genuinely a unique experience. It is smaller and darker than I imagined it to be (the dimness might be about preserving the artwork, or the lateness in a late-autumn day). However, the artistry in the famous ceiling panels, the “Judgment Day” on the end wall, and the frescoes lining the wall and showing scenes from Christ’s and Moses’ life is breathtaking. Also genuinely amazing is that the cloth wall hangings under all this artistry are actually painted too! You have to look closely to realise that they are not cloth. If this was the only thing that you saw on a visit, the effect would be stupefying, I think. Astonishing art work executed by the masters of the craft. I think the effect was a little dulled for me because of all the amazing stuff we’d seen walking through the museums, and that I’d had the privilege of seeing in other parts of my trip. That’s not to diminish the wonder of the chapel but to explain my not-total amazement at it. And I have to note that people were talking (in generally hushed tones) and the floor walkers were regularly admonishing people “NO PHOTOS”. At one stage a recorded announcement was played to remind people that this was a place of worship and their silence was expected. Unfortunately, the experience had real overtones of being degraded by over-tourism, for me.

After the chapel, Maria led us out through a large arched ramp, passed a Swiss Guard on duty beside one of the vatican offices (or possibly residences). Maria explained that the Swiss were selected by one of the popes (I missed who) as they are a neutral country, to provide protection to the residents in the Holy See. She explained that the population of the Holy See is less than 700, of which ~150 are Swiss Guards and their families. Photographing the Swiss Guard in this part of the Vatican was also prohibited (the whole exit was strictly ‘no photography’).

We emerged in the Western part of Piazza San Pietro. The sun was very low in the sky by now (~4 pm) and it was cold, especially after being in the museums for the last couple of hours. Maria led us up to the basillica and explained some of the first things that we would see as we entered down the right aisle (“ai-sel” she said) because this was another part of the Vatican where respect for the prayers of worshippers forbid guides giving their presentations (I think she said that it was also an anniversary of one of the people entombed in that aisle too). This was where we would pass through the holy door – touching the door while holding purposeful intention to repent was effective for the faithful, I understand – then pass several shrines to previous popes and the well-protected Pieta by Michaelangelo.

The first look at the basillica from where we emerged	The front facade of St Peter’s Basillica	The view down the piazza in front of the basillica – the big platform is where the Pope sits to preside over ceremonies and audiences, when weather permits
We waited while pilgrims processed into the basillia	Entry through the Holy Door	The Holy Door

My first impressions of St Peter’s Basillica were of awe. This cathedral is as grand, and probably more grand, than any other that I’ve visited. It was overwhelming from the outset. It is only later when I understood that I was only in one of the aisles when I formed that impression!

First impressions of the aisle through which we entered	The real Pieta as altar piece	Another view of the aisle
The tomb of Pope John Paul II	Vaulted ceiling in the aisle	The tomb of one of the Pope Gregorys – I think there have been at least 16
A first view of the main altar from the right-side aisle	The tomb of Pope John XXIII – he has wax face and hand covers; all other sanctified popes (entombed on display) have silver masks	The tomb of Pope Gregory XVI

Maria led us around to the cross way where the altar sits and then around in front of the altar. There was a service going on in the alcove behind the altar, and Maria explained that there were regularly services there, free to join for faithful who were present. Only the Pope (or in rare cases of inability, his delegate) may conduct services from the actual altar. There was a bit else that Maria explained during this time but frankly, I was full-up and the explanations just washed over me. Also, having moved out into the main nave, I had lost sense of the scale of the basillica. I’ve later realised that I had stopped thinking about being in a singular building and rather a massive enclosed space. I’m not sure if that disconnection was because I was tired (I was), full-up of sight-seeing (ditto), or because the basillica is on such a scale that I can’t make it feel like a single building in my head. (I know this sounds stupid...) I’ve been in shopping centres (or airports) that are bigger than the basillica – even as recently as in Utrecht – but never had this disconnected feeling. I’m still processing what it meant. It didn’t diminish the awe I felt in the place, but it left me without an anchor for that awe. (It even sounds stupid to me.)

Views of the altar in St Peter’s Basillica
Views of the nave in the basillica
A bronze of St Peter (I think) where the evidence of the faithful touching his foot for luck has worn away the work	The tomb of Pope Alexander VII – this marble carving by Bernini is indescribably beautiful	Detail of a random ‘painting’ in the basillica – they are all mosaics!

Panorama of the crossway and altar in St Peter’s Basillica – not a great photo

And that was the end of our tour of the Vatican. Not too soon for me, through no fault of the guide or the venue. As I left to walk home (only 20 minutes away!) I snapped a couple of photos of the piazza after dark. It was already too cold (and a bit windy) to hang around and do a proper job of it.

The East portico

The facade of St Peter’s

The West Portico

My original plan on leaving the Vatican was to walk through Trastevere to a restaurant recommended by my golf-cart guide, have an early dinner (I’d missed lunch), then head home. However, as I was walking there, I was nursing my phone battery (down to under 5% by this time) and when I crossed the via Garibaldi and it was only 5:30pm, I thought it would be prudent to go home first, put some charge in my phone and pick up my kindle, then head to dinner at a slightly later time. Getting off my feet for even a short while was very appealing too. So, that’s what I did.

The restaurant recommended was Ivo a Trastevere. A long-operating (since 1962!) trattoria that was all of the classical Italian restaurant vibe that you would imagine/expect. Lovely food, entertaining service, and a welcoming, homely feel to the place. I enjoyed it very much and ignored the expensive tab at the end.

The view from dinner at Ivo a Trastevere

Spaghetti Calci e Pepe and what I thought were going to be potato fritters

Tiramisu (of course) with a Limoncello digestif – I am converted to Limoncello. It is definitely going to appear in my regular diet from now on (provided I can find the good stuff at home)

Daily facts: Location: Rome Temp: 9 Weather: Sunny