Italy, part 1 – Rome
July 5, 2009
the Antsy Atens
Alright, I believe I am ready to start blogging about my trip to Italy. It was June 23rd – july 2nd and we toured Rome, Tuscany, Florence, and Venice. I plan to break things down into 1 city at a time and try to not bore my 6 readers with too many historical details. As you can probably tell, I loved every minute of the trip, and I would love to go back someday with Patrick.
We will be starting our tour in Rome.
The first night we were in Rome we were able to have some alone time with our tour guide Adam, a Brit who speaks very fluent Italian. He took us along the Tiber River (which was very close to our hotel) so we could see some great sights. I think the highlight was the Trevi fountain, the grandest fountain in Rome (and they have A LOT of fountains). Supposedly, if you throw 2 coins over your left shoulder, you will return to Rome, 3 coins means you come back with your love. Our girls added this to the tradition: 3 coins means you dump the one you’re with and return with someone new.
Trevi Fountain - I threw two coins.
The next day we went to the Vatican and spent most of the morning there. During the Renaissance, one of the sayings goes, “Beauty was everywhere.” That saying comes to life in the Vatican, and any other church for that matter, because the Italians left no corner of their churches unadorned. They are complely immaculate. Our tour of the Vatican included 20 minutes in the Sistine Chapel (“Heaven, I”m in heaven”…) and St. Peter’s Basilica which is covered in mosaics created by little bitty tiles.
In the afternoon, we went to the Pantheon (temple to “all the gods”). When the Romans became Christians, they tried to stamp out everything that reminded them of their pagan ways. The Pantheon was preserved, however, because Christians changed it into a christian church. It’s a good thing, too, because it’s an architectural marvel. The dome on the pantheon couldn’t be recreated until the dome on the Duomo in Florence was created 1300 years later.
The next day we went to the Colosseum (one of my most favorite visits of the trip), and the Forum, which pretty much concluded our tour of Rome. Located in a corner of the forum is a prison where Peter and Paul were possibly imprisoned in Rome.
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- The jail where Peter & Paul were possibly imprisoned
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- The Colosseum
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- The Colosseum 2
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- Typical Aggies!
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- Do you like my “I feel confident in sunshine!” hat?
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- No idea what this was….a temple perhaps?
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- Something else significant at the forum… Temple of Vesta perhaps?
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- “The Academy” by Raphael
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- Mosaic in St. Peter’s Basilica
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- Dome in St. Peter’s designed by Michelangelo
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- Six foot letter’s on Michelangelo’s dome
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- The La Pieta by Michelangelo
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- The Dome of the Pantheon
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- Columns of the Pantheon
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1.
Bonnie |
July 6, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I had a great time with you in Italy…I can’t believe it went by so fast!
2.
Emily |
July 7, 2009 at 3:46 pm
How marvelous! I can’t wait to read about your other days in Italy. What a great trip!