Rome Day 3: The Colosseum

Today we walked up to the site of the old Baths, which were of massive size, let me tell you!  They could accommodate three thousand people at one time, and covered a huge area.  Today a church stands on the site, Santa Maria degli Angeli.  Inside, it feels almost as large as St. Peter's. 

At that point we got on one of the tourist double-decker buses, rode around briefly and then got off in order to meet the tour we'd signed up for at the Colosseum.  It was a special one in that we got to go into the pits as well as up on the top level... both areas not generally open to the public.


Here are some pictures from the walk and the tour:

                             This is a bit of preserved ruin near the Vittorio Emmanuel Monument

                             Vittorio Emmanuel, which looks like a gigantic wedding cake to me

                                                      Walking towards the Colosseum

                                     

                                                           Beginning the dungeon tour

Standing in the dungeons... now the guide is talking about the animals that were brought in in cages and the pulley systems that transported them from one place to the next.  Note the cross erected for the copious amounts of animals and people who died here

Part of the waterway system which helped to flood the arena (before the rooms were built) so that mock ship battles could be staged

                    Now we  are up on the middle level, so you can see the whole arena more clearly

                                The platform is built to show where the arena floor would have been

All of those rooms and alleyways are to house the animals and people acting in the spectacles.  Some of these were criminals accused of crimes and sentenced to die;   they were given over to lions

                                                 And now from the highest tier currently available:

Tomorrow night we will tour through it after dark for another glimpse, hopefully with the full moon in evidence.

Roma! Yikes

Today we rode the subway to the Vatican and did a tour for 3 hours.  And then we walked part of the way back, and later hopped back on the subway to return to the hotel.  Some pictures:

                                                              Subway "art car" packed to the hilt

                                               Vatican art museums:  beginning the tour

                               Ceilings and floors...  that seems to have been my particular focus:

                                             In the tapestry hall, the ceilings were beautiful too

                                                                            

                                                         La Pieta in St. Peter's Basillica

This is from an exhibit at the Giardini in Venice, the Biennale 2011, called La Pieta or Self-love

Many of the floors are intricate patterns of fine mosaic

                                                                In St. Peter's Basilica

                                   There is no possible way to capture the enormity of this space! 

                                                   This is towards the main alter area

The only time I ever toured the Vatican was in the early 70's while on a 4 1/2 month magical hiatus from "real life".   Seeing the Sistine Chapel was turned into a torture then because too many people were herded through it at one time and just sort of pushed you through.  I only remember being able to steal quick glances up towards the ceiling;  it was not a fun experience.

But this time it was better!  They have started some sort of process to control the number of people in the Chapel at one time and so now you can stand in one place and actually look up at the ceiling !  It's  pretty wonderful!  The only bad thing is that they are very militant about picture-taking, and so I have none to share with you. 

I shared that trip in the 70's with one who has a finely developed sense of social justice (and injustice).  He read the irony in the riches of the churches that the poor prayed for tenderness and mercy within.

                                                                    Jim, not much has changed:

                                            From the walk back towards the hotel:

The Spanish Steps

                                                         This concludes Day 2 in Rome