Rome In Pictures



I thought this was so neat.  There was one street that was lined with these
tangerine trees on both sides of the street in the middle of Rome






The Coliseum

 



The Coliseum

 



These two statues at the top of this stairway are more of Michelangelo's creations.





Building that was behind the official Olympic track.  The highest point in the front of the building is where the official lap counter stood to count the number of laps and spot the winner of the race.




You can see the official track that is the front of the building.






Typical street in Rome.  Very narrow street with cars parked on both sides of the street.

  As you can tell by these pictures and the captions, or lack of captions I don't remember what these buildings and statues are called.  I am just trying to give you an idea of what Rome is like.  It is a very big, old city!  In Rome there are ruins that are well over 2000 years old.  And the statues, they are everywhere.  Every other block is a famous Plazas or Square with a statue or fountain. You can see that many of the building have balconies that have beautiful plants growing over the side of the balcony.  The temperature was in the lower 60's, so the temperature was not bad.  Rome is a very beautiful, ancient city, with so many sites to see.  I am sure you could stay there for weeks and still not see everything. 

In one of the little street cafe's where I stopped for some limoncello, I met two young men that were from Chicago.  They were spending the semester studying abroad. We discussed their adventures.  I thought it was very interesting that as we were sitting in the street cafe, the little shop next door was just opening and it was 5:00 p.m., the Chicago boys said in Rome it is kind of like Mexico - they take a Mediterranean Siesta!

St. Peter's Square

My first adventure in Rome was going to the Vatican.  There are five entrances to the Vatican, only two entrances can by used by the visitors.  This is one of the entrances leading into St. Peter's Square.  Look at the people, just think I was there during low season.  Which the books say that there is only about a three to four week period from mid January early February that is considered the low season!  You can see that the sidewalks are all cobblestone, many of the streets are cobblestone also, and many streets are basically closed to car traffic and the cafes set tables up in the street.



This is St. Peter's Square, it hold 700,000 people standing.  As you can see to the left is the Nativity scene and Christmas tree.  The square screens to the right and left of the pictures are used when the Pope holds mass at Christmas and Easter so that everyone can see him.



Look at the top row of windows, the second one from the right, this is the window that the Pope address the people on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The line to the right is the line to get into the Basilica.  I did not in on Saturday, I waited to go to mass Sunday morning.

St. Peter's Basilica. 
The Center balcony is where the new Pope is introduced to the people, whenever we get a new Pope.

 Two of the guards that were in the square.

In the upper left of the picture, the building with the triangle roof, with the antenna on top is the Sistine Chapel.  The window that is in corner of this building is where the black or white smoke comes from when the decision is being made about a new Pope.

The entire Vatican is surrounded by a wall.  It is the smallest state in the world with a population of only about 900 citizens.  They have their own money, passport stamp, and everything sold inside the Vatican is about 25% cheaper than in Rome.  (That doesn't include the gift shops!)  They also do not have to pay any  Roman taxes.

Vatican Wall.  I had no idea that the Vatican was surrounded by a wall!



A guard standing in one of the entrances for the residents or employees of the Vatican.  The buildings inside the Vatican look just like other buildings in Rome.

 

Guards without their coat.

St. Peter's Basilica

This is probably one of Michelangelo's most famous sculptures.  It is absolutely beautiful!



This is looking to the front of the Basilica.  It doesn't look that far, but it really is huge!



The Altar.  To get an idea how large this is, the Priest was a fairly large man and when he was standing behind the altar, his head did not even reach the brown area above the altar, (the area that begins at about the top of the candles). 
So as you can tell, it is huge!

The domed ceiling above the Altar area.

To the right and the left of the alter, there were domed ceilings on each side,
they each had huge wooden cabinets with the pipes for the pipe organ.  This is the dome that was in the center.



There were so many beautiful statues and sculptures in the Basilica!





The Nativity scene that was set up in the Basilica, it had a running fountain that was like a stream. 
There was a radiant light coming from behind the angel and from baby Jesus.




One of the many columns, you can tell how large this is by looking at the people standing there.



Holy Water font



I know this picture is a little fuzzy - but I thought it is worth sharing since it is the tomb of  St. Peter. 
His remains are down the steps and to the back of this area. 
You could not actually go down to the tomb. 

 I went to Church Sunday, January 16th at St. Peter's Basilica, it was absolutely beautiful.  On Sunday's you can't rent the audio tour, so I didn't get the full history and story of all the sculptures and areas in the Basilica. After the mass, in one of the little chapels to the side, it is the area that the do all the Baptism's, I assume that is where they do all the Baptism's because there were two babies being Baptized after the mass.  There was a huge Baptismal fount.  The mass was in Italian, so I didn't understand any of it.  I tried to follow along by memory in English, but I must say it did get a little confusing!  I certainly knew the sign of peace and when to go to Holy Communion!  Regardless of your language, those two parts of the mass can always be identified along with the Creed.  I did buy a book on the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, so I will learn more about it, and want to go back I am sure!