Ride around Rome

Before leaving home, Ted and I scheduled a city tour of Rome. Since this is our first visit to Rome, we thought it would be a good idea to get an overview of the city before we started trekking around on our own. The tour included the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, which we saw yesterday, as well as the Pantheon, the original capitol building, and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs.

The Pantheon is the only ancient Roman building that has remained nearly intact through the centuries. It has the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. A circular opening in the dome known as the oculus (about 30 feet across) has several purposes. (1) It is the only source of light in the Pantheon; (2) it lightens the weight of the dome to avoid collapse; (3) it allows worshipers to contemplate the heavens (probably during boring sermons); and (4) it helps cool the building during the hot Roman summers by allowing rising heat to escape. There is speculation that the oculus also served as a sundial. Because the oculus is an open hole, when it rains, it also rains in the Pantheon. To deal with this, the floor is slightly convex so the water flows away from the center into an effective drainage system.

I’m starting in the back of the Pantheon and working around to the front. The concession carts add a modern touch.
Part of the Pantheon’s drainage system.
The front of the Pantheon.
The massive entryway and front door.
The altar and nave.
Some of the art in the Pantheon.
A sculpture of someone I don’t know. I’m always amazed at the quality and quantity of the art in the ancient European places of worship.

Our next stop was the capitol square. The original Capitol building and the square were designed by Michelangelo, who also created the paintings and sculptures in the buildings and the plaza. It’s hard to picture him as a contemporary architect/artist who was in demand, rather than as an extremely gifted historic genius.

The Roman Forum was just behind the building on the left.

I found an online copy of Michelangelo’s plan for the Capitoline Hill complex that shows the spiraling pavement design and the entire square.

Our guide described our final stop as an unexpected treat. The church of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it was designed by Michelangelo, and that makes all the difference.

The unimposing front of St. Mary’s Basilica.
This is the altar and the nave of St. Mary’s. Use the people in the pews as scale models to get an idea of the size of the room.
A large pipe organ is on the left side of the alcove in the center.
Here’s a close-up of the marble wall panels. Look how they’ve been cut and matched to create a design.
Paintings in another alcove. Remember–these were all done by Michelangelo. Wouldn’t it be awesome to go to church and sit among Michelangelo’s work?
This is kind of a creepy, yet beautiful, sculpture: the head of John the Baptist.

It’s really hot in Rome, so Ted and I walked to the Medici Palace (also near our hotel) and sat in a shady park across the street from it for awhile. We had a very nice overview of the city and St. Peter’s Basilica.

Dinner tonight was another Italian classic: pizza!