In my email sending the first blog I said that Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast were next, I lied, must still have jet lag but if not I'd better get this blog done before I lose my mind completely. We're still in Rome, pounding the cobblestones. This magnificent building is massive and pictures don't do it justice. This is a museum but we didn't get to go in because the line ups were huge and we were on limited time that day. One really does need a couple of weeks outside of tourist season to explore these buildings fully. The statues on top and all around are amazing. Remember to click on the pictures for a larger view.
This is the chariot with four horses and the angel driving that you see on top of the building. I would have taken a picture from the front but was shooting into the sun so it would have been blacked out.
The famous Trevi fountain which is where water from twenty miles away is delivered via the aqueducts. The night before we saw it, some loose cannon had been in there with a hammer and ruined a horse and figure. That's how we found out that most of the statues and works of art, the famous ones at least, are fake. The originals have been removed to a safe place and these replicas are what we all ooo and aww over. There was no sign of the damage as replacement parts were installed before the tourists arrived. It is a good thing that the originals are protected and most of us never know we are looking at fakes. They are just as beautiful. There were lots of authorities on site blowing their whistles every time someone tried to touch the water.
This tower in in the middle of a plaza and was commissioned by an emperor called Trajan. It originally had his statue on top but when he died it was replaced with St. Peter's.It's 138 feet tall and has a band of sculptures 600 feet long winding around it. Bet you're impressed with my knowledge huh, thank heaven for a second computer to research from.
My husband has been doing some reading on this tower so here's some more information for you. Normally because of the height of the tower the panel sizes would visually decrease in size to some one standing on the ground looking up but the sculptor increased the size of each ascending panel so that all of them appear to be the same size. More evidence of their ingenuity! Also there is a stairway inside!!! Claustrophobia attack coming on! Notice the slots in the panels that would give the person inside a view of the outside. Aren't we grateful to my researcher.
The sculptors of that time were incredible for the detail they put into their work. We are also fortunate that the emperors and
wealthy of that time loved to erect monuments to themselves.
This is the Pantheon. It was built 1800 years ago. The dome with it's opening is the only light for the interior. As you can see at a certain time of day the beam of sunlight highlights the enormous bronze door. The artist Raphael and several kings are buried here. To look at the outside it does not impress or look like it would be intriguing to see the inside. However, the interior has some of the most beautiful marble and the floor is a geometric pattern that is the original one.
Never judge a book by it's cover, this building impresses.
Below is the altar and a statue in the Pantheon. If you enlarge them you might get an idea of all the different marbles they used.
The statue is out of focus but it's the marble I'm trying to show.
This fountain is in the Piazza Navona. It's called the Four Rivers Fountain and is considered to be the most complex of all the fountains in Rome. It was so expensive to build that they raised the tax on bread to pay for it. It represents the Danube, the Ganges, the Nile and the Rio de la Plata. They do love their fountains in Rome and in most the water is potable.
Below in the far, far away is my shot of the famous Spanish Steps. They are covered with people taking a load off their feet. It was an artist's area and today is the threshold to the expensive part of the city with it's high end hotels and shops.
Now we are done with Rome and on to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast in the next blog.
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