Pompei

This was the most interesting part of the trip for us and the reason we chose the tour that we did. How could anyone go to Italy without seeing Pompei?

 These three pictures are what you see as you are walking towards the ruins that have been excavated. We were shocked at the scale. I don't know what we expected to see but this was not the visual we had in our heads. All of this was covered deeply in ashes and it has all been cleaned away and exposed again. Hats off to the people who did all this work as most of them are volunteers and they are working in incredible heat not to mention the dust. Just walking around most of us started to cough from the dust we were stirring up with our feet so working in it must be very difficult.

 Can you imagine digging out the amphitheater above? That's part of our group milling about at the bottom. Note the wagon ruts worn into the rock roads in the second picture. I wonder how many Pompeinans twisted or broke their ankles. These stone and cobblestone walkways are not easy to navigate.

He just had to get into my picture, ha ha, and that's ok. I think these roads must have been one way as they don't look wide enough for two wagons to pass. The village was laid out in a great grid pattern though and looked well designed. We were always impressed with the design, construction layout and artistry of these ancient places.

To the left you have their version of a fast food restaurant. Those are steam tables, so to speak, where the food was kept warm for customers. 

 I could have my facts wrong but I believe the guide said that these two story places were a business down below and residences above.

The fresco paintings were mostly fresh after all the years of being buried. In another part of the ruins which we didn't get to see they were much more vivid.

Petrified wood.

Another fresco

The laundry. Don't ask me how it was done, I think I wandered away from the group when he was explaining it. To me it looks like something you would sit in, not wash clothes.

Rebirth. From the ashes the greenery appears and life continues.

Another shot of their roads.

This is the bed in the brothel. I can't show you the fresco's or the erect penis's above the door and embedded in the walkways giving directions to the place as my blog site wouldn't approve but there was no mistaking what this area was all about. The guide went on and on about it and the guys were getting their jokes in to the point where the women started rolling their eyes to say 'enough  is enough'. I think that Pompei was quite into their pleasures. After all it is called Roman Orgy I suppose. 

The bathroom right next to the bedroom above.

The bakery ovens. The pizza ovens they use today are pretty much the same design.

An original mosaic tiled floor.

The forum, which means the market and gathering area, with the remains of Vesuvius in the background. The volcano is one third the size that it was when it blew. It is still active and considered one of the top ten most dangerous volcanoes in the world. The reason for that is because it is an explosive kind, not lava, but ash and pumice. When it blew the cloud was 60,000 feet high and mushroom shaped apparently.

The original casing on an archway. The design is beautiful. Like the Italians today their esthetics were impeccable.

These are in the artifact room of the site. The explanation of the animals and people is that they were covered in ash which solidified, the bodies decomposed and when the archeologists found the remaining bones, they filled the negative space with concrete and got the casts that you see here. These are not petrified bodies, they are casts of them.


To the left are stacks of cheese.

A man and vessels on the shelves behind him. 

A broader shot of above.

A dog. I'm not sure about this one as when my husband was Googling Pompei  we saw a picture with loads of these in the same position. Can't help but become skeptical when you see that. 

A possibly pregnant woman.

A definitely pregnant woman.

In the Forum there was a statue of Adonis, god of love. The men had the brothel so the women got their Adonis and had their picture taken with him. He looks like a boy to me but who knows. That reminds me of an interesting fact. Most of the people of this village were about 5'2". The food and water vessels that they used had plenty of lead in them and this contributed to their "stunted" (I'm 5'2 and I don't feel stunted) growth. Their life span was also shortened even before the volcano erupted as lead plays havoc with people's health.

The new Pompei today seen from the old Pompei above.



Hope I haven't bored you as there's lots more to come. You always have the option of using the delete button.

More of Rome

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.

ITALY

ROME

We walked from our hotel to the Colosseum the day after we arrived and this is our first view of it. It was exciting to see something we've been familiar with from movies and books since we were young. The size of it was shocking, bigger than we ever imagined. We learned that most of it had been "raided" over the years to build other structures but thankfully that has been stopped and they are slowly stabilizing the building. The other thing we found out is that this in Not where most of the Christians were killed, that took place at Circus Maximus, although some were executed here. The Colosseum was mostly for gladiators and animal battles.

This is the bare bones of the site and you can see the places where the animals and gladiators waited before they were summoned to the arena to battle to their deaths all for the amusement of the crowds and the emperor. The gladiators lived and trained at a site across from this arena which is just now being restored. They were connected to the Colosseum by a tunnel from the training grounds.

The closed in area is how the whole circular part used to look. The tunneled part below was all hidden from the crowds. I imagine that it was terrifying waiting below and hearing the carnage and noise of the people going on above your heads.There were trap doors in the floor for the animals to spring up and surprise the gladiators and a system of elevators for the people and animals to be lifted up to the arena. Very impressive for the time.

These are the gladiators of today with their plastic abs, smoking cigarettes and chatting on cell phones. They offer a picture to tourists using their own cameras and then ask for twenty euros before the camera is given back to them.

My "stitched" picture of the remains. For some reason my camera wasn't 'doing' skies that day. You get an idea of the scale when you see the people standing all around  the different levels.

THE VATICAN

This is in the courtyard within the Vatican. I can't remember the name of this sculpture but it was impressive even though it is such a contrast in styles to it's surroundings. I apologize now for my lack of information for most of my pictures. On this trip the facts just seemed to pass in one ear and out the other. It was too hot, too crowded and too overwhelming.

This is the close up and be sure to click on the pictures to see full sized shots as there's far more detail. This ball (oh that feels shameful to call it that, must look up the proper name to show respect..later), rotates and I love the reflections of the ancient buildings on it's smooth surfaces.

We have an update. Due to my jet lag when I first posted this I didn't recall it's name. It is titled Sphere within a Sphere (wow, they must have had jet lag when they named it) and it represents the hardships that we endure at the end of the second millennium.

Finally, I found a picture with blue sky !! This is the dome of St. Peter's. You can get up to the balcony for a wonderful view but neither of us were in climbing moods and of course we had to stick with the tour group. It was difficult to get a good picture of it from any place we were at but I've seen some so it must be possible. The best shots are from inside it anyway.

Here we are inside. This is an amazing place, as most churches in Italy are. They had the best materials, most beautiful marbles and statues. The craftsmanship was only the best as the church had all the money. You would think that the value would wipe out the debt of the country a few times over at least. Must not get into the politics of the country though. Our tour director and one guide let us know what they think of the Euro situation and their leader Berloucosci (sp). Good for some laughs but it got tiring after a while. Not a word about their churches though. We were told the pope was coming home in a day or two but some from our group went back in the afternoon and saw him sitting outside on his balcony.

Now how is this for making a statement???  It was so beautiful and very, very long. The tapestries on the walls were huge but you hardly noticed them because of the ceiling. There are stories from the bible and the history of the country all laid out in the pictures and sculptures, it's mind boggling. Sure boggled my mind anyway. If there is anyone who wants more shots of anything I show here, let me know and I'll email them. If I put them all in I'd never finish this blog.

As you can see, I found the ceilings far more impressive than the walls. I hope you can see the details when you enlarge the photos.

THE DOME!!  If you are wondering why I didn't get pictures right under this it's because beneath it is the High Altar. I think you can get closer but there was a mass or something going on so the area was roped off.

This is another dome that I was able to get right underneath. I wasn't afraid of falling over backwards with all this looking up, the place was packed and there was no room to fall over. If you do go to these popular places, spend the money and get a tour, it will save hours of standing in line and you will have things explained to you about what you are seeing. You may not remember but in the moment it will be worth it.

The High Altar. My wonderful husband is on the other computer digging up some facts for me to include with my photos. The altar is made of solid bronze pilfered from the Pantheon. Even the Romans and the church did some stealing you know. Lots of the sites we find incredible now have been stripped by leaders of the time for materials for new projects. Now on the floor in front of this altar and leading the length of the building is a nave made of marble (everything is made of marble there)  with markings all along denoting the size of the nine largest cathedrals in the world for comparison to the size of St. Peters. None of them come close to the length of this building. Size really does matter.

This beautiful door is only opened once every 25 years. It is only opened during a holy year (jubilee) which occur every 25 years. The last time it was opened was in 2000. The message that it imparts is that God's mercy reaches out to mankind's frailty.

Looks like statues doesn't it. This is another ceiling painting, the whole room was full of them and they are all two dimensional. What you see are shadows giving the pictures depth. Even being in the room it is hard to believe they are flat as a pancake.

Here's a three dimensional one for you. It is a crypt and that's all I can tell you. I thought it was special.

The Pieta

This one is behind glass, thus the line cutting the picture in half. Some nut with "mother issues" attacked the statue with a hammer and destroyed the left side of Mary's head and broke her arm off. You can not tell, it was repaired so well. That started the rash of copies being presented to the public and the originals are all safely stored away and out of reach.

This is Marissa. She was our guide for the Vatican and is an academic with the most incredible knowledge of everything you see. She is about 4 foot 8 and around 70 years old but larger than life. She would be so disappointed that I don't remember all the wonderful information she gave me. Here she is stopping a group of speeding motorcycles so that her "darling bambinos" can safely cross the street. When Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine chapel were being restored and almost finished, Marissa was one of five people chosen,because of her knowledge, to go up and lie on her back as he did when he painted the ceiling, and she got to clean a small portion of the picture. Her greatest honor in her life. Pictures are not allowed in the Sistine chapel so that is why there are none here.