Stopping on Capitoline Hill we had a sweeping panorama view of the
city of Rome with the magnificent structure of the Colosseum commanding the
valley below. The ruins of Rome’s forums narrate daily life and business in the
Republican and Imperial ages. It was under its first emperor Augustus 27BC
–14AD that ancient Rome achieved its maxium splendour with baths, temples,
colonnades, triumphal arches and the forums. The common people lived in true
‘multi storey apartment’ buildings. Later the entire city was completely
transformed. Wood and brick were replaced by materials destined to survive –
durable marble and various stones. Most stone buildings, since my last visit,
are beautifully restored. Rome in indeed is a source of inspiration for all who
traverse the marble steps leading into cobbled streets.
Emperor Constantine 303 – 327 granted
Christians freedom to worship and the Roman
Catholic Church seized the
opportunity and consecrated Rome as the seat of its Church. We visited the most
famous church, St. Peters passing through the Holy Door opened in 2016 by Pope
Francis for the Holy Year – Year of Mercy. Numerous chapels, all splendid in
one way or the other, line the perimeter of the Basilica. The Chapel of the
Pieta named after Michelangelo’s famous marble sculpture depicting a very young
Mary holding the body of her son Jesus is truly magnificent. We touched the
feet of the imposing statue of St Peter - the wooden base according to pious
tradition was used by the apostle Peter as a chair. The bronze Baldacchino by Bernini over the Papal altar; the
decoration of the piers of the dome with four large statues and the placing of
the throne of St Peter at the back of the apse is splendid.
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| Valerie Gately & Anne Finnch |
From the door of St Peters we had a commanding
view of the great Square designed by Bernini. In the center is the great Obelisk
with two fountains, one on the right and one on the left.
We viewed the familiar sites in the Square –
the window from which the Pope gives his weekly blessing and the balcony from
which the election of a new Pope is announced.
The Vatican Museum hosts the splendid
collection of art assembled by various Popes. I particularly enjoyed the
Tapestry Gallery depicting scenes from the Life of Christ. This gallery led us into the Sistine Chapel.
This is perhaps the greatest artistic achievement of all times. Michelangelo
famed artistic master of the Chapel completed the frescos in two phases. It is
a rectangular Hall with a barrel shaped vault painted by him. The vault was
originally blue and strewn with stars until Michelangelo transformed it. The
stories of Genesis predominates beginning from the one above the altar, they
are: God dividing the light from darkness, God creating the sun, the moon
and plant life, God dividing the waters and the land and creating the fishes
and the birds, the incredible famous Creation of Eve from Adam’s rib, The
Temptation and Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, the Flood and
the Drunkenness of Noah.
Twenty five years later 1536-1541Michelangelo
returned to the Sistine Chapel and created a new fresco The Last Judgement
which covers the whole back wall.
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| Trajan's Column |
We had a full day’s excursion to Ancient
Rome, to the Colosseum, the largest amphitheater built in Rome. In 80AD it held
magnificent spectacles and games which lasted a 1000 days at a time – contests
between gladiators, hunts of wild beasts and martyrdom of Christians when up to
50,000 spectators looked on. Access to seats was based on social class, the
higher up the seats, the less influential the occupants. Gladiatorial combats
were enormously popular as we saw from the huge arenas in the Roman Forum. It
was the impassioned spectators who decreed the survival or death of the
gladiator defeated after a ferocious no-holds-barred match: a mass waving of
handkerchiefs spared him especially if he fought valiantly, otherwise by
turning their thumbs down, spectators voted for his execution. The crowd’s
sentence was final. Crowns of laurel, money, honour and immense glory awaited
the victor.
We visited the Roman Forum an ancient place of
trade and barter where numerous shops and a large market-place was built as
well as a place for public ceremonies: It was here that the magistrates were
elected, the traditional holidays were kept and those charged with various
crimes were judged by a court. It was considered the secular, commercial and
religious center of the city in Augustus’ time. This great area has been
brought to life through careful restoration. We strolled through Palazzo
Venezia, viewed the Monument to Victor Emanuel 11, saw Circus Maximus from
which the Emperor watched spectacular chariot races and other contests.
Trajan’s Column on which is etched a spiral frieze narrating the exploits of
the Emperor with Basilica Ulpia in the background is majestic.
During
lunch break some of the group visited the Pantheon – the temple dedicated to
all Gods. This is the most extraordinary place in Ancient Rome. It is in
excellent state of preservation. Raphael, the painter is interred here. I
visited the San Luigi dei Francess Chapel close to the Pantheon where I had the
privilege of seeing 3 Caravaggio pictures
depicting the life of St Matthew –MAGNIFICENT.
This area of Rome is a delightful place where
people soak in the atmosphere – chilling out around the numerous fountains,
eating at the street cafes, enjoying the artists and the performers in the
plazas.
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| Trevi Fountain |
A thunderstorm struck in the evening as we were
about to depart from Trevi Fountain. Within minutes the streets turned to fast
flowing streams with vendors grasping the opportunity to make a quick euro
selling umbrellas and coloured waterproof ponchos. People sloshed through the
water behaving like children. Artists with smudged make-up rolling their cheeks
and musicians quickly abandoned their perches while waiters swept the
tablecloths of the tables. Some of our passengers had to strip in the bus such
was the drenching they received.
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| Montecassion |
Having recovered with no ill effects after the
wetting we received the previous evening we headed for the Abbey of
Montecassino. In 529 AD St Benedict founded the monastery. It was looked upon
as a place of holiness, culture and art. Many additional embellishments were
made through the ages and it was an imposing structure on top of the mountain
until February 15th 1944 during the final stages of World War 11when
it happened to be in the firing line between the American and German armies:
this place of prayer and study which had become in these exceptional
circumstances a peaceful shelter for hundreds of defenceless civilians was
reduced to a heap of debris within hours. Many refugees met their death. The
Italian State rebuilt the Abbey and maintains it to the splendour it is today.
At the entrance is the statue of the death of St Benedict who died standing
supported by two monks. It was a gift from the German Chancellor K. Adenauer.
The war cemetery holds more than 1,000 Polish soldiers who lost their lives in
the battle preceding liberation of the Abbey May 1944. The inscription on the
mountain obelisk reads ‘We Polish soldiers have given our body to Italy, our
hearts to Poland and our souls to God for our own and other people’s freedom.”
The cloister, 3 large bronze doors, the
decorated interior of the Basilica and the Chapel are impressive. The museum is
a treasure trove with golden ware from the Dark Ages. What impressed me most
was the variety and richness of the Book-bindings which show the love the monks
had for books especially those dedicated to the Word of God and liturgy.
Decorated pages from the manuscripts would remind one of our own Book of Kells.
Montecassino, the capital of monastic life in Western Europe is well worth a
visit.
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| Francis Blake, Patricia, Josephine & Brendan |
We stayed at the Ambasciatori Hotel in
Fiuggi an hours journey south of Rome. This is a tourist town famous for its
spa waters. Pope Boniface V111, Michelangelo, Kings, ambassadors and
politicians came to drink its famous waters which is filtered through volcanic
rock producing rich active substances which improve overall functionality of
kidneys and other body ailments. Italians come to drink the same medicinal
waters but for the delight of our stay was taking a 1euro bus ride high up into
the old medieval town of Fiuggi. This is a town immersed in beauty, charm and
restful peace of the old world. Armed with a map we were led up marble steps to
churches, abbeys, shrines, frescoes on walls, plazas, past peoples homes with
their distinctive old wooden doors, terracotta pots filled with flowers,
hanging baskets from balconies, numerous alleyways along medieval cobbled
streets and the added attraction of bronzed old men and women dozing in the
morning sunshine. We completed the morning activity with a leisurely lunch of
pizza, pasta, wine and cheeses at a street café while some shopped in the
market square.
The journey we took from Fiuggi to
Pompeii through the Campanai region in the dawn mist was magical - traveling
through highly cultivated areas with crops of ripening maize, olive groves,
vineyards, orchards of lemons and oranges, fields of potatoes and a variety of
vegetables stretching along the Appenine Range of mountains. Vesuvius and
Pompeiii share a common historical legacy due to the fatal eruption of the
volcano 79AD which caused the disappearance of Pompeii when it rained down
stone, lava and ash on its citizens burying them for centuries under a mountain
of rubble. We walked along the ancient streets and marble and broken pottery
mosaics pavements, passing by private homes and tradesmen’s shops, reading on
the walls the politicians slogans and the advertisements of nearly 20 centuries
ago and marveling at the wealth of some patrician residences. The plaster casts
of the bodies of those who were unable to flee the violence of the catastrophe,
the surviving objects, the walls, the cobble stones furrowed by the passage of
cartwheels and roads which still seem to ring with the everyday sounds of long
ago gives the strong impression of a moment in time suddenly frozen, stopped
short, but when visiting present day Pompeii comes back to life again.
The large remains of Theatres and
Amphitheatres are a reminder of the emphasis placed on theatrical performances
in by gone days. This prosperous,
lively unhibited city had numerous brothels in which women who nearly always
were of low class or from foreign countries carried on their ‘trade’. The wall
paintings in each room, featuring highly explicit erotic scenes indicated the
services offered by the prostitutes. The forum baths with underground heating,
hot water swimming pool and marble cold-water bath destined for ablutions are a
masterful work of engineering. After visiting several houses fellow travelers
declared Pompeii a truly remarkable place.
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| Assisi |
Our final destination was to Assisi and
Perugia in the verdant region of Umbria. Assisi is the birthplace of St Francis
and St Clare. The city is still enclosed by a mighty boundary wall and it
conserves the typical shape of a medieval village. We climbed to Rocca Maggiore
which stands out above the city. We visited St Francis’ Basilica and his tomb
crypt below. Buried beside him are 4 of his most dedicated companions. The architecture of the cathedrals is
amazing and a wonder to behold. Our visit to Perugia where we were just about
to enjoy the Etruscan walls the medieval churches and Baroque palaces was
curtailed when we had another down pour which sent us scurrying to the bus.
This short trip to Rome and the places we
visited afforded us sights and experiences that truly are once in a lifetime.
Roll on ‘Ancient Greece’ for our next trip abroad.
Mary Kyne
September 2016.
