Eternal Rome Through Civitavecchia

After we departed Drubronik, Croatia we were at sea for a day at which time we sailed through the Messina Strait.

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The Strait of Messina is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Silicy and the southern tip of Calabria in Italy.

Early the next morning we docked in the port of Civitavecchia. Civitavecchia is the ancient central Italian port that serves the city of Rome which is about 80 kms distant.

To say I was excited about visiting Rome is an understatement. Both my maternal grandparents were born in Northern Italy and were very well traveled. I remember my Grandfather (with whom I was very close) telling me stories about Rome and his visits to the Vatican. But to actually be there and see it... I was in a state of awe.

Our first stop was the Vatican. Here is a picture the entrance to the Vactican Museum. The Vatican is its own sovereign nation where the Pope is its temporal leader. Interestingly, the Vatican is the only counrty in the World where Latin is still the official langauage.

This is the courtyard leading into the Vatican museum. You can see Arnaldo Pomodoro "Sphere Within a Sphere" sculpture. Its actually a fascinating sight. The center globe remains stationary while the outer globe rotates around it. It is supposed to symbolize how the church remains the immovable center of the world.















I loved the ceilings of the Vatican museum. This is a rather narrow hall lined with priceless art.



















A view of the Papal gardens.















There is an obelisk in the center of St. Peter's Square which marks the spot where St. Peter was crucified upside down for being a believer. He requested this because he did not want to be crucified in the same manner as Christ out of respect. In any event, this piece of art shows the transport of the obelisk from the Valley of Kings in Egypt up the Nile. A picture of the obelisk is below.







What I find curious is how and why there is an ancient and pagan Egyptian obelisk in the center of St. Peter's Square. And why use to it to commemorate such a sacred place?











Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica. Notice it is behind glass that's for protection from further attack. On May 21, 1972 (Pentecost Sunday) a mentally disturbed geologist named Laszlo Toth walked into the chapel and attacked the Virgin with a geologist's hammer while shouting "I am Jesus Christ."

By the way, Italians are always very quick to point out the proper pronunciation of Michelangelo's name which is not "Michael" Angelo as Americans are prone to saying. It is "Meekel" Angelo. Speaking of Michelangelo you will notice that there are no pictures here of his famous Sistine Chapel which is gorgeous. We did visit the chapel but there are no photographs allowed. I asked why because you can freely take pictures anywhere else on Vatican grounds. I was told that in there are restricted photos for copyright reasons which apparently were sold to a Japanese TV network NHK in exchange for funding of restoration of the Chapel. You can read the whole story here.


I did find this public domain photo of the "Creation of Adam" panel of the ceiling compliments of the Web Gallery of Art.








This is a photo of the enthroned St. Peter. It is custom to touch the feet of the statute as you walk be and ask for St. Peter's blessing.














Not really the best photo but I was most interested in the the depiction of the Holy Spirit in the form of a stained glass dove above the High Altar. Here's the thing: it's wingspan is 6 feet across. BTW the Pope is the only one who can say Mass at the High Altar. However, there are Masses being said at one of the many chapels within the Basilica most all day.








The baptismal font within the St. Peter's















An interior view of the doumo. In any event, my visit to the Vatican was a deeply moving and (dare I say) spiritual experience. They say that the Basilica was built with such great beauty to represent heaven on earth. After having been there I can see that...








A picture with one of the Swiss Guards. Their colorful uniform design compliments of Michelangelo.













External view of the Basilica.















St. Peter's Square with obelisk and exterior of the Basilica. From here we headed back to the bus en route the Coliseum. We saw some cool stuff along the way (below).












The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building inRome, initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.









The Tiber River.















The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) is a monument to honor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy.












Same. Supposedly the Allies called this monument the "Typewriter" when Rome was liberated during WWII. Many Romans took to the name.












Exterior of the Coliseum.














The first Triumphal Arch built by Constantine to commemorate his victory in liberating the city from his co-emperor Maxentius in a bloody civil war.












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The interior of the Coliseum.