With the reports warning of possible rain, we decided today would be a great time to visit some of the indoor spots. So we boarded the Metro to Republica and made our way to Santa Maria degli Angeli.
The church was enormous. Like everything else that is "very old", the builders made sure to communicate their intentions of creating a space so massive, it felt like the heavens were on just the other side of the brilliantly colored stained glass in the ceilings. The entrance is two separate bronze doors that depict the death and rebirth of Christ in some pretty heavy symbolic images. Just inside, you are greeted by a large statue depicting Lucifer. The twisted and blackened angel form is emaciated and grotesque, holding within him a few shards of crystal the size of tennis balls. These crystals perhaps signifying the last fragments of beauty that scars a completely deformed figure.
The main interior is massive, with ceilings that are a good 50-60 feet high [at the very least], but don't quote me...they could be taller. In the three main wings was a gigantic pipe organ that itself was about 3-4 stories tall. There was also a main chapel area for prayer, and other chambers with treasures of their own. These included an exhibit of the origins of the pendulum, a shrine to Santa Maria degli Angeli and the [about] 3 feet tall marble head of a blindfolded Jhon the Baptist once we had our fill of the church, we went to go see Museo Nazional Romeo.
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| From Italy Honeymoon |
This is where many of Rome's priceless sculptures from Ancient Rome are kept and preserved. Countless busts, wall fragments, broken fountains and high class objects, along with endless marble and bronze statues. The statues preserved the ancient Roman perspective of everything from women and men, soldiers and athletes, as well as rulers and gods.
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| From Italy Honeymoon |
In the lower floors were three special exhibits. One was a large exhibit on the origins of Roman money. Hundreds of coins told the story of how the currency evolved from thick bronze discs the size of sand dollars, to tiny gold pieces, and eventually the common money of the past couple hundred years. The second exhibit we saw was on scepters and their adorned tops. Lots of metal and crystal toppers made up this smaller room.
The last one included the complete mummified remains of a young Italian girl. They think her to be about 5 years old at time of death [using mitochondrial DNA analysis to define her origins and ancestors].
All done with with the Museo Nazional Romano, we decided to poke around the streets. We found our way to the front of the Teatro dell' Opera, and then to another very large church: Santa Maria Maggiore. This church was neat in that it was obviously designed for pilgrims to Rome. Every language you could think of was supported by one or more of the about two-dozen confessionals. Before leaving, we noticed a paper back booklet on one of the benches. It appeared they had provided a service earlier that day, and this was one of the service guides that someone had used. It was full of prayers, passages and songs. So, before leaving, we claimed our little souvenir and headed out for some much needed lunch.
We decided to try a more practical lunch today. Sarina noticed a rather large, open resturante that many of the locals seemed to be using within the train station. When in Rome... I followed Sarina to go check it out and we found a kind of cafeteria style place that was feeding everyone from business people to priests. The food was a great price and it was very satisfying. Before leaving, we picked up an item we found was necessary: a compass. Too often the maps are less clear than simply finding a landmark and pointing yourself in the right direction.
We got back onto the Metro and went out to Piazza Barberini. At this point we were certain that the possibility of rain had vanished, and was replaced instead by more heat and sun. However, one thing we wern't prepared for was a random Metro strike. Apparently these are as random and frequent as car crashes on the Highway 101 back home. This didn't mean the end of the world, but it did mean it would take twice as long to get on a train and the Metro itself was going to close at 9pm instead of the 1:30am we had been counting on.
Once we arrived at Barberini, we hunted down the former mansion of the Barberini family. Here was the site of the present day National Gallery of Ancient Art. once inside, we were delighted with a large collection of very famous and very beautiful paintings from the Renaissance period. Even the walls and ceilings were examples of commissioned artistry. The great hall of this former home of the Barberini family had a ceiling that resembled what you would see in the chapels in the Vatican. Sarina and I learned the hard way tho, you can't take photos or video in this place. They are extremely protective of these works and practically shut out all natural light that could harm them having had our fill of museums, we got back on the Metro and headed to the Spanish Steps. This art of the city keeps all the luxurious shops you can imagine. These include Dior, Prada, leather, crystal, gems, precious metals and of course...THE FERRARI STORE.
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| From Italy Honeymoon |
At the request of my friends, Ramiro nd Ashely, we ventured into the Ferrari fan-boy store. There were some fun displays to see [like a engine and a formula 1 racer], so it kind of felt like a mini Ferrari museum with a big shop attached. Before leaving, we dropped some dollars into some toys and made our way to the final stop of the day: Castel Sant' Angelo.
We walked along the river towards the castle. On the way, we came across another little church. And just next door, we found the very big palazzo di Guistizia. The building was massive, taking over a whole city block. Just beyond was a park, and we stopped at a water fountain to give our feet a break. While sitting there, a young boy broke free of his mother and ran to the water fountain. He cupped his hand and sprayed water on the parked car near him. His mother approached from behind with his younger siblings, took out a couple plastic drinking cups, and knocked him on his head. The sound like an empty cup hitting a hard bar top was enough to make Sarina and I laugh; thus curing us of our exhaustion and motivating her and I to Castel Sant' Angelo.
The castle was essentially divided into two parts: inside parts and outside parts. The inside was the place of precious art and painted walls. And with paint comes the inevitable NON FOTO. So, we had to restrict photos and videos to just the outside areas. one of the more important exhibits was a collection of art from several different periods that had been stolen over the past hundred years and had been recovered. These included paintings by the Renaissance masters, pages from ancient bibles, sculptures, ceramics, and even paintings by Picasso and Renoir.
At the top of the castle, we could see the entire city of Rome. Looking down at the foot of the castle, we saw in progress some kind of young girls gymnastics stage exhibition. It all felt very planned in light of Sarina's visit [almost like a welcoming home after generations away in America].
On our way out, we came upon some old wooden doors to the common areas of the castel. These doors only worked to solidify what we had been hearing about what Romans once looked like. In a word: short. The average height was 4-foot 8-inches. That's right! Sarina would have towered over them at a staggering FIVE FEET! With this information under our belts, it was very clear that Sarina was not short. She was simply born in the wrong Age.
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| From Italy Honeymoon |
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| From Italy Honeymoon |
On our way back to the Metro, we decide to take a road that would bounce us off the edge of the Vatican for a look at the arena of people still crowding before the main church steps. Along the road, at another unrelated chapel, bells were ringing and a crowd of smiling Romans, dressed in black formal attire, consumed the walkways. Apparently, we had crossed paths with a wedding that had just finished, with the bride and groom smiling and hugging everyone around them. It was a lovely sight, and made us think back to our own wedding that had just recently occurred.
Finally back at the hotel, we rest for an hour before getting some dinner. Deciding after dinner would be the best time to do some night photography, we packed up the tripod and head out to Trevi Fountain to find food. After dinner and a little gellato treat at the nearby 'Blue Ice' shop, we pace around the neighborhood, waiting for the crowds to dwindle a little bit. In the process, we find ourselves coming across an array of street actors and street artists. One man was folding strips of green husks into origami birds. Then there was a woman, surrounded by onlookers. She had a pallet of spray cans and paper shields she was using to create some quite good looking paintings.
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| From Italy Honeymoon |
By now we were at the Pantheon. Without a Metro line to take us home, we plotted a map course that would take us to several choice spots on the way for some night photos. We started at the Pantheon, then went to Trevi Fountain, worked our way through the street vendors [where Sarina bought herself a necklace], hit up the Fontana del Trione in Plazza Barberini, shot down to the doors of Santa Maria degli Angeli, and ended with photos of the Plazza della Republica and the fountain therein.
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| From Italy Honeymoon |
Thus ended our day. Time to get some sleep and do some more exploring tomorrow. Ciao till then.
1 comment:
Wow that painting was really cool.
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