Rome- the Vatican

Yesterday we had of day 'off' from the crowds of Rome. We did some washing, caught up on the bookwork and did some research on parking areas for Bluey for our stay in Paris and Lille for when we take the Eurostar train to London in late August. As it turns out it is good we are looking so early as there is a major fair in Lille during this time.
Today we planned an early start with the alarm going off at 6am. The effort was well worth it, with us being able to walk straight through security when we arrived at 7:30am. 

We decided to first visit the Dome and bought the €7 elevator ticket, to save our feet for the rest of the day. As it turns out, we still had to walk up 360 steps! No pain-no gain. We were rewarded by being at the base of Michelangelo's dome that is 365m high. We had a terrific view down into St Peter's Basilica and a close up of the beautiful mosaics and artwork of the Dome.

At the very top we went outside and enjoyed  360 views of Rome. 

St Peter's Square.

The VaticanMuseum 

After a roof top stroll we took the lift down into the Basilica, where we followed Rick Steve's audio guide. We learnt some interesting facts. Constantine first constructed a church here in AD 324 over St Peter's tomb which was rebuilt esp. in the 16th and 17th century. The dominant tone is set by Bernini, who created the Baldacchino (the canopy and main altar over St Peter's tomb).

We touched the sculptured foot of St Peter. 

We admired Michelangelo's Pieta, a very powerful sculpture of Mary holding Jesus after his crucifixion.

Next to this was the Holy Door which is bricked up for 24 years until Christmas Eve of the Holy year.
There was also many other beautiful statues and naves to be admired.

We were lucky enough to go down to the Grottoes, where many popes are buried including St Peter's tomb. 

From here we went to the meeting point of our prepaid tickets to the Vatican Museum. We had bought these from the info point at the campground. Even though they may have been over priced at €27.50 ea, we felt they were worth it when we walked past the mass of people waiting in line.
Like most tourist here, we made a bee line for the Sistine Chapel. We shuffled our way with the throng through the amazingly beautiful Raphael Rooms, including the Hall of Constantine, the Room of Heliodorus, Room of the Segnatura and the Room of the Fire in The Borgo. Our necks were sore from all of the gawking at the ceilings. 

We also experienced some Greek art along the way.

We finally made it the the piece de resistance...we were lucky enough to find a place to sit down and plugged ourselves in to our audio guide to learn about Michelangelo's frescoes creation in the Sistine Chapel. A frescoe can only be painted on wet plaster render, so you can only imagine how painstakingly long this amazing work took (4 years). There is of course the famously known painting of Adam and God nearly touching fingers, being the creation of Adam. No photos allowed!

After this we wondered through nearly empty rooms of the museum, admiring paintings, Pope mobiles through the centuries and other artefacts before calling it a day.

We had a walk over to Castel Sant'Angelo, next to the Tiber River but felt too spent to visit inside. We made our way back to the Metro and to Bluey.

Rome- Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine

Stay:Village Flaminio camp ground

We had a early start today and got to the Colosseum by 8:15. We had a short wait of 15min before the gates opened and we were the first through the turnstile! We had downloaded the Rick Steves audio guide and found that it was comprehensive enough along with the information boards provided. We spent a couple of hours trying to imagine 55,000 people seated around being entertained by watching fights to the death of animal against animal, animal against man- usually the prisoner being sentenced to death, and man against man -the gladiators. It was all performed as a show and even sets and trap doors were used to create a scene. At main events there would be a death every 5min!
What is truely amazing is how the structure was built  within 10years. 

Arch of Constantine.

View of The Temple of Venus and Rome.

From here we went to the Roman Forum. This is a very interesting place with lots of information on the various buildings that once existed here. The first structure was the Arch of Titus that was built by 50,000 Jewish slaves the Romans had captured when they conquered Jerusalem. 

Walking along the Via Sacra where Julius Ceasar once walked.

The Temple of Saturn

The Temple of Antonius.

View of the Roman Forum.

We admired the vast vaults of the remains of the Basilica of Constantine, used for the administration of justice and business. It is said that European Basilicas were copied from this design.

We saw the mound that Julius Caesar was cremated. We also visited the area where the Vestal Virgins lived. They were selected from noble families before they were 10 and served for 30 years. They had to keep the sacred flame burning or they were whipped and if they lost their virginity they would be buried alive. 

All in all the area was a chaotic place, then and now, but remained the ceremonial centre of the city under the Empire with lots of temples and monuments.

From here we wondered into the Palatine which was once the residence of the emperors and aristocrats. According to legend this is where Romulus was brought up in the village  destined to become Rome.
Augustus was also born here. There was a stadium and many other ruins.
We also looked out onto the Roman city.
After some lunch we walked past the Forum of Augustus, including the temple dedicated to Mars the Avenger, and Trajan's Forum which was the equivalent of a modern shopping centre.

We then walked up the steps of Capitoline Hill and once again admired the bronze and marble statues. It is also where the tomb of the unknown soldier is buried. 

After walking up through the building and once again having a panoramic view of the city, we entered Santa Maria in Aracoeli which is famous for its gilded ceiling and frescoes. 

Then it was time for the madness of the public transport. After not being able to work out the bus to Piazza Flaminio, we took the Metro B at the Colosseum as we had come from this morning, only to find out that todays strike was still going on the Metro line A until 5pm. We were advised to take a bus. After asking several bus conductors we waited on the crowded bus for 15min. We had to change buses after 4 stops. We could not get on to the bus as it was so over crowded so we walked one bus stop back and still just managed to hop on. After the hot and squeezy ride we were able to catch our train in the allocated 100min. Ahhh Italy.....nothing that a cold shower and beer can't cure ...oh and a day off tomorrow.