However, that said, I must say that there is a limit to language to describe all that is Rome. It's overwhelming and takes your breath away in so many ways - the Vatican, the Sistine chapel, Piazza Navona, the Trevi fountain, spaghetti bolognese, or the TRAFFIC! OMG I saw pedestrians step right in front of a truck and motorbikes would go right in front of the bus and disappear - I thought for sure I would hear bones crunching under tires -- and they would pop up on the other side. They have absolutely no fear in traffic.
We did a walking tour in Rome which was fantastic. Rome is layer upon layer of ruins and history, literally. When one civilization ended, another would come and build right on top of it. When they went to build a subway in Rome it was a nightmare because you stick a shovel in the ground anywhere here and it's automatically an archeological dig.
No matter how advanced or innovative we think we are it was all done here first in Rome, 1900 years ago. Over 1900 years ago Rome had 1.2 million people. They were handling crowds of modern day city standards back then. I saw ruins of ancient condominiums where people lived in apartment style living with shops on the lower level. Rome is the birth place of modern democracy and government. They had highway road systems with bridges, a network of plumbing, they developed currency for trade. At the colosseum it could hold 75,000 people, provide bathroom facilities for that crowd, allow for entering and exiting of that crowd in 30 minutes, they had corporate boxes sponsored by local merchants, and they could even flood the colosseum to allow for exhibits featuring boats and water sports. They had spas and baths that could handle thousands of people a day. Over 1900 years ago! Vegas has nothing on ancient Rome!
But of all of the breath taking views the Sistine chapel is true to its reputation. Just recently the chapel has been cleaned but instead of using solvents it was done with lasers which has revealed even more detail than was previously realized. The restoration was paid for by Fuji so you can't take pictures in the chapel as Fuji now has exclusive rights to photography there for a certain number of years.
Based on what I learned I would say that Michelangelo was a bit passive-aggressive. Apparently Michelangelo considered himself to be a sculptor, not a painter. He had been commissioned to decorate the Papal Chapel, originally with sculptures. He had spent a great amount of time at the marble quarries in Carrera picking out the marble pieces when Pope Julius changed his mind and said he wanted paintings instead. Michelangelo, obviously angered, put a likeness of the Pope on the ceiling adorned with horns.
But what the most recent cleaning has revealed is even another layer of meaning to the drawings. As a sculptor, Michelangelo had an amazing grasp of anatomy. You can look at some of the sculptures and the men are ripped! Every muscle is evident and defined. Apparently in Michelangelo's time autopsies and studying of anatomy of corpses was not allowed but somehow Michelangelo managed to do it - probably illegally. In some of the Sistine chapel drawings the cleaning has revealed very detailed renderings of anatomy. For example, in the center section famous for God reaching out to Adam, finger to finger, the shape containing the figure of God is like a human brain and neurologists point out the anatomy is accurate. Fascinating! Also, the additional detail is showing that in Adam's bent leg there is a shape of a woman. The thought is that Michelangelo was saying that we are all made of the same material and all touched by God. Amazing stuff. There are other anatomical features and many other stories but you'll have to come discover them when you come :)
The other fascinating place was the colosseum. I was actually dreading the tour of the colosseum because I had heard they sacrificed 1000s of animals and it was the sight of bloody battles. But the tour of the colosseum was more interesting than I had thought. As I mentioned already the Romans really knew how to handle crowds and the colosseum is ingeniously designed and when you think about the fact it was built over 1900 years ago, has been pillaged and plundered, pieces taken off to use in other buildings, 20,000 visitors per day, and a busy, rumbling Roman street circling it - it's a wonder. It set the stage (pun intended) for our modern day arenas - even the name - the colosseum stage was covered in sand - the word for sand is 'rena', therefore 'arena' means in sand. Very cool.
There is a darker side to Rome though. We were warned about pick-pockets, thieves, and beggars. They warned us of the many scams - carry your purse in front! don't open your wallet on the street! don't put things in your back pockets! Don't put your camera/cell phone on the table in a restaurant! don't accept anything from street people! don't look the gypsies in the eye! if a commotion occurs on the right, look left! if someone throws you a baby don't catch it! Geez, fortunately I experienced no mishaps that I know of. I did, however, see something that bothered me. There was this woman with a dog begging in one of the piazzas. The dog was sitting next to her and there was a small can of dog food in front of him. When someone would give her money she would take the lid off the dog food and let the dog eat. The dog looked shaky and hungry. I wanted to ring her neck but people would probably have given her more money for that.
So, I guess that's just all part of it. I can definitely say "VENI" I came! I can definitely say "VIDI" I saw! But, I think it will take at least another visit before I can say "VICI" - I think this time Rome conquered me!
My favorite, Piazza Navona
Trevi Fountain
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