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Rome in a day

We only had one day in Rome and had to make the most of it. Here we go!









These aren't that significant; but it just shows you some of the stuff that you see all over Rome.








This is the base of the Spanish Steps. Famed for being (at the time of completion) the widest and longest staircase in all of Europe.







Here are the steps themselves. Personally, I didn't see what made them SO special, but I'm not a history buff so maybe their significance is lost on me. In any event, the point of the Steps was to allow people a convenient way to reach the church (pictured at the top).












These two photos are of the STUNNING Trevi Fountain. It's very difficult (with the crowds and the space) to get in all of the magnificence of these fountains.



This is the Pantheon -- it is nearly 100% intact from the time it was built (125 AD -- reconstructed after a fire in 80 AD destroyed it). It is simply the best preserved Roman building in all of the city and means "Temple of all the Gods".





Here is one quick photo we snapped inside the Pantheon. There are many people buried there from many different time periods (such as Rapheal - the famous painter). It is now used as a church, with masses and WEDDINGS (if you can believe it) held there regularly.

Next to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, this Basilica -- St. Paul's -- is the next largest.

I'm not certain if this is meant to be a statue OF St. Paul, but you'll notice the ominous way he is carrying that sword.

These two photo's are NOT paintings. These are actually mosaics with individually laid stone / gem. I don't know how long it took to creat these master pieces, but they were amazing!

Michealangelo was commissioned to do 40 statues for St. Paul's cathedral. Unfortunately, he only completed this one -- a statue of Moses. A number of the other uncompleted works are found in the Effuzi Museum in Florence.

Finally, I found this to be a bit macabre -- I'm not certain what it depicts (our tour guide -- the only one we booked during our whole trip) did not elaborate on it, nor was he even allowed to speak inside the church!

Here is what I REALLY wanted to see in Rome -- the Colliseum! You'll no doubt recognize this ancient wonder of the world (if only from the movie Gladiator). The building was amazing to behold...but tough to take a picture, again because of the crowds. Cori and I would have loved to enter the building, but the line ups were hours long and we just didn't have time.

This is Emporer Titus' Arc of Triumph and is actually a historical document. The detail in the arch depicts a scene of slavery of Jewish individuals (in the time of the Old Testament). While that arc is spectacular, it pales in comparison to this one:

This is Emperor Constantine's Arc of Triumph. Much larger and more ornate than the first one, it was erected AFTER Constantine converted to Christianity (thanks to his mother). This led the way for the introduction of Catholicism in Rome and the real establishment of the Church. Finally, Christians were no longer persecuted for their beliefs!

posted by Team Shawn Michaels @ 11:58 a.m.