Now we are in Rome, the part of our trip which I have been looking forward to the most. The city is much different to Athens and seems a bit nicer than Athens. I particularly like the roads and footpaths. The roads are made from black bricks rather than just flat black tar in NZ. SPQR (Senatus PopulusQue Romanus - the Senate and the Roman people) can be seen many times on covers in the footpaths. However, this does seem a bit depressing as it seems that when you step on them, you are stepping on the once great Roman republic and empire, symbolising its downfall.
While in Rome, many churches have been seen. All have been magnificent inside, something which the outside does not always indicate. The roof of Il Gesu was incredible and actually looked like people were falling from the sky. The Vatican was also incredible. Photos were not allowed in the Sistine Chapel so we could not take any of Michelangelo's amazing work on the ceiling. St. Peter's Basilica was enormous inside and spectacular to see. After paying €5.00, I climbed up the dome for some great views down into the church and then even higher for some views across the city.
Mentioning churches rises another point. Some of the Greek and Roman buildings we have seen have been ruined by their conversion into churches as I would much rather see them intact in their original state. The Parthenon was converted into a church, then a mosque. Supposedly the sculptures on the temple were torn down because they were symbols of the Pagan religion. The gates of the Pantheon in Rome (which originally came from Corinth) were melted down and refashioned by Bernini into a sculpture in St. Peter's Basilica. The Pantheon itself was converted into a church. I wish that people had respected other religions more and built their own churches rather than modifying the Greek and Roman temples.
So far I have been sufficiently whelmed by Rome. I was underwhelmed by the Circus Maximus, which is now only a piece of grass with stones, bearing no sign of its use as a racetrack by the Ancient Romans other than its shape. I was overwhelmed by the amount of tourists at the Trevi fountain, the Vatican and the Coliseum. Bucko said that the time spent in queue at the Vatican was longer with the first group even though we were there for what seemed like ages. Also overwhelming was the colossal Coliseum itself. Again I wish it was complete and not destroyed by quarrying.
Food in Rome has been great. I have managed to have pizza for every lunch and dinner except one. The lemon sorbet gelato I had was really really really nice. There are some weird things they put on pizzas which I have never seen before such as potato. Despite the previous run of sunny weather, it actually rained while we were in the Vatican and there was some impressively loud thunder.
Only two more days in Rome, although one is spent in Naples and Pompeii. Feet are sore from walking around everywhere. For now the Legio Grammatica marches on to its next adventure.
