Heart of Italy in 9 Days
Our 20th Anniversary Trip
"We Inhabit the Past..."
"We inhabit the past..." "We inhabit the past..." Over and over again our wonderful tour guide stressed this to us, and before long, it totally made sense! We'd turn corners and see ancient ruins as part of houses, gorgeous marble facades and fountains, and the Pantheon peeking out between two modern buildings. We were continually blown away by the integration of the ancient with the present right in the middle of people's everyday lives. And we began to wonder if we weren't tourists, would we even notice?!
Vatican City: The Magnitude and the Minutia
Wow. The sheer size of St. Peter's Basillica, the gold plated opulence on the walls and ceilings, the massive art collections and the depth of history in the Vatican City made the visit SO worthwhile. We gained a new appreciation for the impact the Holy Roman Empire had on Rome and the world, and saw first-hand the places steeped in the traditions of the Catholic faith.
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While the magnitude of what we were seeing was sinking in, it was the minute details along the way that impressed us the most. What looked like paintings from far away turned out to be delicate, precise mosaics or carefully woven tapestries. The detail in Michelangelo's Pieta was unbelievably realistic. And, the Sistine Chapel? Now I get it. It's not just a painting on some church ceiling! After learning about the fresco style, the effort it takes, the skill and attention to detail required to make it look good from the ground and seeing the results, our un-artsy, engineering brains stood in awe and said, "Wow!".
Ancient Rome Brought to Life
There's something about walking in the same place people did 2000 years ago that brings history alive in a way a textbook just can't. We are not history buffs, and substituted math classes for history whenever possible; however, the ruins at the Forum and Colosseum captivated and intrigued us. We were standing in the birthplace of democracy and could picture the political debates and assassinations (Et tu, Brute?) taking place. We realized just how advanced the society was to have built the Colosseum for the entertainment of the masses, and could practically hear the crowds as we climbed the steps into the arena.
It was impressive to see first hand the effects the flooding and rebuilding cycle had on the buildings' architecture, and we began to appreciate what an amazing sight it must have been during the buildings' prime, glistening marble facades, gilded doors, statues and columns. The fact that many of these massive buildings are still standing after 2000 years is astonishing, and knowing they were built with far less technology than we have today made the two of us pause and really appreciate what we were seeing.
