Ancient Rome

Thursday March 10, 2011 Day 253

We explored modern and ancient Rome today. We started small, with the Triton fountain, which was pretty nice until we saw some other stuff. From there, we walked to the Trevi fountain, which was quite spectacular. We had no trouble finding it - we just followed all the rest of the tourists. From there, it was down past the Adriano Temple to the Pantheon, which was truly spectacular. It has been saved from destruction over the past 2000 years primarily because of its size - it has 23-foot thick walls, which must have presented a pretty formidable barrier to destruction in times past. The art work inside the huge dome is strangely inferior, but perhaps it is because the huge hole in the rotunda lets in the elements and either ruins the artwork or leads to the use of only mediocre paintings therein. The rotunda actually needs no artwork - it is such a wondrous piece, all on its own. The light pouring through the opening in the dome creates a fabulous light play on the curved walls of the dome such that the dome, in and of itself, is an amazing show. The outside is as ugly as the inside is beautiful - the squat dome is housed in a very ordinary brick casing which may have had, at the time of its construction, a marble façade, but which is pretty well destroyed today, except for hints of marble here and there, and some rather mundane reconstructions. It was here that I realized I did not buy any yellow ochre in my paint purchases on Monday. I will have to rectify that when I return home.

I love the way the light reflects up and down outside the circle,
and how the colors vary depending on whether the
portion of the rotunda is above or below the circle of light.

Outside the Pantheon is an Egyptian obelisk, apparently looted from ancient Egypt many years ago. In an act of sacrilege, someone has attached a cross to the top of it, which looks terribly incongruous. There is another Egyptian obelisk nearby, this one mounted on the back of an elephant. It, too, has a cross atop it, looking equally out of place on this piece of ancient Egyptian splendor.

From the Pantheon, we made our way down past the Sacred Area, an archeological site containing four temples of ancient Rome. Two of them have been partially reconstructed by archeologists - the other two remain mostly unrestored.

From there, we walked down to that icon of bad taste, the monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the king who unified Italy. I find it to be ugly and ostentatious and in very poor taste. I shall not dignify it with a photo here.

Then we entered the ancient historic area surrounding the Palatine hill. It is amazing beyond belief - an archeologist’s dream. Of course, the whole of Rome must be an archeologist’s paradise. This area is a vast graveyard of ancient artifacts. There are so many of them that it is no sacrilege for a few to be left for tourists to polish with their backsides and their touches and their caresses. It is truly incredible.