"Are you ready to do your duty for Rome"

I wanted to finish the blog with the end of the trip.
Since the last blog, we have been to Templeton twice, San Diego for five days and Phoenix three trips. Finally, we are in Phoenix as our final home.

On Thanksgiving, we took the tourist challenge "how many sites can you do in one day". John suggests we tour the Colosseum and Forum in the morning and early afternoon leaving an attempt at the crowds of St Peter's Basilica until late afternoon since we have heard the crowds thin after 4:30 PM. Sounds tough but we know the Rome Metro system well by now. The plan makes sense.
As I have said before the Colosseum is magically. It is photogenic. The light seems always ideal. With each change of light - time of day, clouds, weather - the structure changes. Move around the oval building and the perspective mutates as you move.

Now that the kids are with us, we all take the tour of the interior of the Colosseum. "Out of Season"( November to April) is definitely the way to see these sites. I cannot imagine what the summer crowds and heat must do to people. It has to be an endurance race.

We literally walk in and within 5 minutes are climbing the steps.

I have to mention "the steps" in Italy. Now, we all know that today's men and women are about 5-6 inches taller than men and women of Roman times (sorry Pat Robertson, Jesus was not 6 feet tall with brown hair). In Roman times, the steps were covered with marble, granite or stone which would have made them less steep. (Box seats got marble, the plebeian got stone - not much different than the new 49er stadium). But, still these steps are ridiculous. They are 8-10 inches high. No two steps at time. Wilt would have trouble running these steps. They are also narrow. You are winded at the first flight and praying that you will not embarrass yourself by stopping to rest or look for the elevator (no elevator).

With today's Colosseum, it is almost impossible to visualize the interior (Pompeii's much smaller Colosseum is ideal for understanding the architecture, the crowd control etc). What you do understand quickly is the size. It is Rome and all things Roman.

You understand the brilliance of Roman Architecture. Concrete, brick and stone. No steel. No problem. They used the "hidden arch" to create a superstructure. A series of arches were built and then filled with mortared brick. Other times, the Romans used compacted dirt and stones to fill voids. Where the Greeks used stone and then a façade of marble, the Romans would build an exterior of brick and mortar; fill with dirt or debris and cover with marble. Less expensive. The Romans shopped at Costco. It was common for the Romans to tear down and rebuild using materials from other demolished buildings and monuments. I guess the Popes were more like Caesar than I thought.

The Colosseum was a continual work in process. The area in which the Colosseum exist is like a modern sports complex. A quick stroll from the Colosseum and turn to the right takes you to the Circus Maximus for the races (it is about a half mile long). Today, the area is a grassy half mile long indenture in the ground. A stroll to the left of the Colosseum takes you to the Baths of Caracalla (never heard of him either). This Roman Bath is huge. Visualize an area now occupied with several vineyards planted in between the ruins. Ruins that 5-6 stories high. Caroline and I walked the length and it has to be 3/4 of a mile. If you were bored, the Romans supplied their version of "Washington Square - "Bughouse Square". A place were orators would practice their professions (think Jake Tapper and O'Reilly).

Obviously, you are aware that this was a place of waste, inhumanity, brutality and treachery. The Colosseum was built with the loot and the enslaved of Jerusalem. Intellectually you can remove yourself. But, even though Christians were not feed to the lions at the Colosseum (that is Nero's Circus Maximus across the river where St Peter's Square), the sense of 70,000 people screaming, eating and drinking (the Romans did have a cut off policy for service) as they watch men and women die for simply not being of Rome.

The Caesars learnt that an exhausted mob is a happy mob. The populace of Rome lived in squalor.
Wooden tenements, often 7 stories high with no heat and water. All waste was thrown into the street and flushed down to the Tiber (Rome needed the Aqueducts for fresh water). That is one reason there were so many taverns and food stalls in ancient Rome. No place to cook. (Somewhat similar in today's Rome. Italian rooms - hotel and apartments - are not large and Italians eat out a lot.)

Families lived in one room that averaged 10 ft by 10 ft. Sickness, filth, disease and crime was life.
The average life expectancy was 30. Fires were a common disaster.

Yet, the Colosseum is beautiful.

And, before we get too morally outraged, mankind in the vast majority still live in conditions that are just as ruthless. I am not referring to Africa. Take a look at the conditions in the democracy called India.

Late morning, we tackled the Roman Forum. I had bought a book at the Colosseum bookstore which depicts the structures as they appeared in Rome times. Even with that visual assistance it is impossible to truly grasp what and where this temple or that temple was. In most cases, you are looking at foundations and footings. In those cases, where there are identifiable structures the columns or walls have been erected by archaeologists as if a puzzle of 100,000 pieces. And as with puzzles, if the piece does not fit, trim.

The Roman Forum (there are a number of Forums in this area - Trajan's Forum, Augustus Forum, for example) is adjacent to the Palatine Hill and Capitoline Hill (two of the remaining seven hills that are still identifiable as hills). We discovered that Caesar was not slain at the steps of the Senate but at the Theater of Pompey about a mile away (apparently, the Senate was being repainted). We see the half oval where Augustus interred the ashes of Caesar. We do see the outline of the grandeur in the single remaining building which has not been destroyed by Huns, Goths, Tourists and Popes. It is, of course, a church. It is not a attractive building and has been modified over the centuries.

Actually, for the number buildings that there are in the Forum. The buildings appear to have not been large. Massive, they are and imposing granted. Remember the Romans had structural limitations on the weight bearing and the distance that could be spanned by the "arch". The Romans still relied on Columns to hold up the roof's cross beams.

Still it is remarkable to think of that the Roman engineers used scaffolding, pulleys, bricks and concrete forms to build.

By early afternoon, we are exhausted. My legs and back are demanding "no mas". When you are that tried you see but do not see. We had lunch of sandwiches between the Colosseum and the Forum. But, that had long past.

We all agree it is time to leave. Come back another time. If you ask where to "again" - Rome and Paris. Tuscany also - but for different reasons - we did not even touch the area and Tuscany needs to be seen in the spring or summer. We were late. Next time.

We agree to give St. Peter a try. St. Peter's is take "B" train to Termini (the Rome Grand Central). then the "A" train to St. Peter's. In 20 minutes, we are walking to St.Peter. It is 4:30.

Caroline observes a guy give a woman a real nasty look as we cross the street. Caroline then informs me that woman looks more like a guy. I only see her walking in front of us. Nice legs.

I mention this because of where she was purposely walking. She was walking to church. I wish religions - at least, their practitioners were as "Ecumenical" as they say they are. "To the least of my brothers (I add sisters)...."

We enter St Peter's Square. There is no line. I now have experienced Moses dividing the red sea. Within minutes we are through the metal detectors and into the Basilica. Michelangelo's Pieta is to the right as you walk in. Protected by a plastic shield and the crowd, the Pieta remains at a distance. Maybe it is the distance; the frequency at which we have seen unfinished works attributed to Michelangelo, or the number of Pietas we have seen in two months, I am not overwhelmed. Michelangelo's David is everything and more.

St. Peter's is the end of the journey in church architecture. Beginning with the medieval Norte Dame; through the transitional churches of Milan and Siena: to the Renaissance of the Duomo in Florence and now ending with the Mannerism/Baroque of St. Peter, we have traveled well.

The word "gaudy" comes to mind. You are impressed by the skills and execution of the art. It does not move you emotional. It is humbling. You do not think of God as caring and personal. But, someone you do not want to piss off.

Although Michelangelo is constantly attributed with St Peter's dome and therefore, the general architecture ofBasilica. The Basilica was substantially the work of Berini and was completed in 1626.

Interesting facts, St Peter's is built partially from material from the Colosseum. The Saints that ring the Square are Berini's favorite 144 saints. St. Peter's is built on the site of Nero's Circus Maximus. The obelisk in the center of the square was alleged to have been the focal point of the Circus.

I did not kiss the toe of the statue of St Peter. It is reported that they did find bones of a middle age man buried near the main altar within the foundations of the original St. Peter's. Yep, this is the second St Peter's.

We remarkably finish our stroll around St Pete's about the same time. As we approach the doors to leave - honest - the heavens part and the rain stops. Take that TV weathermen of the world and Tom Skilling.