Day 5: Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Vatican & St. Peter's Basilica

 Day 5

We packed quite a bit in today! After breakfast, we decided to take a walk to the Spanish Steps. In the spring, they decorate them with the most gorgeous flowers! We had to take a few photos; we just couldn't get enough. 

While we were out walking, we might as well walk to the Trevi Fountain! It was very cool!

We had plenty of time to go home and change before we headed to the Vatican. On the way to the taxi stand, we grabbed a quick bite to eat. Italian fast food! We found a little spot that sold only two things - pasta with pork and pasta without pork. The line was out the door, and most everyone was local, so we figured whatever we got would be delicious! It sure was, too!

We were able to connect with Micaela, the tour guide who took Mom, Mark & Michelle, and the kids through the Vatican 11 years ago. She was a wealth of knowledge! We started in the Vatican where Micaela first took us to a replica of Vatican City. It is the world's smallest independent city/state. 

Then we went to the pinecone courtyard. The large bronze pinecone dates back to the second centuary and represents immortality and rebirth. The building behind it was actually designed to bring focus to the pinecone. As you can see in the last photo, the courtyard is very large. We were only able to capture a portion of the width of it.

Then we went to the pinecone courtyard. The large bronze pinecone dates back to the second century and represents immortality and rebirth. The building behind it was actually designed to bring focus to the pinecone. 

Micaela led us into a hallway with a variety of busts and statues throughout Roman history. She showed us the difference between Greek and Roman sculptures. In Greece, they sculpted the whole body, but the face was without expression. In Rome, they were sculpting just the bust but added expression and detail that the Greeks left out.

The sculpture below is the Apoxyomenos (The Scraper). It depicts a young athlete in the act of cleaning his skin after competition. He's using a strigil (a curved, spoon-like metal instrument) in his left hand to scrape away a mixture of sand, oil, and sweat from his extended right arm. It is celebrated as one of the first truly 3D sculptures in art history, designed to be viewed from all sides, breaking away from traditional frontal classical sculpture.

The statue below is a scene from the Trojan War: the Trojan priest Laocoön and his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus, being strangled by sea serpents. According to mythology, Laocoön was punished by the gods—who favored the Greeks—for warning his fellow Trojans against taking the wooden horse inside the city gates. The statue was discovered in 1506, but it's dated between 40-30 BC. It was a major influence on Renaissance artists, particularly Michelangelo.

There was a whole room dedicated to sculptures of animals. Look at the incredible detail!

Below is Hercules Mastai, a massive bronze (13 feet tall) statue found in 1864, it was found to be from 2nd–3rd century B.C.E. Hercules Mastai
is among the rarest and largest surviving bronze figures from antiquity, uniquely preserving its original gold finish.

Only the imperial family could use the red marble because there was very little of it, so it was very precious. This is Constantine‘s daughter's sarcophagus. The detail was absolutely amazing!

Just walking through the halls is amazing! Again, so many arches are put in for stability. Bryan took a panoramic photo of the ceiling in the Gallery of Maps containing a series of painted topographical maps of Italy based on drawings by friar and geographer Ignazio Danti. Everywhere we went, it was like eye candy all around us!

Above is the Holy Gate that is only opened during the Jubilee every 25 years. Pope Francis opened it at the beginning of 2025, and Pope Leo closed it at the end of 2026. Micaela said it was crazy! In a typical day, 25,000-30,000 people visit the Vatican, but during the Jubilee year, an estimated 90,000 visit each day. Holy cow! Micaela said she wouldn't even do tours last year it was such a mess! 

Next up, St. Peter's Basilica! It. Is. Ginormous! Paintings, sculptures, and engravings are everywhere. Having a tour really helped us make sense of all the aspects of it. Apparently, one Wednesday a month, the Pope delivers an address, which happens to be this coming Wednesday. All of the clear chairs are set out in preparation. 

What?! Wedding photos at the Basilica?! Micaela said the happy couple must be from a very wealthy family in a prominent position in Rome. Weddings at the Basilica are very exclusive, typically requiring special permission. The ceremony most likely happened before we arrived. What a treat to get to be part of their special day! You should have seen the large group of photographers taking all the photos! 

Above is the center aisle, and below I'm standing in the same place, turned to the left. Then another picture looking directly up at the ceiling. Seriously, every surface is a work of art in and of itself, and finally, a panoramic photo facing the opposite way. Looking at how tiny the people are, you can get a sense of the enormity of the sanctuary

Above is The Pieta sculpted by Michelangelo. It's of the Virgin Mary holding the lifeless body of Jesus after his crucifixion. It's so moving to see it up close! This is the only work that Michelangelo ever signed. Most Renaissance artists didn't sign their work due to a mix of humble devotion and the perception of art as a service to God or a patron rather than individual expression.

Above is a bronze statue of St. Peter sitting on a marble chair from the end of the 1200's. Visitors generally touch or kiss his feet, especially the right one, and ask for a blessing when visiting the church. The tradition started centuries ago, during which time millions upon millions of people have touched the feet. If you look closely at the right foot, you can see how worn out the toes are!

Many of the previous Popes have statues or monuments. The monument below is of Pope Pius VIII. The woman on the left represents strength, and the one on the right represents knowledge. I think it's interesting that Renaissance artists didn't sign their names because they felt their work was a service to God, but a Pope, whose service is supposed to be to God, had a sculpture made of themselves. Hmmm...

Below is the monument to Cardinal Giuseppe (Joseph) Albani. On top is Christ enthroned as well as St. Peter on the left and St. Paul on the right. Fun fact that I didn't realize, St. Peter is always holding keys, St. Paul is always holding a sword. It sure makes it easier to identify them!

The photo above looks like a painting, but it's actually a mosaic! It's Raphael's final painting, the Transfiguration. In the upper scene, Christ is transfigured in glory, with Moses and Elijah on each side and the apostles witnessing below. The lower scene shows the apostles' struggle to heal the possessed boy, the dramatic earthly counterpart to the divine scene above.

Below the mosaic is The Altar of Transfiguration. Underneath, you can see the body of Pope Innocent XI (reigned 1676–1689) preserved in a glass sarcophagus. Following his beatification in 1956, his remains were placed here for public veneration. His face and hands are covered in silver to help preserve and protect the remains.

There are so many different kinds of marble, so many paintings, mosaics, sculptures, columns, arches, and so much gold throughout St. Peter's. Honestly, you could go back several times and see something new each time!

Below is a mosaic of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. Beneath it is the baptismal they used to be used in the church. Fun fact, the Catholic church used to baptize by submersion. Who knew? Apparently, immersion was standard for over a millennium, but by the 12th-14th centuries, affusion (pouring) became the norm in Western Europe, though immersion still occurred. The shift was practical, not theological. It was driven by the rise of infant baptism, which made full submersion difficult, as well as convenience and hygiene. Pouring was recognized as valid in early times, such as in "cases of necessity" (e.g., sickness). The Catholic Church did not ban immersion and still permits it, acknowledging it as a "more expressive" symbol, but pouring/affusion is the standard method for infants. 

In fact, adults were primarily baptized in the 1st-century early church, as conversions were the focus. Infant baptism came about in the 2nd centuary and was standard by the 4th/5th centuries. Infant baptism nwas adopted because Theologies, particularly by St. Augustine, emphasized that baptism was essential to remove original sin, making it urgent for infants. There was also a high infant mortality rate, and parents wanted their children baptized quickly to ensure their salvation in case of death. Also, as Christianity became more established, the focus shifted from converting adults to bringing up the children of Christian parents in the faith.

Above, there are Swiss Guards protecting the gates. 

This is sweet, Micaela! We so enjoyed touring with her!

We sure worked up an appetite in our 3-hour tour of the Vatican and St. Peter's! We stopped by a cute little trattoria called That's Amore, and it was absolutely fabulous!

And of course we needed to follow that up with a little limoncello gelato!

What a day! From the Spanish Steps to the Trevi Fountain to Vatican City to a delicious meal and gelato. It was just perfect! 🩷

Day 4 Continued: The Colosseum

Day 4, Continued

Now that I'm rested, let's go to the Colosseum! 

First, a little history. Following the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, Emperor Vespasian brought roughly 50,000 to 100,000 Jewish captives to Rome. These captives were forced to build the Colosseum and transport stone from Tivoli to Rome. The massive, rapid construction (roughly 8-10 years) is often attributed to this immense, forced labor force.  The construction was largely financed by the spoils (treasures) taken from the Second Jewish Temple, the one rebuilt after the Babylonian capture (586 BC) by King Nebuchadnezzar. Many years later, King Cyrus of Persia came to power and made this proclamation in Ezra 1:2-4

“This is what Cyrus, king of Persia, says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”

In this way, the Israelites pillaged the Babylonians! However, during Rome's capture of the Israelites, Emperor Vespasian took all of the Israelites' treasures and used them to build the Roman Colosseum.

The Colosseum is a short distance from the forum. We were first met with the gate above. The Jewish slaves put their "signature" in a variety of places throughout the Colosseum. In the last photo below, you can see a menorah in the scene, one way of proving it was built by Jewish slaves.

Next, we walked through the gate below. There are gates at each end of the Colosseum, a Winner's Gate, and a Loser's Gate. This is the Winner's Gate, where the emperor entered, and the winning gladiators exited the Colosseum.

There are gates at each end of the Colosseum, a Winner's Gate, and a Loser's Gate. This is the Winner's Gate, where the emperor entered, and the winning gladiators exited the Colosseum.

The gate in relation to the Colosseum.

Originally, all of the Colosseum was covered in marble slab. Unfortunately, it was all stolen.

This is what the Colosseum looked like.

Here we are inside the Colosseum, the largest amphitheater in the world. Just walking in gives you pause - we were walking in the same halls where millions of people have walked for the last 1,954 years! The original name was the Flavian Amphitheater, named for Emperor Vespasianus Flavius, who built it in 8 years. An interesting fact is that the Romans used gigantic cranes to build the stadium. The stones used to build it weighed between 20 and 50 tons, so they tied two massive tree trunks together, connecting them to a gigantic wheel. With a hook, they strapped one end to the object being lifted and the other. to the top of the trees, making a sort of pulley to pull them up.

The Colosseum was originally held together by an estimated 300 tons of iron clamps and bronze pins, not mortar. These metal fastenings secured the massive travertine stone blocks together. The iconic holes seen today are the result of medieval scavengers digging out this iron and metal to melt down and reuse, creating a "Swiss cheese" appearance. 

We began the tour down, down, down underneath the stadium floor, where the animals that 

fought (lions, tigers, bears, (oh my!) hippos, rhinos, elephants, and leopards) were held, and the gladiators were preparing. We got to see examples of the armor the gladiators wore. 

Do you see that dagger-looking sword at the bottom of the picture on the right? It's called a gladius. Only the fighters who used that type of sword were called gladiators. Other types of fighters were Bestiarii, who fought wild animals; gladiatrices, who were female fighters; and venatores, who were trained "hunters" who staged more elaborate hunts with animals, often displaying specialized skill rather than just a fight to the death. There were also Damnaty, who were prisoners or criminals sent into the arena without weapons for execution.

You can kind of get a glimpse of the immensity of the stadium in the first photo above. It held between 50,000 and 80,000 people! That's about the same as Empower Stadium at Mile High. Crazy! I wonder if Empower Stadium was built well enough to last 2,000 years? Hmmmm... things to ponder. The second photo is part of a pulley system that was used to bring animals up to the stadium floor to fight.

The underground pathways went on forever! Bryan is showing us one of the 240 arches that are built into the Colosseum. Italo told us arches are what give the structure the stability it needed to stand the test of time. 

These bones were found inside the Colosseum to prove that animals were part of the games. Italo said the bouts were like WWE - they were all staged for entertainment. At noon was the first show where the fighters executed theives and criminals in a showy fashion. Later on in the evening were the games with gladiators and animals. Italo told us the Colosseum was used like this for about 500 years, six months a year for three days a week.

Next Italo brought us to the main level. Seating was on 3 diffreent levels. The emperor and his guests sat on the first floor of one end of the stadium, above the "Life Gate" where the winners of the bout would exit. You probably figured out that the "Death Gate" was at the other end where the losers were taken out.

If you look above Italo's head you can see the white stones, that's where the emperor and his guests sat.

You can see all of the pathways we walked through below the stadium floor. So much went on below grounds!

Look at all the arches!

This is the loser's gate that we could see through an exterior arch.

I can still hardly believe how huge it is, and that it's still standing! It's so much like Invesco Stadium, with the stadium seating, walkways around the exterior of each level of seating. 

As we left Italo had us look up at the ceiling where there was more proof that the Coloseum was built by Jewish slaves. Carved into the wall was a map of Jerusalem and you can even see crosses to the side.

This photo gives you an idea of how tall the outside arches were! 

That's a wrap of the Colosseum! What an amazing experience! Our brains are full, but our stomachs needed a little something so we stopped for apertivo at a cute little trattoria, La Follia. Just what we were looking for!

Ciao for now! 🩷