Spanish Steps

Quite simply, the Spanish Steps (Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) are a bunch of steps built around 1725 that link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See. At the top of the steps is the French Church Trinità dei Monti completed in 1585.

Some say that the 138 steps pictured are the longest and widest staircase in all of Europe.





At the base of the steps is the Fountain of the Old Boat (Fontana della Barcaccia). It is a fresh water fountain built in 1527. As pictured below, some people choose to step across a short bridge to drink from the fountain. Apparently, the purpose of this is to cure you of everything that keeps you healthy.

Trevi Fountain

This is the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) it is hidden in an open area amongst a group of 4-5 story buildings. The fountain is actually built into one of the surrounding buildings. Standing at 85 ft high and 65 feet wide, the Trevi Fountain is the largest and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains in Rome.








Trevi fountain is appearently also a great place to meet the Statue of Libertia. For the 20-minutes that I was visiting the Trevi fountain, this lady was standing in this exact position. She seemed oddly annoyed at the attention that she was getting. I even received a little glare when I began videotaping her.

HON Ad

My previous employer is really taking a new (or really old) angle on advertising.

Alex was Right

Alex has been reading too much about Roman history. Before leaving home, she told me that she was worried about how dangerous Rome is. I assured her that Rome is safe and the centurions were no longer a threat.

How wrong I was…

Crosses...

It's kind of crazy... I think that I could stand anywhere in Rome and be able to spot multiple spires and domes topped with crosses. Yet, in most cases, the churches beneath them are dead and hollow.

The Coliseum and Surrounding Broken Stuff

It looked just like in the pictures...


Intrestingly, the Coliseum (Amphitheatrum Flavium) was built around the time that Luke wrote the book of Acts. I can imagine that the morter was hardly set before Christians were martyred in this place.





I didn't realize how much has been done over the years to try to repair this structure. I was a little let down by the quality of their workmanship.





FYI





The arch of somethin'





See if you can find the following places on the map above.

Hardheads

I don't know who these guys were, but they must have been important!

St. Peter's Basilica

After flying from Wichita to Atlanta to Paris to Rome (with only 30 minutes of sleep) , we though the best thing to do would be to take a four-hour tour of Rome. The first place that we stopped was Saint Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano). The structure is huge, covering 5.7 acres and contains work by Michelangelo.

There were pilgrims from all over the world walking around the square and waiting in line to go inside.

The Pope even has his own Jumbotron (actually four of them).

It is an unbelievably imposing place when you walk in. There is hand carved marble, massive murals, gold leaf, and staues everwhere place you look. I don't think that there is a plain, flat piece of woos or stone anywhere in this place.

One thing that is really cool about this place is the way it is lit. Some corners are so dark that you almost have to squint, while other places are bathes in sunrays. I think that I took a dozen pics of lightbeams, but this one is my favorite.

Or this one...

or this one...

So, while I was in this incredible building which is supposed to bring glory to God, I felt like I should sit down and pray or something. It was surreal. After standing there waiting for the Holy Spirit to guide me, I realized that I feel closer to Him when I am praying with Pam, or the kids, or at Perspectives, or a number of other places. I started thinking about how much this building must have cost and how the church obtained the money. When walking out, I couldn't help but think that this building (for the most part) brings glory to institutionalized religion. This place and the grounds is filled with statues of mere men (look at the pics again). I know that sounds harsh, but I did not fell God's presence there (no matter how hard I tried).

Blog Anew

For some reason I cannot find my old Blog (probaably because Ilast posted on it when I was in China 18 months ago). Regardless, here is a record of my first trip to Italia.

Ceio (I think that's chow)