Rome - Colosseum and the Arch of Titus

Steven walking toward the Colosseum. 
Just another ancient monument along the streets of Rome. 

Interior of the Colosseum.

After a tour of the immense Colosseo (Colosseum), an architectural marvel, but also the scene of much brutality, we walked next door to the Roman Forum, the seat of the Roman Empire.   The entrance to the Forum is marked by the Arch of Titus, a 50-foot arch that has inspired triumphal arches the world over, including the Arc de Triiomphe in Paris.  It also clearly shows that Rome was financed and built on the backs of the people it conquered. 

The (nearly) two thousand year old Arch of Titus 

The Arch of Titus was constructed in c. AD 82 by the Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' sacking of Jerusalem  in AD 70.

Interior of Arch of Titus.  Note the Menorah being carted away.

Wikipedia informs me the Arch provides one of the few contemporary depictions of Temple period artifacts, including a huge seven-branched menorah. Wikipedia also tells me that until Israel was founded in 1948, Jews refused to walk under this arch and the arch was never mentioned in rabinnical sources.  However, the Israelis had the final triumph, as the menorah in this arch served as the model for the menorah used on the emblem of the State of Israel.  As explained in the Jewish Virtual Library, "the menorah is returned from the Arch of Titus, where it symbolizes defeat, humiliation and disgrace, and is installed in a place of honor on the emblem of the State [of Israel]..."

Pompeii in a day

Bridge entrance to Pompeii (it was once a water port), and the resident guard dog

We did Pompeii in a day.  With high speed trains from Rome, plus the local train from Naples, it’s now quite doable (see previous train post).  While we were too exhausted to see the Naples museum that contains all the looted treasures of Pompeii, we still put a few miles in exploring the ruins of Pompeii.

One of many main thoroughfares in Pompeii.  

Close up of the paving. 
The small white rocks were the Roman version of reflectors.

Unexpected impression?  Pompeii was a big town.  And while there are signs, it’s easy to get lost.  As per usual, we hired a guide. Authorized guides round up to eight people right at the entrance, and if you get all eight, the cost is reasonable.  Our guide’s tour was in English, but he had the heaviest Italian accent of any guide we employed in Italy.  So, I may have missed some important points during the tour.  Our guide avoided the brothels (lupanar), which still have pornographic frescoes on the walls, and took us to some of the more luxurious villas in the town. 

Our guide at a neighborhood watering hole.
Each neighborhood had its own well. 

Another secret of this town – some of the frescoes and mosaics are recreations. (Though the frescoes pictured below are original.)  Pompeii has been excavated since 1748, and much of the good stuff has been carted away.  And though I thought all inhabitants of Pompeii had perished in the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, our guide told us most in town made it out in time.  (My official museum guide says otherwise.)

Frescoes in a gaming room.  Roman poker anyone? 

Fresco in a Pompeii mansion

For a gripping account of the eruption, read Robert Harris’ Pompeii.  Marcus Attilius, an aqueduct engineer, is the unlikely hero of this fictionalized, but thoroughly researched, thriller.     

  

Diamond style wall, illustrating one of many architectural styles in Pompeii

Beautiful mosaic sidwalk 

Bits and pieces on the edge of Pompeii, overlooking the Bay of Naples 

Vatican City - Gallery of Maps and other masterpieces

The ceilings are works of art in the Vatican Museums too.

In addition to the Michelangelo’s Pieta within St. Peter’s Basilica, there are corridors and corridors of priceless objects within Vatican City.  We booked a tour with LivItaly expecting to be part of a tour group that would walk through the Vatican Museums, but in fact, Steven had inadvertently booked us for a one-on-one tour.  So we had our tour guide, the very capable Maria, all to ourselves.  She gave us the grand tour of the highlights of Vatican City, not just the Vatican Museums, dating from 1503, but the world’s largest church (St. Peter’s Basilica) and the world’s most famous chapel (Sistine).  We started at 8 a.m., an hour before the general public is admitted, and circled through a relatively uncrowded Sistine Chapel.  There we bent our heads skyward to view the famous ceiling, which I found hard to fully appreciate with my neck bent backward (we may visit the touring “Sistine Chapel Up Close” exhibit, making its way to Westfield malls across America, to see life size reproductions at eye level).  We also duly admired Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, which requires less contortions of the head. Both appear almost 3-D in person, and require hours of study (perhaps a lifetime) to fully appreciate.

Roselli's Crossing of the Reed Sea.  The "pillar of fire" has been transformed into well, a pillar. 

However, what I hadn’t expected, and certainly gets less attention, are the twelve massive frescoes on either side of The Last Judgment.  These were painted between 1481 and 1483 and cover stories from both the Old and New Testaments.  My eyes were drawn to The Crossing of the Reed Sea, by Roselli.  Roselli is quite competent, but he’s no Michelangelo.  The sea itself is either mud brown or blood red and resembles a wide ditch. In fact, the “drowning” Egyptian soldiers look as if they could reach out and touch Moses, who looks a little bored.  The Egyptian city in the background looks distinctly Italian and the “pillar of fire” in the middle of the culvert resembles an actual Roman pillar.  Meanwhile Miriam kneels by Moses with an Italian stringed instrument, an agonized expression on her face.  I seem to recall that in the Torah she is dancing and rejoicing at this juncture, probably with a tambourine.

Betsy with our gudie Maria in the map room

The other unexpected, but entirely delightful, treasure at Vatican City is the Gallery of Maps. Most sprint through this football field length gallery on the way to the Sistine Chapel.  But they shouldn’t, because this gallery is spectacular.  It was created by Egnazio Danti, a famous Venetian cartographer.  Over the course of just 2 years, he painted the whole of Italy, without drones, planes or other modern map mapping devices.  And he got it mostly right.  The maps are about 80% accurate.  Quite a feat for the 1580s. Maria told us that Italians are delighted to find their small villages pictured.  I can certainly attest that Venice is accurate, as we flew over the city as we landed. 

 

Danti's 16th Century map of Venice is amazingly accurate. 

Rome - The Tale of two receipts

I have a lot of receipts from my trip to Italy (and in fact, the guidebooks advise you to get receipts to ensure taxes are paid by the natives as tax evasion is rampant in Italy), but I especially like these two receipts because they are a reminder of two unexpected pauses in our trip. 

Bar 3 Porte, simply marked Caffee, Testaccio neighborhood

The receipt on the left is from the quiet working-class neighborhood of Testaccio.  My DK guidebook only mentions that Testaccio has a large open air market.  My Moon guidebook tells me the area has no tourist attractions, but that is an attraction itself.  (As you enter the tourist areas of Rome, you are surrounded by migrants selling selfie sticks and scarfs, and clumps of visitors following a multilingual guide with a tall umbrella.  It can be overwhelming. Testaccio has none of that.)  We found our way to Testaccio by way of the Roman Forum, the Jewish Ghetto, and Travestere, in that order.  Along the way we saw tree lined streets along the Tiber river and the quieter side of Rome. 

We stopped in Bar 3 Porte (simply marked Caffe) while we were waiting for the local pizzeria (Remo) to open across the street in Piazza Liberatrice.  We were across the street from a busy playground and I heard not a whiff of English.  We ordered a cappuccino and espresso from the bar, and admired the vaulted ceiling and inlaid marble floors.  It was if we’d stepped inside a Roman ruin.  Locals stopped by, bellied up to the bar, and chatted with the barista.  It was all very congenial. 

Steven doesn't need that map.  He's in St. Peter's Square

The receipt on the right is from the little cafeteria tucked away near the cupola of the largest church in the world, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.  For 6 Euros (8 Euros if you take the elevator), you can ascend to both the interior of the cupola and the exterior balcony.  The elevator saves you some exertion, but there is still a twisting, claustrophobic and steep ascent to the top of the cupola. At one point you must lean right to pass.

Climbing to the top of St. Peter's Cupola - a narrow, slanted passage

The cupola was designed by Michelangelo himself, and required the effort of 600 workers over many years.  From the interior of the dome, we could observe Mass being conducted under a magnificent sunburst, rendered in stained glass.  A choir in purple accompanied the priest.  (We knew it wasn’t Pope Francis, as 1) the place would have been mobbed and 2) he conducts Mass under the “Baldachinno,” a magnificent bronze canopy sculpted by Bernini.  Only the pope can use the Baldachinno.)

On the way to the top of the cupola, it's best to pause and 

Mass at St. Peter's, viewed from the cupola

Only the Pope can conduct services under the Baldachinno

But back to the cafeteria.  This was tucked in next to a souvenir shop, staffed by nuns, and a Vatican postal box.  A slightly bored Roman served us cappuccino, creamed coffee (think chilled whipped

coffee) and lemon pastries.  Scrumptious of course, this being Italy.

A snack at the world's holiest cafeteria

Our seat was next to the open door, looking out on the rooftop.  From here you can see a series of saints that line St. Peter’s Square, perched on top of St. Peter’s Basilica and a colonnade designed by Bernini.  Beneath the statue of Jesus is the balcony from which Pope Francis blesses the crowd every Sunday.       

Top of St. Peter's

Tuscany - The right way to do a wine tasting

Hillside in Chianti region of Tuscany

Roadside wine shop 

I’m not a wine snob.  But I think we tasted wine just the right way.  First, we were in Tuscany as the sun was setting.  Second, we picked a wine shop away from the crush of tourists, on the way back to Florence.  It was staffed by a single dapper Italian and for a time we had the place to ourselves. 

The place was Enoteca Nuvolari, and it served only its own wines, cultivated since 1043.  That is not a misprint.  These are vineyards that have been producing Chianti Classico for 974 years.  For 8 Euros we were happy to sample wines that had been bottled in the 967^th, 970^th and 972^nd year of production. We started with a Chianti Classico (16 Euros) bottled two years ago.  It was the kind of wine you could happily sip all day long.  As the Italians say, it was perfecto. This was followed by a Reservo (24 Euros) that had been aged four years.    It was dry and tart. We cleansed our palate with slices of Tuscany bread dipped in olive oil and salt, then enjoyed our last glass, a special Reservo (29 Euros).  The last had a strong tart flavor, and I could literally smell the oak caskets it had been stored in.  At that point, we were ready to buy a crate of the stuff.  However, shipping even six bottles was a hefty 87 Euros, so we decided on just two bottles.  They are packed in my luggage and we sincerely hope they make it home intact.  (Postscript: They did.)   

  

Classico or Reservo?  Hard to decide. Let's look up comments on my smartphone. 

Tuscany - San Gimignano

The central square of San Gimignano, surrounded by towers.

I could have titled this post “the Manhattan of Tuscany,” because this little village, which used to be a stopover for pilgrims crossing between Florence and Rome, contains 14 towers that sprout incongruously from medieval homes.  They are tall unadorned towers used for no other purpose than to impress the neighbors.  At one point, there were over 70 of these towers, and any homeowner worth his money tried to build their tower taller than the last one.  It got so ridiculous that the town mayor put a height limit on the towers.  Now only 14 towers remain, and we got to see the interior of one when we toured the Torre e Casa Campatelli (Tower and House of Campatelli). 

Dining room, Casa Campatelli

This villa was donated to the town in 2005 by Lydia Campatelli.  Her family had owned the house for centuries, and it was furnished as if frozen in time in the 1940s.  I would label the decorating style as “Tuscan country.”  

View from Casa Campatelli

While at the Campatelli villa we watched a film about the long history of this walled town.  The interesting bit for me was that the town had been “modernized” with stucco facades at some point, but once it became clear that tourists wanted to see a medieval town, homeowners started ripping down the stucco right and left.  The town now survives on tourism, and we found it nicely packed with this creature, the tourist.  

Interior of public restroom in San Gimignano

We did some wandering and got happily lost in the mazes of alleys and narrow passageways on our way to find the public restroom.  Some restrooms in Italy require a fee of a Euro or two to use. So I paid my coin and walked into a converted medieval vault.  Well worth the Euro! I don’t as a habit take a picture of bathrooms, but couldn’t help myself.    

Tuscany - Florence American Cemetery

On the way to the hills of Chianti, Steven suggested we stop at one of the two American military cemeteries in Italy.  The Florence American Cemetery sits in wooded hills near the Greve River and inters American service members who died during the Italian Campaign from June 1944 to May 1945.   Over 4,000 soldiers are interred on this peaceful slope in the heart of Tuscany.  Italy donated the land in perpetuity, and the American government pays to have this gravesite immaculately maintained.  

The cemetery is just a series of symmetrical lines of crosses, and a few Jewish stars, until you get up close and start reading the gravestones.  And even though these men (and a handful of women) died over 70 years ago, it gets personal. You see names and ranks, and their home state, and the date of death.  It all becomes real.  At the top of the hill is the monument to the over 1,400 MIA soldiers whose bodies were never recovered.

The faded grave marker of American Red Cross Nurse Gertrude Tempkin

Four women are also buried at the cemetery.  We came across one, Gertrude Tempkin.  According to a posting by her niece,

On Aug. 3, 1945 my aunt, Gertrude Tempkin died near Modena, Italy, when she
was thrown from an open jeep.  She was with the American Red Cross Civil
War Relief, working with members of the 5th Army, getting hospital supplies
for Ospedale Sant' Antonio near the Marani Pass close to Ravenna. 

Since my aunt was the head of the Cook County Welfare Department in
Chicago, IL, in the 1930s, volunteering for duty with the American Red
Cross in Europe was her way of serving the war effort.

Source here.

Florence - Climbing to the top of the Duomo

Our climbing goal, circled. 
And yes, the crowds at the base of the Duomo were constant!

The best views in Florence require a little sweat, and a reservation.  We were fortunate to get a time slot to climb to the lantern at the top of the duomo (dome) of the world’s fourth largest cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore (“Our Lady of the Flower”).  The cathedral itself is magnificent, but its crowning glory is the cupola designed and built by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15^th century.  And in fact, when people refer to “the Duomo” everyone knows what you’re talking about.  It’s that distinctive.

Two days before the climb, we’d visited Museo dell Opera.  The museum’s name is a little confusing, because it’s not about music.  It’s all about the construction of the cathedral and the baptistery and bell tower next door (and oh, it also contains some priceless art, including one of Michelangelo’s last sculptures.)  We learned that the dome was first planned in 1367, and a brick model was even set up next to the bell tower.  But no one really knew how to build such a massive dome.  (The older baptistery, with a smaller dome, had needed to be reinforced in around 1400.)  Bruneschelli had the radical solution to construct the dome without scaffolding; it rose as a self-supporting structure. It was also built in two layers, with an air pocket between layers. It took a relatively short time to build; about sixteen years (1420-1436).

Walking up the space between the outside and inside domes.

So, to walk up to the lantern of the cupola, with all the great views, you are climbing up that “air pocket” between the dome layers.  It’s not for the claustrophobic.  The good news is that there  are two landings on the way, and one is at the base of the interior of the cupola.  

Steven goggles the immense fresco covering the interior of the dome.

Close up.  The best views of Hell are from the base of the dome. 

The interior of the cupola was painted by Vasari and Zuccari over a hundred years after the dome was finished (1572-1579). Not surprisingly, Hell is depicted at the lowest levels so we lucky climbers got to see those scenes writ large.  (Jesus and the prophets are much further up the dome.) 

After ogling the wretched sinners at the base of the cupola, we continued our climb up narrow steep steps all the way to the lantern that crowns the dome.  Once you get to the top, you’re free to enjoy the 360 degree views as long as you like.  It was a highlight of our visit to Florence.   

*Additional construction information is from a book Steven bought in the Museo dell Opera’s bookstore, Brunelleschi’s Cupola: Past and Present of an Architectural Masterpiece, by G. and M. Fanelli.  On the way down form the dome, and the second landing, we saw a display of tools Bruneschelli designed just to build the Duomo.  Fascinating.     

Florence - Modern Art

You might assume Florence is stuck in the Renaissance, and that's mostly true.  The Ufizzi ends in the 16th century.  But there is some cheeky modern art slipped in here and there, plus, I would argue, one  colossal eyesore. 

The monk has a friend. 

At first we thought the art installation above was a real man with face paint.  But he is actually made of wax and superimposed over the statue of a monk.  Next to him is a wax man staring down at his cell phone. Great public art right next to the Palazzo Vecchio and Ufizzi Galleries.  But in the same square is another colossal art installation... 

Not sure what it is, but it's big. 

Imagine chunks of clay stacked in a pile and then covered with duck tape.  Enlarge to enormous proportions several stories high.  Then you will have a good idea of what this piece by Urs Fischer looks like.  It was unveiled in Piazza dell Signoria the Friday of our visit, on September 22, 2017. The local news gushed that  Fischer was "one of the world's greatest artists" (alongside whom? Michelangelo? Da Vinci? Raphael?) and the above sculpture is a "monumental work" that provides a "provocative contrast" between ancient and contemporary art.  See article here.  I agree, it does provide a "provocative contrast" based on the double takes I saw of people passing by in the square.   

Addendum: All of the modern art installations in this piazza turned out to be all by Fischer.  It's just I like some better than others.

Rome - Random Ruins - NOT

Roman temples in the middle of Rome

Important Addendum: Today while touring the Colosseum and Forum with our guide Rosella, we were informed that the "random ruin" we had stumbled upon and pictured above, is less random than we had thought.  In fact, this is the site of the Ides of March.  This is where Brutus and 24 co-conspirators stabbed Caesar to death on March 15 in the year 44.  The actual location of the assassination is under the street in front of me in the photo!  Rosella, with resigned exasperation, told us the Italian government had not managed to finish the excavations.

Another interruption to my travelogue.  We happened across this ongoing excavation while returning from a  trip to the Vatican.  It's the site of four ancient Roman temples that were excavated starting in the 1940s up through 2013. The project is called Largo Argentina, but has nothing to do with the South American country.  The rather cryptic sign board informed me the site once contained a palace owned by a Giovanni Burcardo, a native "Argentoratum," and hence the name. These temples sat under a block of buildings from the Middle Ages that had been demolished.  Mussolini himself interceded on behalf of the architect when they were discovered. So now here they are, amidst the every day hustle of Rome.  The site is fenced off for humans, but a clutter of feral cats was making themselves at home, sunning themselves on the grass between marble columns.  [Additional addendum: Rosella told us a nice old Italian lady takes care of the cats.]

Italian trains

High speed trains at Roma Termini station

I interrupt this travelogue to discuss Italian trains.  We took a series of trains today from Rome to Pompeii, so I feel free to comment.  We started with the pricier leg of the trip, from Rome to Naples, on the Frecciarossia.  This engineering jewel goes up to 300 km an hour (186 mph), and has cushy assigned seats. 

Classy, comfortable interior of Italy's high speed trains.

Before you depart, you can also fortify yourself with an espresso from the self-serve machine.

No time for the caffe? The caffe is dispensed to you. 

 In under ninety minutes, we were in Napoli (Naples).  Then it was time for the local train, specifically the Circumvesuviana.  It's best feature is the price, at just 2 Euros each way.  The cars and stations are covered in graffiti (though I would argue, highly artistic graffiti) and you are cheek to jowl with a mass of humanity. 

Local train station.  Sometimes graffiti covered the station name too.

At least the car windows were open.

One empty seat!  A modern day miracle.