Tag Archives: Rome

Our Trip to Italy~Part 12

22 May

A slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

After a full day of viewing some of the most famous art treasures in the world, we made our way back to the convent for some much-needed rest. Then it was out again for a wonderful Salmon dinner at the La Vittoria Ristorante. The food was great, but our waiter was a sourpuss, and that wasn’t the kind of an end to our most interesting day in Rome we were looking for.1After a good night’s sleep, we were up and packed at 6:00 am for breakfast with the nuns. Then it was another “wild” taxi ride to the Roma Termini Railway Station for our 30-minute train ride to Rome’s Ciampino–G.B. Pastine International Airport.

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Johnny Depp

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DiVoran Lites with Marco Grimaldi

It was during our tram ride to the airplane that we met Marco Grimaldi, an Italian opera singer with the National Opera of Italy, and his 20-person entourage, who happened to be traveling on the same plane with us to Orlando. I told him that DiVoran thought he looked like the movie star, Johnny Depp, and that she had never had her picture taken with a celebrity, and wondered if he would mind if I took a picture of them together. He was, of course, pleased with the request and that’s when DiVoran struck up a conversation with him, and found out that he and his group were on their way to Tallahassee to start a concert tour in the U.S..

When we got on the plane, I mentioned to the flight attendants that Marco was an opera singer, and that if they asked him very nicely, he might be coaxed into singing for us during the flight. Well, they did, and after they had served our meal, Marco sang “Volare” to all of us over the plane’s PA system. He got a “standing ovation” from the passengers and crew. We were glad we had told the flight attendants about Marco and suggesting they ask him to sing, as it put the finishing touch on our overall trip, and made up for all the cold weather we had endured. That was one of the most unique experiences we had on the whole trip.4

The flight west, to the U.S. took a couple hours longer than it did going east to Italy. We finally made it, and after a short layover in New York, where Marco entertained the flight crew again, it was on to Orlando and finally to our own quiet little Titusville home. It was hard to believe how warm it was in Florida, after the cold in Italy. But, we just cranked up the A/C and boy, it was soooo good to get home and sleep in our own beds after all those different Italian beds. It was the end of a wonderfully exciting vacation trip, which we will remember for the rest of our lives.

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Nice to be home!

—–The End—-

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Our Trip to Italy~Part 11

15 May

  A Slice of Life

Bill Lites                                                        

 

We discovered St. Peter’s basilica was designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.   St. Peter’s is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture in Italy, and remains one of the largest churches in the world.

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In Roman Catholic tradition, the basilica is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, and according to tradition, the first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession.  Tradition and some historical evidence also hold that Saint Peter’s tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica. There has been a church on this site since the time when Constantine the Great was the Roman Emperor from 306 to 337 AD. Construction of the present basilica, replacing the Old St. Peter’s Basilica of the 4th century, began in 1506 and was completed in 1626.

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Not long after the crucifixion of Jesus in the second quarter of the 1st century AD, it is recorded in the Biblical book of the “Acts of the Apostles” that one of his twelve disciples, Simon known as Peter, a fisherman from Galilee, took a leadership position among Jesus’ followers and was of great importance in the founding of the Christian Church.  It is believed that Peter, after a ministry of about thirty years, ended up in Rome and met his martyrdom there in 64 AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Nero.

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We were able to see St. Peter’s tomb and many of the fabulous works of art by some of the most famous Renaissance masters.  Michelangelo’s famous Pieta sculpture, depicting Mary holding Jesus after he was removed from the cross, was just inside the entrance to the basilica,  on the right, and was one of the most life-like sculptureI had ever seen.

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Later, after our tour of St. Peter’s basilica, we checked out the Vatican guards, who are actually Swiss Army soldiers, who have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century.   The name Swiss Guard generally refers to the Pontifical Swiss Guard of the Holy See.   The use of Swiss soldiers as Royal guards and as the Pontifical Guard stems from their reputation for discipline and loyalty, and their employment of revolutionary battle tactics.   Apart from household and guard units, regular Swiss mercenary regiments have served as line troops in various armies; notably those of France, Spain and Naples up to the 19th century.

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In 2006, to celebrate 500 years in the line of duty, a group of veteran Swiss Guards marched from Switzerland to Rome, a month-long journey through Italy.   In a public ceremony, at the end of their march, 33 new guards were sworn in on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, instead of the traditional venue in the San Damaso Courtyard. The photo below is the Papal Swiss Guard, at their station, guarding the access to one of the entrances to Vatican City.

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—–To Be Continued—–

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Our Trip to Italy~Part 10

8 May

A Slice of Life

Bill LItes

After a wonderful Continental breakfast with the sisters of our convent lodgings, we started our day with a tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. 5

The Vatican Museums were founded under the patronage of two 18th century popes – Clement XIV (1769-1774) and Pius VI (1775-1799) – who were among the first to open collections of art to the general public.  The idea was to provide some of the Vatican collections for viewing, therefore promoting culture among the masses. As the decades passed, more popes added to the already impressive collection of diverse artworks owned and displayed by the Vatican.  Today, there are 13 museums in about different Vatican palaces that are now included in what is called the Vatican Museum Complex, and can be toured by the general public.

 

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Our Rick Steves tour book says the tour leads you through almost four miles of galleries and art treasures before you get to the Sistine Chapel.  Well, we believe him now!   They provided a great self-guided audio tour, and we were absolutely amazed at the quantity of Great Masters’ art treasures in the museum.  I can’t begin to imagine the overall worth of all 13 museums.

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In one of the corridors, DiVoran was especially interested in a woman copying paintings in miniature from some of the Master paintings there in the Vatican museum. She wore a fur hat and a heavy coat because it was so cold in there. The lighting was spectacular and all natural. What a way to make a living!

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It was like being saturated with so much art, my brain couldn’t hold any more.  We spent a good 4 hours trying to see as much as we could before we were able to work our way to the Sistine Chapel, and that was by cutting short a number of galleries.  I can now better appreciate the pain and agony Michelangelo had to endure those 4 years (1508-1512) he spent, laying on his back, painting all those magnificent works of art.  Then, at the end of the chapel, is what many call his most crowning achievement in painting, The Final Judgment, which itself, took 4 years (1535-1539) to complete.

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We had a delicious lunch in the Vatican Museum cafeteria.  Then it was on to St. Peter’s Basilica.  The basilica itself is approached via St. Peter’s Piazza (otherwise known as St. Peter’s Square) and is bordered on either side by semi-circular colonnades, which, according to Bernini, symbolize the out-stretched arms of the church embracing the world. The colonnades were built around 1660 and consist of four rows of columns with in total 284 Doric columns and 88 pilasters.  A total of 140 statues were installed on top of the colonnades, all created by Bernini and his students at the time. These statues depict popes, martyrs, evangelists and many other important religious figures.

The facade of the basilica stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two 20 ft high statues of the 1st century apostles to Rome, Saint Peter on the left side and Saint Paul on the right side.  It’s amazing for me to think of news reports, I’ve seen on TV, such as the appearance of the newest, Pope Francis, where as many as 250,000 people have been known to crowd into St. Peter’s Square for the special event.

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—–To Be Continued—–

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