Colosseum
Interior of Colosseum
Interior of Colosseum
Interior of Colessuem
Interior of Colosseum
Interior of Colosseum
Interior of Colosseum
External Facade of Colosseum
External Facade of Colosseum
Colosseum was actually located outside the main city, and it was like a huge entertainment city for the ancient Romans. And after the guide's explanation, it totally makes sense. The Roman emperor (like the politician nowadays) needed to please his people to maintain popularity.
"The Roman Forum (is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.
It was for centuries the center of Roman public life: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches,criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history.[1] Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archeological excavations attracting numerous sightseers.
Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. The Roman kingdom's earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge. These included the ancient former royal residence, the Regia(8th century BC), and the Temple of Vesta (7th century BC), as well as the surrounding complex of the Vestal Virgins, all of which were rebuilt after the rise of imperial Rome."
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum
I really enjoyed walking through the Roman Forum. There are so many different kinds of ancient monuments and buildings. I could imagine the former glory and excitement of the bustling forum where goods from all the over the world were traded, ideas were exchanged, philosophical & political discussions were held etc... It was the epi-center of the Western world civilization after the decline of the Greeks empire.
Impressive Building.
View from Altare della Patria
Rome is one of my favourite cities in the world. In every corner, there is something beautiful and ancient, and there are so much history and culture.
"Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi) is a fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architectNicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci. Standing 26.3 metres (86 ft) high and 49.15 metres (161.3 ft) wide,[1] it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. The fountain has appeared in several notable films, including Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita and is a popular tourist attraction.
The Trevi Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini, who substituted the present allegories for planned sculptures of Agrippaand "Trivia", the Roman virgin. It remains one of the most historical cultural landmarks in Rome."
Trevi Fountain at night
External Facade of Pantheon
Dome
Interior of Pantheon
St Peter's Square (Vatican City)
"St. Peter's Square (Italian: Piazza San Pietro, Latin: Forum Sancti Petri, pronounced [ˌpi̯aʦa san ˈpi̯ɛːtɾo]) is a massive plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave surrounded by Rome, directly west of the neighbourhood or rione of Borgo.
At the centre of the square is a four-thousand-year-old Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current site in 1568. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, which embrace visitors in "the maternal arms of Mother Church." A granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed by Carlo Maderno dating to 1613."
St. Peter's Basilica
Within Vatican City (taken during the tour)
"The statue of Laocoön and His Sons (Italian: Gruppo del Laocoonte), also called the Laocoön Group, has been one of the most famous ancient sculptures ever since it was excavated in Rome in 1506 and placed on public display in the Vatican, where it remains. Exceptionally, it appears to be identifiable with a statue praised in the highest terms by the main Roman writer on art, Pliny the Elder. The group are near life-size and the work is a little over 2m in height[2][3] and shows the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus being strangled by sea serpents.
Pliny gives the work to three Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes: Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus, but does not give a date or patron. In style it is "one of the finest examples of the Hellenistic baroque" and certainly in the Greek tradition,[4] but it is not known whether it is an original work or a copy of an earlier sculpture, or made for a Greek or Roman commission, although it is now usually seen as a copy made in the early Imperial period, probably of a bronze original.[5] Various dates have been suggested for the statue, ranging from about 200 BC to the 70s AD,[6] though "a Julio-Claudian date [between 27 BC and 68 AD] ... is now preferred"."
While on the tour, I was thinking why is the Pope allowing the statues of Pagan Gods in Vatican City ( the heart of the Catholic community). Some of my Christians friends are very particular with non-Christian influences (eg. some wouldn't enter places of worship of other religions.) While I was touring the temples in Luxor, Egypt, I saw the defacement of beautiful Egyptian wall carvings by the Christian Crusaders. Anyway, the museum guide told me that the Pope viewed these Pagan Gods sculptures like art pieces, rather than religious artifacts. That totally makes sense!
Beautiful Ceiling
Wall Murals in Vatican City
Wall Murals in Vatican Cit
Wall Murals in Vatican Cit
The world famous paintings of the Sistine Chapel - the last judgement & Sistine Chapel Ceiling.
(As usual, photography is not allowed, but I can't help myself)
"The Sistine Chapel (Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina) is a large and renowned chapel of the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name fromPope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1477 and 1480. Since that time, the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new Pope is selected. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescos that decorate the interior, and most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment by Michelangelo.
Between 1508 and 1512, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a masterpiece without precedent, that was to change the course of Western art.[5][6] In a different climate after the Sack of Rome, he returned and between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgement for Pope Alexander III.[7] The fame of Michelangelo's paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel, ever since they were revealed five hundred years ago."
Last Judgement
"The Last Judgement was painted by Michelangelo between 1535 and 1541, after the Sack of Rome of 1527 by mercenary forces from the Holy Roman Empire, which effectively ended the Roman Renaissance, just before the Council of Trent. The work was constructed on a grand scale, and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgment is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the Apocalypse. The souls of humanity rise and descend to their fates as judged by Christ and his saintly entourage. The wall on which The Last Judgment is painted looms out slightly over the viewer as it rises, and is meant to be somewhat fearful and to instill piety and respect for God's power. In contrast to the other frescoes in the Chapel, the figures are heavily muscled and appear somewhat tortured—even the Virgin Mary at the center seems to be cowering before God.
The Last Judgement was an object of a bitter dispute between Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo. Because he depicted naked figures, the artist was accused of immorality and obscenity. A censorship campaign (known as the "Fig-Leaf Campaign") was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua's ambassador) to remove the frescoes. When the Pope's own Master of Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena said "it was mostly disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully, and that it was no work for a papal chapel but rather for the public baths and taverns,"[27] Michelangelo worked da Cesena's semblance into the scene as Minos, judge of the underworld. It is said that when he complained to the Pope, the pontiff responded that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell, so the portrait would have to remain.
The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra,[28] whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-painter")."
"The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The ceiling is that of the large Papal Chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV after whom it is named, and was painted at the commission of Pope Julius II. The chapel is the location for Papal Conclaves and many important services.[1]
The ceiling's various painted elements form part of a larger scheme of decoration within the Chapel, which includes the large fresco The Last Judgment on the sanctuary wall, also by Michelangelo, wall paintings by several leading painters of the late 15th century including Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Pietro Perugino, and a set of large tapestries by Raphael, the whole illustrating much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church.[2][3]
Central to the ceiling decoration are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis of which The Creation of Adam is the best known, having an iconic standing equalled only by Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the hands of God and Adam being reproduced in countless imitations. The complex design includes several sets of individual figures, both clothed and nude, which allowed Michelangelo to fully demonstrate his skill in creating a huge variety of poses for the human figure, and have provided an enormously influential pattern book of models for other artists ever since."
Amazingly beautiful!!
Masterpiece indeed.
St Peter's Basilica
St Peter's Basilica
St Peter's Basilica
St Peter's Basilica
Swiss Guard of the Vatican City
"The Pontifical Swiss Guard is an exception to the Swiss rulings of 1874 and 1927. A small force maintained by the Holy See, it is responsible for the safety of the Pope, including the security of the Apostolic Palace. The Swiss Guard serves as the de facto military of Vatican City.
Recruits to the guards must be Catholic, single males with Swiss citizenship who have completed basic training with the Swiss military and can obtain certificates of good conduct. Recruits must have a professional degree or high school diploma and must be between 19 and 30 years of age and at least 174 cm (5 ft 8.5 in) tall."
Qualified candidates must apply to serve. If accepted, new guards are sworn on May 6 every year in the San Damaso Courtyard (Italian: Cortile di San Damaso) in the Vatican (May 6 is the anniversary of the Sack of Rome). The chaplain of the guard reads aloud the oath in the language of the guard (mostly German)
"I swear I will faithfully, loyally and honourably serve the Supreme Pontiff Francis and his legitimate successors, and also dedicate myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing if necessary also my life to defend them. I assume this same commitment with regard to the Sacred College of Cardinals whenever the see is vacant. Furthermore I promise to the Commanding Captain and my other superiors, respect, fidelity and obedience. This I swear! May God and our Holy Patrons assist me!""
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