The Roman Forum

The House of the Vestal Virgins. Our tour guide had a photo of what this would have looked like. One the second photo you can see the pool that would have been in the center and remnants of the statues that would have surrounded the outside. Most of these statues were taken to the Vatican museum. There would have been a mezzanine level to their house as well. So cool.

Top: the house of the gladiators. Bottom: Colosseo

Top: Colosseo Bottom: Proof I was at the Colosseo


Left: Ceaser was cremated here! People still lay flowers. :) Right: The main road of the Forum

St. Peters Basilica - 1

Left is St. Peter's tomb. The best photo I could get of it. This is the spot where Peter was crucified (upside down) and where they buried him and built the center of the Catholic church. I have to go back to Rome for the sole purpose of going on the crypt tour of St. Peters.
Right: priest praying to st. peter

Bernini's fantastic window!

Hilarious Vatican guards.

Vatican Museum Statues

Yay! I'm finally posting again! I feel like I've been editing photos of Italia for the last three years. Okay maybe not years.... months maybe. Here are some statues from the Vatican museum.


All of the Roman statues used to have eyes. When the forum was unearthed the Romans took out pretty much everything they could that was worth value and made something else out of it. You could call it recycling... I call it stealing and I think it's horrible. That being said, the eyes are creepy.

left: cupid right: nike (god of victory)

left: the famous torso. The torso is painted into the sistine chapel several times by Michelangelo. right: Augustus (I think this was part of a gigantic statue) Michelangelo used Augustus as his inspiration for David. They are almost identical. Very cool.

Roma - Part 3 The Imperial Forum

On our first day in Rome we went wandering and THIS was the first view of Roman ruins we came too. I freaked out and took a million photos. Here are just a few...

cats (gatti) are everywhere!

Roma - Part 2

The Pantheon! I loved the Pantheon. It's so incredibly huge and unexpected that it takes your breath away every time you see it. The first photo was tricky to take. After our tour, Amber and I hung back and waited until everybody at filtered out. It was closing time. Then I asked the guard if I could just take one photo. Actually I just pointed to the camera and pleaded... no english.

Under the middle of the floor in the Pantheon are buried martyred Christian saints. When it rains through the hole in the dome the floor floods and the water is filtered through the bones of the saints. The staff ropes this flood water off and priests come in to collect it as holy water. eek!

the artist Raphael's tomb!

alter

the piazza day & night

Note: The dome of the Pantheon used to be covered in bronze (or copper? can't remember). It was striped to make the alter in St. Peter's basilica. lame.

Roma - Part 1

Here we go! Roma will be such a huge collection of photos that it will be it's own (many) post. Below are some photos that I love that aren't really associated with anything. Just warming up!

Italy preview

The Baths of Pompeii-
The first photo is the locker room. The statues on the bottom of the photo separate the cubbies. This was the first room you would enter into when you entered the baths from the gymnasium. In the first photo you can see where the ash caved in the roof and how it's been repaired in renovations. Amazing. The second photos are of the cold water bath. The last bath before heading back to the locker room. The lights beams would have been there. That's how they lit the rooms.