Day 12 - Rome and the Vatican City

We started our day visiting 2 churches built on sites related to Paul's death. The first was built on the supposed site of his execution. This relief depicts his beheading.

This is the stone he was beheaded on. When Constantine legalized Christianity, articles like these were collected and brought into churches as reminders of the martyrs. That's why we still have them today.

The second church was built on the jail where Paul was held during the last days of his life. This is the alter at the front. Neither of these churches are very large.

This is the prison underneath the church.

Then we visited St. Paul's basilica. This basilica is built on the grave of Paul. Archeologists have confirmed that there is a sarcophagus with bones dating from the first century under the alter, which gives so me level of confidence to the claim that it is Paul's burial site. Regardless, the church is massive.

This is the courtyard out in front.

The papal alter placed directly on the tomb of Paul.

The sarcophagus of Paul

Around the basilica is a record in pictures of every pope who ever served, well almost. It starts with Peter.

And ends with Benedict the 16th. Francis will be added soon and the spotlight moved.

Then we visited a Christian catacomb. We couldn't take pictures inside, so this is all you get to see. This catacomb has 4 levels and miles of tunnels. I believe the guide said there was over 100,000 bodies buried inside. Most of the tombs were raided for the bones and the bones sold to churches when the churches were anxious to get bones of martyrs. Whether or not the bones were actually from martyrs was not verified at the time.

Then we took a whirlwind tour of the Vatican Museum. Lots of nice pieces from all over the world. This is one of the tapestries on display.

A map from a long time ago. I mentioned it was a whirlwind tour.

Then we walked through some of the old papal apartments. The older ones had artwork covering the walls.

This one depicts Constantine conquering the barbarians.

How would you like to have this in your dining room.

After visiting the Vatican Museum we moved on to The Sistine chapel. No pictures there either. We bought a nice book though to bring home and we did find the Oracle of Delphi depicted alongside the prophets.

Then we moved on to St. Peter's basilica. Here is St. Peter's square from the front of St. Peter's basilica before we went in.

Mary and Jesus after his crucifixion. This is one of Michelangelo's greatest works.

The top of the papal alter in St. Peter's basilica.

The bottom of the papal alter. The bronze used to make the papal alter was recycled from the Parthenon.

Here we are in front of St. Peter's basilica.

 

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Day 11 - Poseidonia/Paestum

Poseidonia was founded in the 6th century BC by Greeks. At the end of the 5th century BC it was conquered by the Lucani and renamed Paestum. In 273 BC it was conquered by the Romans. So the area has some interesting layers of architecture. Very little of the city has been excavated, but what has been are some of the best preserved temples from the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

On our way South from Naples to Poseidonia we made a quick stop near the Amalfi coast.

Natalie with Poseidonia in the background.

The temple of Athena.

The Greek senate. The original stone seats were recycled to build other monuments by the Romans.

The Amphitheater.

The temple of Neptune.

A road built hundreds of years before Christ. Not sure if it was made by the Greeks or Romans.

The homes were built on the seaward side of the public area.

The temple of Hera.

I think this is the other end of the temple of Neptune.

The museum was having some festival of roses. Not sure why. Most of the notes were in Italian and the guide was moving pretty quick. Anyways, they had this huge wreath out front.

These freezes would have decorated the outside of the temple under the eaves.

The drains for the gutters.

More decorations for the eaves of one of the temples.

The major attraction for the museum at Paestum is the grave art. These paintings would have been on the inside of the tomb.

A richly decorated vase depicting the mythical rape of Europa.

We had lunch at the museum restaurant before heading to Rome. The food was good, but we mostly were served pasta, pork, and potatoes during our time in Italy. It got kind of old.

 

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Day 10 - Pompeii and Herculenium

In case you're wondering, I'm skipping day 9. That was a travel day from Greece to Italy. Nothing to speak of really. Just a short plain ride and a long bus ride from Rome to Naples.

On Wednesday, we started out in Pompeii. This city was buried in August of 79 AD by ash from Mount Vesuvius. By the end of 3 days, the ash was about 5 meters deep and had buried the entire city. Most the bodies found were from people that died the second day when they returned to search for survivors. On thesecond day a poisonous gas covered the city and people died instantly. Most people were found near the gates trying to get out of the city. Because the city was buried so quickly, it is very well preserved.

This is the sea gate. It's rather steep, so it wasn't used all that often for goods.

Below the sea gate, we can see places for boats to dock. The shore was right here in the first century.

This region didn't have a close supply of marble, so they made columns of brick and covered them in plaster to make them appear like marble.

Some marble was available (for a price) and this was a highly decorated door frame. Can you find the bumble bee?

Frescos are very well preserved. Actually they are in more danger now that they are uncovered due to the humidity and the tourists.

A view into the public square. The rocks mark the point at which chariots are not allowed beyond. I think we still have these in our modern world.

The public bath, separate for men and women. This was the men's side.

A nice mosaic. Similar ones show up at the entrance of many wealthy households.

A mill for making flour.

And the oven that was in the same bakery.

Stepping stones to get across the street. Plumbing was only available in the area of the public bath.

Decorated fountains were scattered around the city and served both as fountains and street signs.

Graffiti on the wall of one of the best restaurants in town. The graffiti was advertising food available and bragging about the quality of the restaurant.

A "fast food" place. Pompeii had numerous shops like this. The holes would have terra cotta pots with wine in them served both hot and cold.

A number of people were found near this wall. The bodies are visible because when a cavity was found by archeologists they would fill it with plaster. All flesh and most bones are gone. These people were killed the second day when the poisonous gas flowed down from the volcano.

The amphitheater.

We walked by a very nice church in Pompeii on our way to lunch.

Then we headed for Herculenium. Herculenium was buried by a mud flow caused by the volcanic eruption. Since it was buried by mud instead of the ash falling, some things are preserved here that were not in Pompeii. Original wood is visible in some places, but no bodies or body cavities were found.

Herculenium was also much smaller than Pompeii. It had better plumbing and since it was close to the sea with a nice sea breeze, windows were present in many of the houses.

Here's a drain in the street for storm water and whatever else was deposited in the street.

Some original wood, 2000 years old.

A press used to press wool. They would wash the wool fabric in very hot water and then press it to make it water proof.

One of the restaurants in Herculenium. There were far fewer here than in Pompeii, indicating that perhaps people ate at home more often.

A fountain to mark an intersection near the sea gate.

A fancy fountain. Not sure where it would have been. It is in a tunnel now because it is under a modern building. They dig tunnels to excavate portions of the city that are under modern buildings.

A shop for wine.

A small garden in the back of a home. The stage would have been used for plays put on by the slaves.

Many houses had these water collection basins in the middle of the atrium. They would drain to a cistern and the large opening visible in front would be used to bring up water.

A portion of the city still buried.

A vineyard replanted with vines present 2000 years ago. They use the roots to identify the plants that were present.

 

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