Today was dedicated to ancient Rome - something with which I have always been fascinated. Had I not been to Rome several times before, I would have been frustrated with the day since the tour didn't allow time to see anything in detail. Since I have seen it all before, I was okay with it.
Our first stop was San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter's in Chains); the name being derived from a pair of chains on display that were rumored to have held Peter when he was imprisoned. As our guide said today, it may be true or may not be true, but it doesn't matter. They are a symbol and can be appreciated for that. I figured even if they aren't authentic, they're still chains from at least the 1500's, so that makes them cool to me.
The best thing about this church is Michelangelo's Moses. It's such a powerful sculpture, filled with tense emotion. You can see the veins in Moses's arms and hands. It is depicting the moment just before Moses explodes in anger because the children of Israel are worshipping the brass calf. (Rumor has it that Cecil B. DeMille cast Charlton Heston as Michelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy because he looked like this sculpture.)
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| The horns are actually supposed to represent beams of light. |
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| Detail of the arm |
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| This university is right by the church and this sign had a sticker that said "This is a good kissing spot." |
Next was the Colosseum. We got to see it from the outside. We didn't go inside the Colosseum, walk through the Forum or climb Palatine Hill. I was okay with it because I've done those things a few times before, but I felt bad for the people who were visiting Rome for the first time. I understand it because this trip is a pilgrimage and they're focusing on religious things, but many of them felt badly. (It was also a little sad last night because after the concert we walked right by the Pantheon, but most of the people didn't know what they were seeing - if they noticed it at all.) We did get a driving tour of some of the ancient spots, but I was really glad I had already experienced them close up and on foot.
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| Colosseum |
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| Ruins of Ancient Rome |
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| Arch of Constantine |
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| Arch celebrating the victory over Jerusalem. |
After lunch and some free time, we headed back to St. Peter's for a 5:00 mass (not a Papal mass) where the choir sang. It was cool because even though it was in Latin and Italian, I understood most of it. The instruction came from the book of John, which I am teaching in seminary right now. The analogy made by the bishop was really good and it presented the miracle of loaves and fishes in a way I had never considered before.
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| David with Nove, the conductor who commissioned the piece and a dear friend. |
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| Nove purchased some Prada shoes, so we had to do a comparison shot. Can you tell which show is from Goodwill? |
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| Looking up at St. Peters |
We finished the evening with a gala dinner - six courses and live entertainment. It was really good food and a wonderful environment. It was close to the neighborhood where the LDS temple is being built (about five miles away). We were hoping to see the construction site, but it was a little further on.
Tomorrow we have an audiene with the Pope and the choir will sing for him. After that, we head to Assisi (as in Francis of). I'm excited about that because it's a city I've never visited.
Right now it's midnight, but there's no way we can sleep becauses there's some kind of a big celebration going on outside and the fireworks are so loud we thought it was gunfire at first. Craziness!
1 comment:
Assisi was my very favorite place to visit in all of Italy! I felt a spirit like I have only felt 2 or 3 times in my life at his little church (with a new, bigger church built around it) that is a little ways out of town and then again (but not as strong) at his crypt. I am interested to hear what you think.
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