LIFE AND DEATH ROMAN STYLE

Due to a very busy schedule for the past few days, there was little time for blogging. Yesterday, Wednesday, we went to the Villa Borghese in the morning. This was an actual villa of a very wealthy Borghese, a cardinal, whose cousin was pope at the time, who collected exquisite art -- by hook or by crook. Acquisition methods and means aside, the collection of Berninis, Greek and Roman work, Ruebens, and others along with the exquisite floors, ceilings and grounds were profoundly opulent.

In the afternoon, we went to the catacombs of Priscilla, where hundreds of Romans were buried beneath the ground in layer upon layer. We went down into the catacombs and saw painting on stone that dates back to the first century C.E., according to the guide. Rome is built on volcanic rock and so is easier to dig into, but it hardens when exposed to air so layers and layers of passageways with sealed in bodies are still there.

In the evening, we did the "Rome at Night" walk starting with the Spanish Steps, which were well-populated with mostly young people and friends. There is another beautiful Bernini sculpture, The Sinking Boat Fountain, below the steps around which crowds sat and chatted. We continued to the Trevi Fountain which was even more beautiful and crowded at night. Then on past the Pantheon, a gelato stop (an absolute must), Piazza Navona and then to Campo di Fiori which is very close to where we are staying and a sort of "home base" for us. It was a very busy day, indeed! A note about obelisks: Rome has 13 obelisks, 6 of them we saw on the walk last night. When Romans conquered Egypt, they took down obelisks, loaded them on barges across the Mediterranean and up the Tiber River to Rome where they were erected in prominent places. They are huge, made from single blocks of granite. The Romans were specialists in GIANT projects of many types over many centuries.