1997:
March 23-30, 1997:
We flew to Rome and saw many of the popular sites.
ROME:
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312.
Arch of Constantine
Right next door to the Arch of Constantine is the Colosseum, the largest Roman amphiteater in the world.
The Colosseum
The Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) was built in the 5th century to house the chains with which St. Peter was imprisoned in Jerusalem. The church is dominated by Michelangelo’s statue of Moses.
St. Peters of the Chains Church – Michelangelo’s Moses
The Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in the city of Rome and one of the most famous fountains in the world. The best known and most persistent tradition about the fountain consists of throwing a coin into the fountain before leaving “the eternal city”, favoring a future return to the city.
Trevi Fountain
Santa Maria di Loreto is located just across the street from the Trajan’s Column, near the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II. The church was built atop an earlier 15th century chapel, which contained an icon of the Virgin of Loreto, hence the church retained the icon and acquired the title.
Santa Maria di Loreto
The Temple of Portunus is a well preserved late second or early first century B.C. rectangular temple in Rome, Italy. Its dedication to the God Portunus—a divinity associated with livestock, keys, and harbors—is fitting given the building’s topographical position near the ancient river harbor of the city of Rome.
Tempio di Portuno
In front of the Temple of Portunus is the Fountain of the Tritons.
Fountain of the Tritons
The Pantheon is a former Roman temple and, since AD 609, a Catholic church in Rome, Italy. It was built on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.
Pantheon
St. Peter’s Square is a large oval shaped piazza located at the western end of Via della Conciliazione and in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
St. Peter’s Piazza
Views from the Top of St. Peter’s Dome
Michelangelo’s Madonna della Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica
NAPLES:
We took a train from Rome to Naples.
Naples Coastline
Castel Sant’Elmo is a medieval fortress located on Vomero Hill adjacent to the Certosa di San Martino, overlooking Naples, Italy.
Castel Sant’Elmo
POMPEII:
We took a train to Pompeii, a flourishing resort city south of ancient Rome, which was nestled along the coast of Italy in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, one of Europe’s two active volcanoes. Its most famous eruption took place in the year 79 A.D., when it buried the city of Pompeii under a thick carpet of volcanic ash.
Mount Vesuvius
Street/Ruins of Pompeii
The bodies of some Pompeii victims had been covered in layers of fine ash that calcified over the centuries, forming a type of protective shell.
Calcified Bodies
We saw many frescoes in Pompeii, including this one from the First-century Roman Lararium from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii
Fresco – House of the Vettii
FLORENCE:
We took a train to Florence.
View over Florence from the Piazzale Michelangelo
We walked over the famous Ponte de Vecchio.
Ponte Vecchio
We saw Michelangelo’s masterpiece, David.
Michelangelo’s David
And we visited the Duomo in Florence and the adjoining Baptistery of Saint John.
Florence Duomo
Baptistery of Saint John Doors
FIESOLE:
We also toured the town of Fiesole, nearby Florence.
Roman Ruins – 1st Century BC
Duomo di Fiesole, Campanile
Convent San Francesco
VENICE:
Lastly, we took a train to Venice.
Hotel Carlton
Views of Venice
Clothes Hanging up to Dry
Church of San Stae
Fondaco dei Turchi
Chiesa dei Santi Geremia e Lucia
At Saint Mark’s Plaza, we visited St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace.
Piazza San Marco
Saint Mark’s Clocktower
Saint Mark’s Basilica