Rome - December 28, 2011 - Pantheon and Around

Dome inside Pantheon

Pantheon

The Pantheon is an awe inspiring building. Two thousand years old and sporting the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome, it never fails to impress. The inside is lit only from the oculus in the center of the ceiling.

Once dedicated to all of the gods (or at least the most important ones) it is now, and has been for 1300 years, a Catholic church. It is also the burial place of Emanuelle II, Umberto I, Rafael and Queen Margherita (yes the one the pizza was named for….mmmmmm pizza)

Piazza della Rotunda: In the center of the piazza is another obelisk. This one was taken from the Temple of Ra in Heliopolis some time during the Roman Imperial Period. The Pantheon is, well the Pantheon a magnificent building of the Imperial Roman Period.

Piazza Della Minerva: Another Obelisk? This one is also from Egypt, from Sais to be specific. It really hasn’t moved much over the years having been brought to Rome by Diocletian in the late 3rd century CE to decorate the nearby temple of Isis (which had a lot of obelisks it seems). Sometime in the mid 17th century it was placed on a rather whimsical elephant shaped base, which was carved by? Bernini of course, have you not been paying attention. I tried to get a good picture of the elephant, but it is undergoing restoration.

Rome - December 28, 2011 - Tomb of Augustus

Mausoleum of Augustus

Leaving the Piazza del Popolo we headed south along the via del Ripetta with the hopes of catching a glimpse of the Mausoleum of Augustus. Which we did. Not really as impressive as the mausoleum of Hadrian, but still the final resting place of the first emperor of Rome. Eventually the tomb would be ransacked and ashes dumped out. So who knows, might still be there ground into the dirt.

Like it’s later and more inspiring mausoleum of Hadrian the tomb was turned into a fortress in the middle ages. The fortifications were torn down at a later date leaving this sort of stumpy tumulus hidden behind a fence.

In its heyday two granite obelisks flanked the entrance. One is now up behind Santa Maria Maggiore and the other is in front of the Quirinale Palace.

Rome - December 28, 2011 - Piazza del Popolo 1

Santa Maria del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo: This piazza seems to have it all. A genuine Egyptian obelisk from the reign of Ramses the Great (though originally erected by Seti I, the Pharaohs was in the habit of reusing monuments. In fact this was quite a common practice. Scraping the name of one pharaoh off and substituting their own name next to a list of fairly generic “magnificent deeds”. You know the kind: “I slew mine enemies, burned their fields and did not leave one temple un-desecrated, slaves we did take the survivors and then we slew them too, meaty jam we did make of their flesh. For I am the mighty Scratched-Out-Name and my glory shall live forever…” yeah, about that.

Or in Shelley’s words:

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desart. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

This one was re-erected in the square in 1589 by our old friend Sixtus V (he do get around don’t he?). There is a pair of twin churches. Begun two years apart in 1679 and 1681 each with a fat dome.

The floor plans are posted on signs next to each to show that the domes are only identical from the piazza side. Because the lots were different shapes the domes are as well. One is actually oval and the other round, however from the front they look the same.

Twin churches, Piazza del Popolo

Twin palaces designed in the 19th century on either side of those. Neoclassical-Egyptian lion fountains (four) surrounding the obelisk and a sweeping set of stairs and a fountain with Neptune, statues with facis, trophies of roman arms and ship prows in bronze. At the top of this is a sort of creepy nyphmaneum that looks pretty low rent when compared to the rest of the piazza. It seriously looks like a graveyard for lost statues.

To top it all off there are two domes and a tower on the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, the final dome is over the police station. It is a giant Freudian nightmare of symbols, soft yet voluptuous curving domes, and tall towers and obelisks thrusting upwards towards the sky, fountains spewing water, into irregular oval basins, a gateway or “portal”, wow, this whole piazza is just sick and wrong. Maybe I should lay off the psychiatry books for a few days.

Porta del Popolo: The Aurelian walls are here along with the ancient gate Porto Flamia which was redone by Bernini in the mid sixteenth century on orders of the pope for the entry of Queen Christina of Sweden. I am not sure when the name was changed to Porta del Popolo. All in all it looks rather silly.

Porta del Popolo, formerly Porta Flamia

Rome - December 27, 2011 - Piazza Navona

Sant'Agnese in Agone

Alex by small fountain

Walking back towards the hotel from the Vatican City we ended up at the Piazza Navona. Lucky for us there was a Christmas Market in full swing. The sweet scent of deep fried dough, sugar and cinnamon wafted through the cool evening air. Puppet shows and street performers where out in force and the police not far behind.

YAY Another obelisk! This one sits atop the fluid almost violent fountain of the four rivers by, who who? Bernini of course. The obelisk called Domitian’s obelisk was moved here to top the fountain in the 17th century. It was originally either in or outside the basilica of Maxentius, Sad thing is I don’t know if this is a real one or a fake one (meaning a real Egyptian obelisk or a Roman copy).

Sant'Agnese in Agone and Obelisk

The piazza itself is quite marvelous, being in the shape of the circus of Domitian which stood on this spot back in the day. Obviously not as big as the circs maximus. There is a delightful church , the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, set back on one of the long sides of the piazza. The concave facade and fluid baroque architecture is quite something.

There are two smaller fountains on the north and south side of the big fountain. One was built in the 1500’s with more stupid tritons on the bottom, it was then capped off by another statue by Bernini in the 1650’s. The other fountain had a statue added to it in the 19th century to make the whole piazza a little more balanced. Very Feng Shui.

Piazza Navona, Sant'Agnese in Agone and Christmas Market