Rome, the unforgettable
1/19/20 here comes the snow tubing and skii season! the driving is challenging with snows, ices and cross winds. Sometimes, I pushed the break paddle all the way down and my car was still sliding, uh-oh! Drive safely, my fellow drivers 😀
Today, I start my blog with pictures. I feel my words are in vain when I try to say something about this. I have never been to a city like Rome. It is a living history museum and an archaeological cite. There are so many ruins, sculptures, basilica, plazas, fountains .. even from different periods of human history — the old Rome empire, the medieval, the renaissance, and the Baroque era .. When I stood on top of a hill watching the city, these buildings were shining under the early morning sun, I was touched by the human civilization!
How romantic it is that in the morning, when you wake up, you see St Peter’s Basilica on the horizon
or see some Michelangelo’s sculptures in an afternoon walk?!
The Roman history is very interesting to read. The Romans established a form of government, a republic, which was copied by countries for centuries. The Romans had great engineers and architects. Remember the saying “every road goes to Rome”? The Romans built many roads locally and across cities and military bases (the first highways?). The Romans also built many aqueducts that distribute the water. Of course, there is this one of the world 7 wonders the Colosseum that is still standing.
The Vatican city is the smallest country located in Rome. There are walls to separate Rome and the Vatican city. The pope and the church people live in the Vatican city and have their own laws and independent governance. Popes once had so much power —- they collected many treasures and stored in the Vatican museum. So many people come to visit here every day.
Of course, the most famous thing in Vatican museum is the Sistine chapel. It is still a function chapel used by the pope. So it is not open every day. The ceiling and “the last judgment” are indeed very astounding. You are not allowed to talk in the chapel as the vibration from the sound can cause the pixels fall from the ceiling. In fact, a large piece of painting had fallen. Unfortunately, we had no solutions yet how to preserve them.
Visiting Vatican and St Peter’s basilica , I have a lot of questions about Christianity. Please forgive my naiveness here. Was Jesus Christ a real person? must be, since there is a basilica where St Peter was buried. He is considered as a follower of Jesus. Stories in new testament sound like mythologies? How they are created? How Christian became so powerful in a relatively short period of time? Do people especially who major in marketing and politics study these? …
Rome is so big. You probably feel that I was stuttering when writing this blog and I cannot sort out the information in my brain. In this trip, I just quickly showed things around for my parents. I certainly will come back myself.