Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Archbasilica Of SS Johns In Lateran

So after Christianity was legalized, Constantine built (or converted) four large basilicas/churches in Rome in the early to mid 4th century: St. John Lateran, St. Mary Maggiore, St. Peters, and St Paul's Without the Walls. The original St. Peter's in gone, replaced by the current one; and St. Paul's was largely but faithfully rebuilt after a fire in the early 19th century. St. John Lateran and St. Mary Maggiore are pretty much the original Roman basilicas, if Baroque'n in later centuries. Apart from the architecture and antiquity, it is the mosaics that are of great age and interest in the two original basilicas. We last visited St. John in 2013, an abbreviated visit, since it was late, they were busy, etc. So while our clothes were being washed Saturday, we took the bus out to the Lateran. A second attraction was the Scala Sancti, the Holy Stairs, which we missed entirely in 2013: next post. Oh yes, the full and official name of this church is: the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World. Top that!
And there we are , after a long bus ride; "Lateran" refers not to latitude or latte,
but to the Lateranus family, whose estate Constantine obtained, probably under
some threat, way back in the day; strange how the name Lateran has held on...















St. Peter's and the Vatican get all the attention, but St. John Lateran is still the
oldest of the Papal churches and still the official seat of the Bishop of Rome;
seat, get it?!

The Lateran Piazza features the tallest of Rome's many
Egyptian obelisks; this one a trophy brought home by
Augustus



















An old aqueduct nearby...

Anyhow, there's the cathedral, small by Vatican standards, but still pretty big;
interestingly, it's named for both the Johns, the Baptist and the Evangelist; this
is pretty rare, IMHO; in that Revelation was authored by at least three different
hands, it really is a plural St. Johns...
Knave view
Lined, both sides, by super-sized statues of the Apostles, done by Team Bernini
Chancel, etc.

The great half dome and mosaic are dark; but light shines upon
the cathedra of the Bishop of Rome




















They were preparing for a celebration, so the lights were out

Organ

In the south transept

A very limited souvenir shoppe (unlike the Vatican, which is
a huge Catholic shopping center)

Nonetheless, St. John's has its amenities, unlike many cathedrals

The humongous bronze doors, originally from the Roman
Senate

Humongous statue of Constantine, outside on the porch; this is 
about all the credit he gets; his mom, St. Helen, got all the
glory; evidently pissed, he never officially converted and
later moved his capital to Constantinople; just a few generations
later, the Christian emperor outlawed all other religions...

We tarried for perhaps an hour; a crowd of very well-dressed people had gathered, 
no children, and so we were hoping for maybe a wedding; wouldn't that be special? 
Alas, there were no children because they were all in a holding tank elsewhere, 
not enduring the lengthy sermon and mass of Confirmation;  here, a nun reads 
scripture; outside, it was pouring down rain, so we tarried further

Holy head-gear and all

Monday, May 7, 2018

National Roman Museum, 2018

Among our favorite places in Rome is the National Roman Museum, which is located just a few steps from Termini, Rome's central station. We visited in 2011 (http://roadeveron.blogspot.it/2011/05/museo-nazionale-romano.html) and again in 2013 (https://roadeveron.blogspot.it/2013/11/national-roman-museum-2013.html). And again in 2018, on Thursday, May 3rd. Alas, we did not run into Rickie Stevie or anybody else of note this time but still savored what is one of the great museums. The pix I posted in 2011 and 2013 give a representative view of the holdings, so I'll just add a few new items here.
Flat-tops were very fashionable in Republican Rome

Also the severe look for the ladies

Among the sculpture halls

Hermaphrodite; always interesting to watch reactions as people walk around
him/her

Still our favorite, the four mural walls of Livia's Villa, its summer (subterranean)
dining room

Among the many impressive mosaics

Across the street, the Baths of Diocletian, now a Mary church, designed
by Michaelangelo

Incredibly fine gold work

Votive cups with itineraries; clever marketing ploy

Near Cavour we found another new gelato joint; very trendy
vegan gelato, cacao concoctions

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Roman Roamin' 2018

We've been taking it pretty easy our first week back in Europe, making some minor improvements in Le Duc, our European camper, getting some significant repairs done, researching this and that, going for short walks to the supermercado, venturing into The City on a few occasions, mostly for errands or for restaurants, cafes or gelato shoppes of interest. As tourists, we have probably flunked the sightseeing requirement, although we did get to the Museo Nazionale Romano Thursday and the Lateran area Saturday while we were waiting on the wash at the lavandaria. Next posts.
Errands...get money, get phone cards




















Get new brakes and motor mounts
















Thus

Also look into new tires

Wash clothes: memo: do this on weekdays

One of the more tagged metro trains on line B

Random if colossal Moses on a church
somewhere new Repubblica

Street scene; everything's abloom here

Many coins in this fountain

Churches are always a good bet for someplace cool, in the shade,
to sit down and rest; this one had some spooky relics on display


Never visit Rome, I say, without visiting this greatest of buildings

Most crowded I've ever seen it (the Pantheon)


Piazza Navona was similarly crowded

But only around the fountains; here, Mr. Bubble is doing his
thing, brilliantly

Pizzeria La Montecarlo has become our favorite pizza joint
...and nearly synonymous with being lost in Rome (it's a long story)


On the bridge to the Castle San Angelo; why so
many of the statues have white hair

St. Peter's in the center there; actually we are in search of a new
gelato shoppe...which we never found


Castle St. Angelo, formerly Hadrian's mausoleum, rumored
to become the Vatican City Hard Rock Cafe