Throwback Thursday: A View of Rome

tanjabrittonwriter 52 Comments

I will occasionally re-publish an older post under the heading Throwback Thursday. This one first appeared here on July 12, 2016, when my blog was but a few months young and was noticed by only a handful of fellow bloggers. I have made only a few slight changes to the original. This is the third of four posts about a visit to Rome in June 2015. Click here for part 1, and here for part 2.

Thank you for traveling back in time with me.

🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹 🇮🇹

At any new destination, I like to obtain a bird’s-eye view, if possible, and during my sojourn in Rome, the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica provides one such perch. This imposing landmark is visible from multiple vantage points throughout the city, and once inside the nave of the church, I feel dwarfed when glancing up at its height of nearly 450 feet.

To reach the cupola, one has to mount 551 stairs, even though it is possible to bypass the initial 231 by taking an elevator. There is never any doubt in my mind that I will ascend all of them under my own power. With the ubiquity of high-carb foods in the country synonymous with pasta and pizza, burning off a few extra calories will make my next meal more pleasure-, and less guilt-laden. Only a few hours earlier, I saw a restaurant advertise “habemus pizza.” The allusion to “habemus papam,” the official declaration following the successful election of a new pontiff, made be both hungry, and laugh.

After the first set of steps, I enter a balcony at the base of the dome.

Cupola of St. Peter's Basilica

Cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica

From the ground level, vertiginously distant from this altitude, I only saw its gilded surface, but from here I appreciate its artistic details, its frescoes, and angelic mosaics.

One of many mosaics at the base of the cupola

One of many mosaics at the base of the cupola

A circular inscription from the Gospel of St. Matthew below the balcony revolves around Saint Peter who was reportedly crucified where this temple of Catholicism is now located. “Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum” translates as “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven.”

The remaining 320 steps are enclosed in a narrowing spiral staircase which would be a nightmare in case of claustrophobia from which I, thankfully, do not suffer. When I finally emerge into the open, Rome stretches out in all directions, surrounded by the hilly Campagna which adds a picturesque backdrop to the urban tapestry under the canopy of a blue sky dappled with clouds. Closer at hand, the statues of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles lord over St. Peter’s Square from the rooftop of the basilica and seem to bless all of Rome and the Tiber River, lifeblood of the city.

St. Peter’s Square and Tiber River, seen from the top of the dome

St. Peter’s Square and Tiber River, seen from the top of the dome

To the north and west the Vatican’s meticulously groomed and verdant gardens doubtlessly benefit from the river’s presence. Beyond the stream, the emblematic walls of the Colosseum invoke ancient Rome’s might and terror as well as its architectural ingenuity, similar to the Pantheon, also in the line of sight. Both edifices have survived nearly two millennia and the cupola of the latter served as a model for Michelangelo’s dome which holds me up at present.

His life from 1475 until 1564 fell into the period when the current basilica was erected at the site of an older one, dating to the fourth century. I recall my woefully short hours at the Vatican Museums earlier in the day whose walls also enclose the paintings of the Sistine Chapel, arguably Michelangelo’s greatest creation. While I stood agape before his superb artistry not so many hours ago, little did I expect to experience elation again so soon, but it should not have come as a surprise. In this metropolis where one superlative supplants another, it seems improbable that this current pinnacle will be equaled, or even exceeded, but somehow I expect exactly that.

🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹  🇮🇹 🇮🇹

There will be one more post about my Rome trip on the coming Thursday.

Click here for the German version/klicken Sie bitte hier für die deutsche Version:

Ein Blick auf Rom

52 thoughts on “Throwback Thursday: A View of Rome”

  5. Having taken Latin in high school, I wanted to change Habemus pizza to Habemus pizzam. The m, especially if prolonged, could do double duty as the mmm of expectation for the eating of said pizza.

    And speaking of Latin, “Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam…” reveals the play on words that is lost in the English translation.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Of all the interesting details in your post, the one that intrigued me most was the view from atop the basilica. I can’t remember seeing a photo that includes the Tiber; I didn’t realize it was so close. Perhaps I simply didn’t pay enough attention in the past, but I suspect that most photos I’ve seen in Rome have focused on the buildings.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Linda. I guess some spatial relationships don’t make sense until we see them with our own eyes. I didn’t have any preconceived notions about the course of the Tiber River, so I wasn’t surprised. But I walked along it several times during my trip which was in some ways reminiscent to walking along the Seine in Paris.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Fantastic view! I’ve only experienced one like that at St. Paul’s in London. Though I might consider climbing through that dome a bit claustrophobic. Can hardly wait to see St. Peter’s on my upcoming trip.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Dankeschön Tanja.
    Du weckst Erinnerungen.
    Im Petersdom habe ich mal einen ganzen Tag verbracht.
    Vom frühen Morgen bis zum späten Abend.
    Ich konnte einfach nicht genug bekommen von dem herrlichen, einmaligen roten Marmor, der den Päpsten vorbehalten war bis zu Michelangelos Pieta.
    Und dann der Ausblick.
    Vielen Dank, dass du diesen Beitrag nochmal gepostet hast.
    Viele liebe Grüße Brigitte

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Vielen Dank, liebe Brigitte. Ich hatte leider nur 3 1/2 Tage Zeit in Rom, was natürlich viel zu kurz ist. Ansonsten hätte ich auch einen Tag in dem Dom verbringen können, sowie mindestens einen weiteren im Vatikanischen Museum.
      Es freut mich, daß mein Beitrag Deine schönen Erinnerungen aufgefrischt hat.
      Sei herzlich gegrüßt,
      Tanja

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  14. How amazing to see the mosaics in close-up during your climb, and then having the panoramic view of the city. What an interesting perspective your photo provides. I wonder how much the experience of visiting Rome now as opposed to in 2016 would have changed. Do you have any desire to pay a return visit?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, Carol. Seeing the church and cupola first from the ground level and then from the height of the cupola was a remarkable experience.

      I have often wondered how different my experience would be nearly 10 years later. Because I visited on my own and missed a few things, I would like to return with my husband one of these days. We don’t know if that will happen, but it’s nice to imagine it might.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. I’m impressed that you climbed all the way up to the top of the dome and gained that amazing view. (The mosaics in close-up are wonderful too.) I would never have got up there, having no head for heights and being a bit claustrophobic!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. So cool, I absolutely love all the architecture in Rome and surrounding areas. I’d love to visit there some year, but I am pretty sure I will self-combust into a steaming pile of ashes if I step foot anywhere near the Vatican City (my parochial upbringing had its moments ha)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. Liebe Tanja, Rom ist so eine zauberhafte Stadt. Nun wird auch sie seit einigen Jahren von Touristen geflutet. Ich kann mich noch erinnern, im Jahre 2000 fast allein in der Sixtinischen Kapelle auf den Bänken an den Wänden gesessen zu haben, um Michelangelos Arbeiten auf mich wirken zu lassen. Ein paar Jahre später gab es heftiges Gedrängel dort, ich flog gar raus, weil ich verbotenerweise fotografierte 😉 Naja, sowas macht man auch nicht. Heute muss man sich soweit ich weiß, anmelden, wenn man die Vatikanischen Museen besichtigen kann und ob man einfach so auf das Dach des Petersdoms noch kommt, das weiß ich auch nicht.
    Ich wünsche Dir einen besinnlichen 3. Advent und geniße diese schönen Erinnerungen.
    Maren

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Liebe Maren,

      so eine schöne Erfahrung wie Du im Jahre 2000 hattest, ist mir entgangen. Als ich im Sommer 2015 dort war, habe ich schon Eintrittskarten für das Kolosseum und das Vatikanische Museum reserviert. Vor der Peterskirche gab es lange Schlangen, doch war es problemlos, in die Kuppel hochzusteigen. Ich würde zwar gerne nochmals hin, habe aber auch die Befürchtung, daß größere Menschenmengen die Eindrücke doch sehr verschlechtern würden.

      Auch ich wünsche Dir einen schönen dritten Advent.

      Herzlichst,

      Tanja

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. I had to learn historical landmarks through art history classes, lectures and book illustrations. It’s not the same seeing these places in person. However, as I’ve aged, I’m more interested in trips that focus on the environment and ecology. I guess it’s because the Renaissance seems to glorify so much what ‘humans’ are ‘capable’ of creating. Now, I’m more interested in traveling for witnessing events that only ‘Nature’ can produce.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I assume most of us learn about history and historical landmarks in school, but seeing some of them in person, leaves a very different impression.
      I’m always torn when it comes to bombastic human-made architecture. Much of it has its own beauty and appeal, but often it’s also linked to human suffering and the destruction of the natural environment. Just think about the inhumanity of the Colosseum.
      I also find myself increasingly drawn to the environment and ecology but that does not necessarily preclude wanting to learn about and experience some of this world’s heritage sites.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • One has to learn it in order to be able to criticize it. In art school I was told to not only learn technique, but to also draw and paint in a ‘classical’ manner. Only then I would be able to understand all the other styles.

        Liked by 1 person

  22. Great post! Europe is a country of stairs! Unfortunately, I am claustrophobic. I can’t tell you how many of those old spiral staircases I’ve climbed while my husband says, “don’t worry, you’re close to the end” from ten feet in front of me!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you for your thoughts. My apologies for the late response, your comment ended up in my spam folder.

      Sometimes it helps to have someone help us through our claustrophobia with encouraging remarks. Overcoming it has a lot of rewards, as you obviously know from experience.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a reply to tanjabrittonwriter Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.