Sept. 15, 2007. Taking the train into the centre of ROME were we spent two (2) days exploring as many sites as possible. Compare this to the C-train in Calgary.

The line up outside the Vatican Museum. We arrived 1/2 hour before opening and waited over 2 hours in line.

First view of the Piazza San Pietro.

The Piazza was laid out by Bernini.

Large statues line the facade of the St. Peter's.

The facade of the ST. PETER'S designed by Carlo Maderno.

Fountain inside the huge PIAZZA SAN PIETRO.

Mike standing in front of the fountain with the obelisk in the background.

Basilica of St. Peter's entrance.

The first St. Peter's was built in 326 by Pope Sylvester I.

In 1452 Pope Nicholas V and then Julius II redesigned the basilica.

Michelangelo at age 72 designed the Dome.

Inside the VATICAN MUSEUM priceless artifacts are displayed. We enter the Egyptian Museum first. A mummified person.

The Egyptian collection was removed from Egypt in the 19th and 20th century.

The statues and artifacts are priceless and we are surprised by how much has been "acquired" from Egypt, the Middle East and Greece.

We do remember that whenever we explored places in these countries it was mentioned in the Guide Books that the originals were either in the Museum in Rome, Berlin or London.

Painted bas-relief from a 2400 BC Tomb.

Open air part of the museum.

We had seen these grave stones in Syria before.

The museum is vast and overwhelming, the largest in the world.

It is really a walking marathon of awe inspiring Roman, Greek, Egyptian ... statues and artifacts.

We enter the Roman Art area.

Some examples of the quality and preservation of statues.

Well preserved life size statues.

Roman copy of the Greek Doryphoros.

Here is an example of how artificats are displayed in the Vatican Museum.

Sarcophagus - Tomb

There are galleries and more galleries.

The interior ceilings of the galleries are beautifully decorated with frescos.

The quality and vivid colors are amazing.

An example of the frescos lining the gallery ceilings.

The next four (4) pictures are more examples of the decoration on the ceilings.

It is hard to capture in pictures the grandness of this place.

The Vatecan Museum has Rome's greatest paintings,...

... with work by Giotto, Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Leonardo and Raphael.

These frescos cover the entire wall.

Fresco's on the ceiling.

Every inch is covered with frescos. It would take you an hour alone in this room to see each detail.

Words can't describe these amazing displays of frescos.

Seen here is the Liberation of St. Peter from Prison by Raphael. (1512-14)

This wall size fresco is called The School of Athens (1511) by Raphael. Raphael depicted some of this contemporaries as philosophers, including Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Most people only come to see the Sistine Chapel, which lies at the end of the one-way walking system.

It takes 20 to 30 minutes of walking from the Entrance to get to the Sistine Chapel to give an idea of the vastness of this place.

There are no pictures on this webpage of the Sistine Chapel as photos are prohibited.

The Sistine Chapel 1116 square yard ceiling displays Michelangelo's frescos and is something that shouldn't be missed.

Staircase leading down from the museums ....

... is a double helix, consiting of two spirals one to walk up and one to walk down.

From the Vatican Museum we get in line to climb the St. Peter's Dome.

The 136.5m high dome was designed by Michelangelo.

537 steps lead to the summit of the dome...

... and a great view of the Piazza San Pietro.

View of the Castel Sant'Angelo.

In the distance we see the huge dome of the Pantheon.

View of the Victor Emmanuel Monument and Colosseum.

The Vatican Museum seen from the top of the Dome.

Gardens in the Vatican City. The Vatican City is an independent sovereign state in the heart of Rome.

Inside the massive Basilica of St. Peters.

The size of the people gives scale.

The Baldacchino - Bernini's Baroque canopy stands above St. Peter's tomb.

The Dome of St. Peters

Michelangelo's Pieta.

Walking across the Tevere. The Castel Sant'Angelo and the Ponte Sant'Angelo.

Mid day we stroll along the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II to the PIAZZA NAVONA.

The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi.

The PANTHEON, a temple to "all the gods".

Best preserved ancient building in Rome, built in AD 118.

The coffering seen in the dome reduces the weight of the roof.

The Oculus (hole in the roof) lets in the only light for the entire building.

A view of the Pantheon from the Piazza della Minerva.

PIAZZA DELLA MINERVA displays Bernini's sculpture of ...

... an elephant supporting an Egyptian obelisk.

The TREVI FOUNTAIN - Rome's largest and most famous fountain.

Designed by Nicola Salvi and completed 1762. There are a lot of people crowding this fountain.

Neptune flanked by two Tritons.

The COLONNA DELL' IMMACOLATA ...

... commemorates Pope Pius IX's doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

PIAZZA DI SPAGNA and the SPANISH STEPS

The Spanish Steps is very crowded all the time and I did miss the azaleas flowers.

Sept. 16, 2007. The much anticipated COLOSSEUM.

The exterior walls display doric, ionic and corinthian tiers.

We were there.

Rome's greatest amphitheatre commissioned by Emperor Vespasian in AD 72.

Interior steps leading to upper levels.

Full view of the amphitheatre and the arena floor.

The main purpose of the Colosseum was to stage deadly gladiatorial combats ...

... and wild animal fights.

The arena floor covered a network of lift ...

... and cages for wild animals.

The Colosseum could hold 55,000 people...

...and Ruby.

The upper stories of the amphitheatre.

Closer view of the arena floor.

Past fires and earthquakes mostly is the cause of its current state.

The ARCH OF CONSTANTINE beside the Colosseum.

The ARCH OF TITUS in the ROMAN FORUM.

View from the Palatine of the Colosseum and entrance of the Roman Forum.

View of the Roman Forum, the Basilica of Constantine and Maxentius, Temple of Venus and Rome, Santa Francesca Romana.

The ROMAN FORUM displaying the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the Curia, and the Basilica Aemilia.

The BASILICA OF CONSTANTINE & MAXENTIUS.

To the far left is the remains of the Temple of Castor and Pollux and in the centre is the Arch of Septimius Severus.

The ARCH OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS.

From the left the Temple of Antoninus & Faustina, and far right the Temple of Romulus.

Exploring the PALANTINE. Seen here is the Domus Augustana (private home of emperors).

The Stadium in the Palatine.

The stadium is part of the imperial palace.

The exedra of the stadium.

An example of columns where constructed. Interior brick construction and covered externally by marble.

Taking a walk through the Roman Forum. The 4th-century bronze door of the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano (built on top of Temple of Romulus)

The TEMPLE OF ANTONINUS & FAUSTINA now incorporated into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda.

The Arch of Septimius Severus...

... built in AD 203.

View of the Roman Forum and Palatine.

PALAZZO SENATORIO the city government.

The Capitoline Hill.

The TRAJAN'S COLUMN...

... the 30m high column depicts scenes from the Dacian campaigns,...

... beginning with the Romans preparing for war and ending with the Dacians being ousted from their homeland.

All that remains of the TRAJAN'S FORUM.

The TRAJAN'S MARKET...

... was the Romans shopping centre and ...

... housed approx. 150 shops.

The FORUM OF AUGUSTUS and the remains of the Podium of the temple of Mars the Avenger.