Rome

It was Ashleys' Birthday today and we are all going out for pizza in Rome.........

We visited St. Peters Square, then we entered Vatican City. What an amazing place to visit. We entered the Sistene Chapel and I had shivers up my spine. Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512. The ceiling, and especially The Last Judgment (1535-1541), is widely believed to be Michelangelo's crowning achievement in painting. The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter is a Late Renaissance church located within Vatican City. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world. Saint Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world"and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".

In Roman Catholic tradition, the basilica is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, also according to tradition, the first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica. The Papal Basilica holds many altars, but the two main altars are the Papal Altar and the Altar of the Chair of Saint Peter.

The Papal Altar is directly above Saint Peter's tomb and is surmounted by a canopy - the Baldacchino - created by Bernini. The Pope is the only person who ever celebrates Mass at the Papal Altar.

I brought some blessed Rosary Beads for Riley from the souvenir shop.

We then travelled to Colosseum which was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. From here we visited the Wedding Cake Monument which is located near the Roman Forum and on Piazza Venezia, the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II on horseback and the Italian flag stands on each side. The monument also houses an eternal flame which was built underneath the statue after World War 1, as well as the tomb of the unknown soldier. The eternal flame is guarded by two soldiers on either side and is very eye-catching.

Then we visited the Forum which is a rectangular plaza surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings . Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum. After Ashleys birthday celebrations, a few of us went back to the Trevi Fountain to see it illuminated and do some haggling with the street vendors, a few wines and another late night.....................