A Rambling Writer Rerun: Italy, part 9: St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome
Your virtual Italy vacation continues as Thor and I visit St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in Rome.
NOTE: For a virtual vacation and time-travel, join Thor and me in 2008. Italy! Starting with highlight photos posted here on Saturday, June 15, I’ll continue this rerun series every week, with occasional interruptions for other Geezer Adventures. Join us in Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, and Milan. Buon viaggio!
St. Peter’s Basilica is the largest Christian church in the world and the object of pilgrimage for believers from around the world. It’s also an amazing creation of Renaissance and Baroque architects and artists, so of course Thor and I couldn’t miss visiting. The entrances are protected by Swiss mercenary guards in colorful uniforms possibly designed by Michelangelo, though I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
Below is a closer look at the basilica, with its iconic dome and massive portico. The expansive St. Peter’s square fronting it is actually an oval, originally Nero’s Circus chariot racecourse. The obelisk in the center (top photo) is 90 feet tall, solid granite weighing about 300 tons. It was erected in Egypt over 2000 years ago, and then Emperor Caligula brought it to Rome. If the stone could talk! It has overseen the slaughter of Christians during the Circus “half time entertainments,” and then the torture of Protestants by the Inquisition in the building just outside the square. Dian Lorenzo Bernini, the Baroque architect, designed the new incarnation of the square with enclosing columns — 284 Doric columns, 56 feet high. The oval “square” has about same dimensions as the ancient Coliseum.
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection — a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?” The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara is at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
2 thoughts on “A Rambling Writer Rerun: Italy, part 9: St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome”
Many years ago, my brother had to be in Rome on Nato business. He made a point of visiting the Pieta. He said it made the entire boring trip worth while.
It’s on my bucket list.
Thanks, Phyl! Yes, I had always wanted to see it in person, and it did not disappoint. The marble is simply luminous, and the artistry of course magnificent, yet personal. Deeply touching.