Saturday, November 26, 2011

Pics from Rome

The Pantheon.  OMG(s?), I so loved the Pantheon.





The dome on this thing just resonated with me in a crazy geometrical perfection sort of way.  I mean, yeah, sure, here's the dome on St. Peter's, which has its own undeniable appeal:




But they're something like 1500 years apart.  (I think I incorrectly posted the Pantheon was 1500 years old -- it's more like 1500 years before St. Peter's -- it dates to 126 A.D.  Come to think of it, that's exactly 1500 years ahead of St. Peter's, which was consecrated in 1626.)  I digress.  The point is:  Look at that thing!  Look at the architectural ballsiness involved in putting a great big hole at the top of your dome.  Not to mention the way that the shadows fall is a huge part of the beauty of the pattern in the dome.  Man, I loves me the Pantheon.


Since I mentioned St. Peter's, this would be a good time to throw in the shot from the front:




(I'm too close to see the dome here.)


Also, Michelangelo's Pieta was there.  Photos don't really do it justice, but, y'know, I was there, I saw it, I snapped a picture.







What else?  Me, Rome, Trevi Fountain:



(Before I left, everyone warned me about all the pickpockets in Rome.  Please note the way I'm holding my bag -- it isn't the big blue thing -- that's the jacket of the guy walking below me.  It's the tiny brown bag clutched under my arm with my forearm on the zipper.  My philosophy is this:  when you're dealing with pickpockets (as opposed to, say, armed robbers), all you have to do is be a less attractive target than the guy next to you.  I walked all over Rome with my purse clutched that way.  Took a little effort to relax my arm at the end of the day, but I'm happy to say I left Rome with all my stuff.)

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