ASIANOVERLAND.NET WINTER EUROPEAN DAY 11/184:  ROME TO THE VATICAN, ITALY

“DAY 11, 22/12/80 ROME

SISTINE CHAPEL

COLOSSEUM

Pip and Regan decided to TANGO at the local watering hole – Regan didn’t get up. Robyn offered cardiac massage and mouth to mouth resuscitation; Regan’s knee didn’t respond.

Regan spent night at Ospital Santa Spirito with leg in plaster. We’ll try to rescue him tomorrow.”

The Seven Hills camping ground is on the outskirts of the seven hills of Rome, but is the amazing European camping ground with all  mod dons, luxuries, hot water (!!!), supermarket, bars and restaurants. I was surprised it didn’t have its own hospital.

The Colosseum is an amphitheatre in the centre of Rome, near the Roman Forum, and is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built; still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world, despite its age. Construction began under the Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD and was completed in AD 80 under his successor Titus. 

The Colosseum is built of limestone, volcanic rock, and brick-faced concrete, and could hold 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of 65,000. It 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 Roman mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era, and was later reused as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although substantially ruined because of earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1473 and 1481. It is the site of the papal conclave, by which a new pope is selected. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescos that decorate the interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment by Michelangelo.

Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo painted the chapel's ceiling, a project which changed the course of Western art and is one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization. After the Sack of Rome, he returned and, between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgment. The fame of Michelangelo's paintings has drawn visitors to the chapel ever since they were revealed five hundred years ago.

↑ Day 183 ↓ Day 185