Roma!

A sacrificial altar in the middle of Campus Marcius, where gladiators once trained.


My street, via Luigi Santini.


One of Bernini's Moor fountains on Piazza Navona.



I'm not making it up, this is my name on a (Roman? Early Christian?) fragment in the portico of San Silvestro. What could it mean?? The photo on the left doesn't look like much, but it is what's left of the octaganal room in the Domus Aurea (Golden House) of Nero.



The angel on top of the Castel, right before a lightning storm. The fountain of Piazza (traffic circle) della Repubblica. The statues are of tritons wrestling niads. They ap[parently looked like they were having too much fun, so the fountain caused a bit of a scandal.




Stunning views from Castel Sant'Angelo.



Two examples of Borromini's wonderfully unique Baroque style: San Carlino and the ministry of propaganda (really, that's what it's called). Note the convex/concave play of both facades.



Just a random courtyard in my neghborhood in Trastevere. Pretty sweet, no? And this is one of the eight elaborate Barberini coat of arms (with the telltale bees) designed by Bellini, which line the baldacchino of the papal altar in St. Peter's. The story goes that Urban VIII commissioned it as a thank offering for a niece who almost died in childbirth. Beneath the scroll is a woman's face, in various expressions of pain. In the final one, there's a laughing child.


The twin churches of Piazza del Popolo, taken from the obelisk in the middle of the square, where I would sit, write, listen to the fountains, and gaze. Sigh....


The ruins of the temple to Fortune in Our Present Day (Caesar was murdered nearby), and the head of the statue of the goddess herself, found in the ruins. Deh! Nasconditi, o Virtù! (from Poppea...)



The unexpected epitaph on Keats' grave, and a weeping angel in the Protestant cemetery.


A dramatic allegory of the faith on the tomb of St. Ignatius. And a street near Piazza Navona, note the window frames now buried under street level!


This medieval fresco in Santa Saba depicts the story of St. Nicholas. On hearing a poor man (lower corner) lament that he had no dowry for his 3 daughters, Nicholas tossed a bag of money through their window. And thus the holiday shopping season was born.


The 2-hour line to get into the Vatican Museums (a portion), and the enormous river god (also a portion) who lives inside, along with just a few other works of art.



Women in Black Against War. They're international, I think they assemble in front of the library in New York as well. I went up to them with mom and introduced ourselves as "quacchere" (Quakers). They seemed please to meet us!


A sneaky mosaic!


A fragment from what must have been an enormous statue (the figure is unidentified) and just a small part of a sepulchre frieze, depicting a Roman triumph over the barbarians.


The weird-looking lunch they gave me on my flight to Vienna. Watch for it on airlinemeals.net!


A statue of saint Istvan (Stephen), the church, and cousin Mike in downtown Köszeg, Hungary.


The tallest obelisk in Rome, outside of San Giovanni. Rome has more obelisks then Egypt-I'm so proud! A classic cupid statue as well.


The interior of the Colosseum..... and the so-called Square Colosseum of Mussolini's time. The inscription reads: "A nation of poets, artists, heroes, saints, thinkers, scientists, navigators, and transcenders." Ma dai!



This modern church was built to be Mussolini's tomb, had he not been hanged and dismembered by that nation of poets, artists, heroes, etc. The strong wall separating the forum of Augustus from the fire-prone suburra, where the classic Roman hoi polloi lived.


Part of a Renaissance facade along the elegant Via Giulia. I wonder which victims this sign refers to.


An elaborate mosaic floor and ruins of a ninfeo at emporer Hadrian's Villa, his country retreat in nearby Tivoli.


Porta San Sebastiano, leading out to the Via Appia. An angel etched into the porta's travertine.


Basalt slabs on the Via Appia Antica (note the wagon grooves), and cypresses along the way.


Bougainvillea blooms.


The Piazza di Pietra (stone). The Palatine with the Circus Maximus (it's just
that grassy bit in front.)