Its Alive!

click on the images to enlarge. I think the resemblance is striking! I love the moustache!

These guys are what you call "Hermes". I really don't know why. But they are real good lookin fellas, doncha think?

Of course I found my niche.

Six pack abs...like rock. Like rock I tall ya!

The fella on my left, he probably cut himself shaving. Skinny bloke...

And I am sure I posed for this picture only a couple of years ago!

One of the 365 churches in Rome

This was a church which was placed (more or less) on the site of the Emperor Nero's grave. Apparently it was haunted, so they figured a church would fix the problem. The above sculpture by Bernini has a bas relief of Nero's tomb in behind it.
The odor of sanctity. Pretty small church all in all. Though it is open all the time, and there are always people praying in the little chapels along the sides.

It doesn't look all that impressive from the outside. But then, that's the Roman way to do things...either its a honkin great monument, or they keep it all inside. You can tall the tourists, women with bare arms, men with puzzled looks and maps.

What can I say? Sculpture and architecture by Bernini, art work by Carvaggio. My goodness! Names which rank up there with the best! The list of men involved in the building of this church read like a who's who of the Renaissance!

Augustus Caesar

Travelogue... Above is the mausoleum of Augustus Caesar...quite possibly the greatest of the Roman Caesars. Below is a famous statue of the guy, which used to be above his mausoleum, but is now living in the vestibule of this big old church a couple of kilometers away. I rather like the iron work around the niche that the statue sits in. This statue is about twice life size. It used to be holding a flag pole or a spear.
The detail in the statue is stunning! All the details in the armour are obvious, and are easily made out.
The trash and broken buildings that make up a city like Rome mean that some of the most remarkable monuments are actually in a pit...originally this once was the same level as the rest of the area, but as they put buildings up, and they inevitably decayed, were demolished and new buildings put up where the old ones were, the ground level has risen about ten or fifteen feet above the level of the original mausoleum. I think Brenda wanted to show how big the stairs were....you can move a whole busload of tourists down those comparatively modern stairs!
Even after two thousand years, the quality of the workmanship has stood the test of time!
To get an idea of the size of the place, you have to see that in the above picture, there is a standard railing to keep tourists safe in the little hole above the main entrance. Its not that big by Roman standards, but it is plenty big enough! Not that they let tourists in any more!
They tell me his bones have long since vanished.
click on the pictures to enlarge.

Bill in Rome

Just chillin'

I found my niche

And I found a shoe store for Jennifer.

Rome History

This little essay is from http://news-history.blogspot.com/

Obviously this is not written in English first, in fact, this essay has a sort of "babelfish" look to it. However, it is worth the effort to struggle through the odd syntax.

It deals with the excavations they are doing on the Palantine Hill. It is really difficult to carry out real excavations there since the nature of an archaeological excavation is to systematically destroy the place, and the Romans are not about to let their precious Palantine Hill vanish in a "dig".

The top picture is of the Palantine Hill as it looks now, and you can see the Circus Maximus to the right.

Click on it to enlarge!

The bottom pic is, well, just for fun! Do androids dream of electric sheep? Do electric sheep need to be plugged in? Like I said, a fun picture. If people want, I will post a bunch more of the sheep up on these pages.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Roman Emperor's Insignia Unearthed
Archaeologists have discovered what says are the only existing imperial standards that belong to Maxentius emperor the precious objects that were buried to preserve it and to keep them from enemies when its rival Constantina defeated it. The excavation underneath the hill of the Palatine of Rome near the given Colosseum return upon articles including three lances and four javelins that the experts this are pressing for his complete it the pushes generally above give fragment return only and the fact that they are the only known devices of his class.Clementina Panella, the archaeologist who made the discovery, said that the standards probable were hidden by the people of Maxentius in an attempt to preserve the memory of the emperor after Constantina I in the battle of 321 A.D of the bridge of Milvian a little while defeated it crucial for the history of the Roman empire that Constantina saw become the undisputed rule of the west. "Once it has lost, their objects could not continue existing and, at the same time, they could not fall in the hands of the enemy" she said Friday.Some of the objects, that accompanied the emperor during their aspects public, are created to be the base for the standards of the emperor rectangular or the triangular flags, civil employees this.Scepter imperial with a carved flower and a globe, and a number of crystal spheres, believed to be a symbolic Earth representation, also was discovered. The discovery was announced Wednesday by minister Francesco Rutelli of the culture of Italy during a visit to New York. The articles, the wood boxes inner and surrounded in linen and silk, were found buried in a sanctuary the last year and since then they have been recovered and they have been analyzed. The depth of the burial to date does not prohibit to experts to 4to early century A.D. civil employees of the ministry this."These devices belonged clearly to the emperor, specially scepter, that very is elaborated, it is not an article that you would let to some other have,� Panella said. "Reason why we know, there are no similar results" said Angelo Bottini, the superior civil employee of the state for archaeology in Rome. "Similar representations are only in currencies and paintings, but never we saw them for true" he said. Bottini added that the devices will be demonstrated to the public in February.Darius A. Arya, archaeologist and professor in the American institute for the Roman culture, said that the discovery was highly unusual. "Here he is something preciously that represents the greatness of Maxentius, buried by its loyal people to save something who belonged to him" Arya said, that it was not implied in the excavation."All meeting, she represented the energy of this particular emperor and you did not want that the enemy or usurper obtained to get a hold of it". The excavations in the Palatine in recent decades have given to return upon wonders such as the house of the first emperor of Rome, Augustus. The experts said that much he still must be opened, hidden in underground alleys.