The Pantheon in Rome...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

We did a little self-tour today...

Thought you might enjoy these pictures!

The Pantheon has the largest unreinforced concrete dome anywhere...

[avebury]

1. If you make it over to Piazza Navonne there

is a restaurant that has some really fabulous chocolate dessert.

How long will you be there and where all will you be going?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Is that the Piazza that the Pantheon fronts onto?

There are so many little restaurants there!

We had some outstanding lasagne in one of them today...

We will be in Rome through Friday, and then we'll go to Tuscany.

[avebury]

5. It is a Piazza that a lot of artists set up their works for sale. It is a different piazza.

I went to Italy several years ago. I wanted to go to Italy after watching the movie Summertime set in Venice with Kathryn Hepburn. I would love to go back again.

Please keep us updated on your adventures.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. That movie is one of my favorites...

A great love story.

I will for sure keep you updated!

[avebury]

9. Maybe you will find a Tuscan house to buy

and fix up for a new home.


I loved Under the Tuscan Sun.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Well...........that's highly unlikely, at our age, lol!

[elleng]

12. No, CalPeg, not that Piazza,

but great Bernini fountain there, tho, and Tre Scalini one of the restaurants.

DOMA struck down, fyi!
GREAT pic, too! Was at National Gallery last week, and saw a similar ceiling, 'copied' from those Romans!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. I believe that we will be seeing that Piazza...

Tomorrow!

The Romans were great engineers and builders, and their designs have been copied for well........forever!

I heard about DOMA, thanks! We're at leisure this afternoon, so I'm reading DU and facebook...

[elleng]

15. Good you're at leisure today; relax!

You'll recognize that Piazza when you get there; very frequently pictured. Send it my regards, please! Was there when in college, and with daughter 6? years ago.

Where are you staying? Been to or going to visit Trastevere? ('other side of the Tiber,' a lovely, cute, smallish neighborhood in Rome.)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. We're still recovering from our jet lag, so relaxing is the order of the day!

Specifically, naps.

Tonight we're going to a reception and then out to dinner with the group. Should be fun!

[elleng]

17. What's the group?

THINKING of going to Provence w Road Scholars next year. Did Paris with them.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. It's a group from Stanford University.

It's part of the Alumni Association, the Travel/Study Group.

You don't have to have graduated from Stanford to go on these. They are very well planned and run.

We really enjoy them...They send a professor or 2 on each trip, and they give lectures on what we see. And all the local guides are very knowledgeable too.

[elleng]

19. Sounds good, similar to Road Scholars,

excellent lecturers and leaders.

[PoliticAverse]

53. All this Piazza talk is making me hungry... n/t

[busterbrown]

46. Best time to see it, is at night..

Lights are on.. Restaurants on the square all have outside seating. Street performers are great..
One of my favorite places ever...Rome as a whole is second only to Paris..

[Phentex]

2. Magnificent!

Have a great time!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Thank you, my dear Phentex!

We ARE having a great time!

[femmocrat]

7. Thanks, Peggy!

How wonderful!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Thank you, my dear femmocrat!

The city is gorgeous, a vast jumble of old and new buildings.............and these wonderful ancient bits around nearly every corner!

[Brigid]

11. Great pics, Peggy!

Glad you're having a great time! Some poet once called Rome "the armpit of the universe" -- obviously he was an idiot!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Thank you, my dear Brigid!

It's not difficult to take good pictures when the subject is so picturesque...

That poet was an idiot!

[WCGreen]

20. Nothing like Roaming around Rome....

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. Indeed! And we have several days more to go roaming!

[rrneck]

21. One of my favorite places in the world. nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

23. It is rapidly becoming one of mine! n/t

[rrneck]

26. If you want a full spectrum perspective

go from the Pantheon or the Colesium or any other wide open vista then go to Mamertine prison. Or better yet, go to the prison then emerge back into the splendor of Rome. It's right next to the forum, so it's easy to get to.

[Rod Walker]

24. Been a few years since I've been there.

Makes me want to go back...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. I believe that, my dear Rod Walker!

It is one phenomenally beautiful and historic city.

It is so much more than I expected...

[Rod Walker]

27. I enjoyed Florence just as much, though.

The two times I've visited Italy I went with a friend who has family that lives just outside of Florence.

Man, could they cook...!

I still remember one particular lunch, where my reaction to a dish (garlic spinach) was: "I love this!"

Friend: "But you hate spinach".

Me: "I know. Thirds, please?"

[GoCubsGo]

28. Thanks!

One of these years, I hope to get there myself.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

29. I hope you get to go too, my dear GoCubsGo!

It is definitely worth the effort.

[Link Speed]

30. Plain concrete - amazing stuff

That roof has shown zero deterioration over 2,000 years. And to think it took the same 2,000 years for us to figure out how they did it.

I have some of it and have made a twenty-foot-long X three-feet-wide X one-inch-thick plank of it, set it on sawhorses nineteen feet apart and walked across the span. It didn't even flex.

You can impress a fingerprint in it or break a sledgehammer head on it.

Thanks for the pictures.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

32. Welcome to DU, Link Speed, and thank you for your knowledge on this topic!

How interesting that you have some, and that its properties are so stable. I am amazed!

There will be more pictures, of other Roman sights, as my trip takes me all around Rome, and then Tuscany.

I hope you will come by to look again.

[FreepFryer]

31. And a deeply meaningful use of astronomy by Hadrian to celebrate the glory of Rome

http://www2.astronomicalheritage.net/index.php/show-entity?identity=28&idsubentity=1

{...} at noon on the equinoxes {the sunbeam} just touches the base of the dome. After the spring equinox it starts descending and on the days around Apr 21 (as well as the symmetric ones in late August) the beam of sunlight fully illuminates the entrance at noon, creating a spectacular hierophany. Closer to the summer solstice, the beam passes across the floor during the middle of the day, although it never reaches the centre.

The spring equinox was connected with the apotheosis of the emperor, while Apr 21 was the traditional date of the foundation of Rome as stated, for example, by Ovid. (In Hadrian’s times the differences between the Julian Date in use and the ‘correct’ Gregorian date was still minimal.) By entering ‘with the sun’ during celebrations on this day, the emperor would succeed in ‘placing Rome among the Gods’. In this and other ways, it is likely that the Pantheon encapsulated Hadrian’s ideas about the relationship between Roman religion and power.

(Don't you just love Hadrian...?)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

33. Thank you, my dear FreepFryer! (love your username, BTW!)

That is a fascinating bit of history you've told me tonight. I do love Hadrian, but mostly for his wall. But this is great stuff!

We sat for a while, and watched the sun move down the wall...



It was amazing!

[Locut0s]

41. Amazing shot! Thanks for posting this!...

Fantastic work getting just the right exposure!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

34. Thanks for taking the time to share your vacation with us, Peggy -

I know you guys are having a wonderful time.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

35. We actually have a fair amount of free time, my dear Tuesday Afternoon!

I do appreciate it. The walking around is very tiring, and I need downtime to rest, recuperate, and talk to all of you!

It is a really good trip.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

36. Those are the best kind of vacations, I think.

To allow for downtime and let it all just soak in

breathe and relax and enjoy it all. -ahhh!

[jakeXT]

37. I was there during summer, but I always asked myself what happens when it snows or rains.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

42. I asked that question too...

Snow is unlikely here...

But apparently the rain just falls in and drains away into drains in the floor. How about that?

[LeftofObama]

38. I have to admit I'm getting a little jealous Peggy.

Those photos are beautiful and it sounds like you're having a wonderful time. I could use a vacation like nobody's business!

Have a great rest of your trip and keep the pictures coming!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

43. My dear LeftofObama...

I'm sorry you're jealous! It is a wonderful trip, and we are working hard, walking over cobblestones and dodging cars...We no longer have the energy of youth, alas!

We will be tired when we get home!

But we soldier on because being here is really a wonderful experience...

[LittleGirl]

39. I've been there!

Thanks for the photos! enjoy your trip...wish I was with you.
Cheers.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

44. Thank you, my dear LittleGirl!

We are having a great trip!

I'm glad you've been here...maybe someday you can return.

[Locut0s]

40. Hi Peggy! Great to see you are having fun in Italy...

Are you guys going to get the chance to get outside Rome? When I was in Italy my favourite region by far was Tuscany. We didn't do a huge amount within Rome but I'm assuming that you will hit the major sights, aside from the Pantheon (The Forum, The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, The Vatican, Sistine chapel) ? Hopefully you get a chance to see these. They are all hyper touristy but more than worth it!! If you get a chance to head south, Pompeii and Herculaneum are mind boggling to walk through.

Love the two shots you posted, especially the first, that's hard to capture as nicely as you did! You need to post your photos when you get back!! Have a wonderful trip! How long are you there?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

45. My dear Locut0s!

We will go outside Rome, starting Saturday. Tuscany is on the list...

We will see the major sights here before moving on. We won't be heading south this time...

You know, the camera is new, and has some wonderful settings. I am mostly using auto, and a setting that stops the flash from happening. It works wonderfully indoors where there isn't much light and where flash photography is prohibited.

We will resume our trip home July 6th, I believe.

[6000eliot]

47. I stayed on the top floor of the hotel just to the left of this picture.

I could see the top of the Pantheon from my balcony window. Did you see the woodcarver's shop not too far from there with all of the Pinocchio puppets and the life-size wooden motorcycle?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

48. How wonderful, my dear 6000eliot!

We're staying in The Grand Hotel of Minerva, at the end of the block past the Pantheon.

I haven't discovered the woodcarver's shop, but then I'm busy watching the damned cobblestones so I don't trip!

[6000eliot]

54. It's enchanting if you find it, Peggy.

I have pictures, but they're on my iPad. I'll post them later.

[Javaman]

49. It's so amazing. I was there last year.

I miss Italy so much. I'm jealous.

I hope you are having great weather. From the picture, it appears so.

Have you had a chance to go to the Piazza Campo Di Fiori?

if you want fantastic Giolitti, go here:
(it's right around the corner from the Piazzi Colonna)

Giolitti
Via degli Uffici del Vicario, 40, 00186 Roma, Italy ‎

[phone]
https://plus.google.com/107240001007600848361/about?gl=us&hl=en#107240001007600848361/about?gl=us&hl=en

The Pistachio is incredible!

Oh, how I miss Rome.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

50. My dear Javaman!

It IS glorious, but oh so tiring for me, walking on all those damned cobblestones...My legs are not what they used to be!

The weather is good, a bit warm and humid, but not too much...

I'm not sure if we've been (or will go) to the Piazza you mention. Tonight we're going to Vatican City...

Thanks for the link!

[Javaman]

51. The Vatican is truly amazing. Wear your comphy shooes. :)

Just remember this: Eat, eat eat!!! I still dream of the food.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

52. You got it, comfy shoes! And boy are we ever eating!

Now I know what Italian food is really supposed to taste like...

[6000eliot]

55. We walked there from our hotel by the Pantheon!

And all the way through to the Sistine Chapel! And back!

[sinkingfeeling]

56. It looks pretty good considering it was begun in 120 AD. Glad to see

they finally got the scaffolding off of it.