Morning Walk
Click on an image to see a larger version
July 14th was the day that Peter and Yvonne's tour arrives in Rome. While
I don't recall that there was a specific time, it was going to be late in
the afternoon, as the tour group had another 2 days in Rome to explore,
more or less on their own. And Peter and I were in touch via SMS several
times during the day - we both had Australian phones, and voice calls are
very expensive, while SMS is just tolerably expensive!
So I had a morning expedition, as shown on this
map.
Porta Maggiore
Or the "Major Gate", so I guess this was a significant one for the Romans
of old.
The gate in its modern context. The wires are for the trams which run through
the wall in front of the gate. I think this was taken from outside the walls,
so this (minus wires etc.) would be the view of approaching travellers.
The map I had (and which is used in the map above) seemed to be incorrect in
this area, showing some areas that were outside the walls as being inside.
Took me a while to sort that mess out, or more precisely to assume the map
was wrong, and that I should ignore it. But since it was a free map, it was
worth what I paid for it.
A face on view. Note that there is some distortion in this image. I had to use
the wide angle lens to capture the gate with minimal amount of obstructions from
modern life. This resulted in the gate looking as though it's leaning back.
Some digital magic mostly fixed that, but the gate is suffering from pincushion
distortion - the top and sides appear bowed out, even though they are not.
The Porta Maggiore in modern context!
Santa Croce In Gerusalemme
I'm not sure about the translation, but probably "Holy Cross in Jerusalem".
The church was consecrated around 320 following the Edict of Milan (313) which
declared freedom of worship in the Empire, and thus Rome became the new
capital of Christianity. Originally part of the Sessorian Palace, it has had
several updates along the way. The first rebuild was to house the relics
bought from Palestine by St. Helena (mother of Emperor Constantine), which
includes soil from the Sepulchre, fragments of the Holy Cross, two thorns from
the Crown and the crosspiece from the cross of the repentant robber crucified beside Christ.
[None of which can be verified, of course.] There is much more on the history
at these two web sites:
Guide to the Churches of Rome
and a shorter one
Active Italy.
This facade was built in the 18th century at the behest of Pope Benedict XIV,
who also oversaw the building of the road linking Santa Maria Maggiore,
San Giovanni in Laterano and this church. The road was originally planned
by Pope Sixtus V in the previous century!
The interior of the church, looking towards the altar.
The granite pillars are ancient, and the only parts of the ancient church still visible.
The main altar. The canopy is from the 18th century.
The apse, which unusually has a tomb in the wall - that of Cardinal Quinones
who died in 1536. Apart from being an unusual place for a tomb, it also
incorporaets a tabernacle!
Part of the apse, showing the 15th century fresco of the history of the
recovery of the cross, including this
detail.
The centre image is
Christ Blessing
and is dated at 1492 (the year that Italian Christopher Columbus bumped into
North America).
A sign out the front of the church - pity these things need to be spelled out,
in all parts of the world.
Italy In July
Vittorio and Santa Maria Maggiore
The gate in its modern context. The wires are for the trams which run through
the wall in front of the gate. I think this was taken from outside the walls,
so this (minus wires etc.) would be the view of approaching travellers.
The map I had (and which is used in the map above) seemed to be incorrect in
this area, showing some areas that were outside the walls as being inside.
Took me a while to sort that mess out, or more precisely to assume the map
was wrong, and that I should ignore it. But since it was a free map, it was
worth what I paid for it.
