Assisi and Florence

I'm too tired to blog tonight so I will just post pictures from the bus trip and a few stops we made along the way.  We are in Florence at a pretty dreadful hotel (i.e: allergy attack from moldy smelling, ancient room with unfriendly staff - ha).

Pretty much the prettiest village ever.  Gah!  Tomorrow we are going to an International Christian Church and will also see 'The David."  In the afternoon we are free to wander around Florence.

The Colosseum, Mamertine Prison, and Ostia

The Colosseum was the first area to visit today.  What an incredible structure!  

This was just inside. It was very much like a baseball stadium - except arches and ancient rock.  ha.

You can see the pits in the bottom.  There was a floor over them and all the gladiators, animals and prisoners were down there.  During the games, there would be multiple events going on all over the stadium to keep the interest of the spectators.

You can see where the floor would have been in this cutaway.

Because earthquakes are common, the stadium was built to be able to flex.  The guide described it like giant Legos.  These holes are where large brass knobs held the 'lego' pieces together.  When Rome was conquered, the brass was taken down and melted.  I forgot to ask the guide how it was held together now.  heh

  Closer view of the lower level.  There is some disagreement over whether or not Christians were thrown to the lions here.  Some say it never happened.  Others say it happened occasionally.  Some say it only happened to criminals.  I would venture to guess that since criminals were thrown to wild beasts here, there were probably some Christians who were considered criminals because they would not bow to the Emperor, Caesar. 

I'll leave it at that.

Just outside the Colosseum is the triumphal Arch of Titus.  He destroyed Jerusalem and brought back all the gold from Solomon's Temple and used the money to build the Colosseum.

We then walked a short distance to the Mamertine Prison where it has been recorded that Paul was imprisoned for a period of time.  He was under house arrest for two years, set free and then rearrested at a later point (possibly after Rome burned and Nero blamed the Christians for starting the fire).  It was after that second arrest that Paul was imprisoned here.

Looking down into the cell.  This is where the food was thrown down to the prisoners.  It is believed that since Caesar's palace is nearby and Paul, when under house arrest, talks about the Christians that lived in Caesar's palace, (Philippians 4:22) they may have been the ones who brought him food.  Presumably, at great risk to themselves.

Mamertine Prison was the worst of the worst.  According to Roman historian Sallust, it could have been called the House of Darkness.  Few prisons were as dim, dank and dirty.  It's 'neglect, darkness and stench" gave it "a hideous and terrifying appearance."  It is lighted now so we can see it but since it's underground with no windows, it would have been pitch dark except for small oil lamps if the prisoners had them.  

The room was so small I could not get back far enough to take a picture of the ceiling and all the way down to the floor.  The round hole in the ceiling is the same food hole in the previous picture.  Prisoners were not fed by the Romans so they were dependent on family or friends coming to the prison and bringing food to them.

The hole in this photo was actually a spring where Paul could get water.  It is said that he baptized any converts he made in the prison with that spring water.  Normally, prisoners were not held for more than a few days prior to their execution but Paul seemed to be an exception.  Perhaps Nero wasn't sure what to do with him.  Some scholars believe that Paul wrote the book of 2 Timothy while in Mamertine (with Luke as scribe).  In 2 Timothy 3, Paul asks Timothy to bring his cloak before winter.

"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day..." 2 Timothy 3:6-8

Seeing the prison, while heartbreaking, was my favorite part of the day.  It is so easy to read our Bibles and not really comprehend what the early church endured.  Paul was their leader - a very beloved one.  And he was in chains...in prison...  What a sweet passage there is in Act. 28 where it says that as Paul was being taken on his journey to Rome some of the Christians came a long way to greet and encourage him.  

(Acts 28:14, 15 "....and so we came to Rome.  The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us.  At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.")

After lunch we were taken to the ruins of a city called Ostia that has been uncovered.  There are extensive ruins there which were interesting for the first hour and then we were tired, hot, and dirty so they all started to look the same.  heh

The menorah on the top of the pillar proves there were Jewish people living in the city.

Those cool mushroom shaped pine trees that I'm fascinated with?  Turns out they produce these huge pine cones and inside them are pine nuts!  I have eaten them many times.  The pine cones were extremely heavy.  I would have loved to bring one home but it probably wouldn't have traveled well.

Tomorrow we ride the bus to Florence.

The Vatican, St. Paul's Basilica and Tre Fontane

Our first stop today was the Vatican.  The crowds were absolutely overwhelming.  I have never seen anything like it - not even in China.

The high walls around the Vatican

Crowds like this stretched around the block with a 3-4 hour wait.  Our tour group had a reservation so we didn't have to wait in that line, thankfully.

UGH!  It was like this inside as well...just a swollen mass of humanity (and sweat) surging from room to room.  When exiting the Sistine Chapel we all had to squeeze through a doorway only large enough for two at a time.  I kept thinking what a horrific fire hazard it was. ha!

Unfortunately, no one in our group could understand our guide due to her heavy accent so I have no idea what most of these rooms/paintings, etc. are.  I will just post a few without comment.

I'm obsessed with windows and doors.  ha!

These colors look oversaturated but this is an unretouched photo.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

I found the blue sky to be a simple, calming beauty.

Our second stop was at St. Paul's Basilica where it is thought that Paul was buried.  It is said that after he died, mourners came to visit the spot and erected a memorial.  Eventually, Roman Emperor Constantine had the Basilica built there.  

St. Paul's Basilica was much more peaceful than the Vatican and about 7 km from the city center.

The portico

Inside the Basilica

Ancient wood carving of what Paul may have looked like.

From there we drove to the site of Paul's execution by beheading.  It is called Tre Fontane.

It was so peaceful here.

There is a building built here over a spot where they found a small jail - more like a holding cell.  The Romans executed their prisoners quickly and didn't require many jails.  This may have been where Paul was held a day or two before his death.

We walked down into a basement area where there were two cells.  The is the larger of the two.

From the jail there is a walkway to the spot where it is said that Paul was executed.  As I walked along, I wondered if Paul was rejoicing as he walked these last few steps, knowing he was minutes away from meeting his Jesus for whom he had suffered so much.  I can imagine he was counting down the moments, knowing he had finished the race that was set before him - and he had finished well.  A warm welcome awaited him as he stepped into eternity.

"For to me, to live is Christ but to die is gain...I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far..."  Philippians 1:21, 23

First Day in Rome

We flew from Athens to Rome this morning and arrived around 11AM.  Our hotel rooms weren't ready when we got to the hotel so we went to a nearby open-air cafe for lunch.  

We enjoyed our first taste of pizza and calzones in Italy

Across the street from our hotel

After lunch we went to visit the Catacombs.  It has been rumored for many years that the persecuted Christians used the Catacombs to hide from the Romans.  This appears to be a bit of a raging controversy as some say it isn't true.  I'll let you do your own research.  In doing some Googling, there are some who believe Christians did hide there during a later time of persecution.  At any rate...what CAN be proven is that the Christians during Roman times used the Catacombs to bury their dead.  Romans always cremated their dead so this was a significant departure from the norm.  Roman Christians considered cremation as lacking reverence and belief in the resurrection.  To bury their dead in the Catacombs carried a significant financial cost and put them in danger of persecution.  (Incidentally, it was likely with cruel intent that many martyrs were burned at the stake, denying them a burial.  Not only did it deny a proper burial but it seemed to mock a future hope of eternity with Christ that Christians were known to believe.)  Romans were also so uncomfortable with death, that seeing a funeral was considered a bad omen and they were only held at night.  Christians on the other hand, led joyful funeral processions like a march of triumph in broad daylight.  

There are many Christian symbols on the walls of the Catacombs.  This is a symbol that means Jesus Christ, Alpha and Omega.  Interestingly, Constantine used the X and P --which are the first two letters of Christo in Greek--on the shields of his soldiers.  They came to symbolize Constantine but his original intent was to emblazon Jesus Christ on his men after having a dream telling him to do so.  This was similar to the symbol for Christians that we saw in Ephesus and it's my favorite of all the symbols used.

We weren't allowed to take pictures in the Catacombs because the Vatican has a copyright on all images - so I found this one on the Internet.  Hopefully they will not arrest me.  ha.  There are a labyrinth of narrow underground passageways that only permitted us to walk single file.  The walls actually looked black but that may have been due to the dim light.  We needed flashlights to see where we were walking.  The rectangles shown in the walls were where the bodies were placed and there were still some remains visible (dust and bone fragments).  

One more image from the Internet.  Once the bodies were placed in the crevices, a piece of marble generally covered the hole with a name, date and Christian symbol(s).

This is the symbol for a preacher

This is the fish symbol we are all familiar with

This is a dove with an olive leaf, symbolizing peace.

To hide the symbol of a cross, they added to it to make it look like an anchor.  The anchor could also give it another meaning of Christ being our Anchor.

This is the Shepherd with a lamb on his shoulders.  Some of the Shepherd symbols had a whole flock of sheep.

Since we were walking single file in the cold and dark, I had some time to think about what it must have been like for the Christians in Rome.  My heart ached as I thought of all they went through.  I'm sure whatever I can imagine is still not the half of it.  

We returned to the bus and were driven around to see some of the sites of Rome.  Most we will not have a chance to visit.

This is the famous Circus Maxiumus where chariot races were held.  It was featured in the story of Ben Hur (although I'm sure Hollywood just built a replica).

Directly overlooking the Circus Maximus is Caesar's Palace.

We drove past the Colosseum and will be returning to tour it on Friday.

I'm fascinated by these trees.  Our guide doesn't know what they are and said she calls them mushroom trees.