I've been to Italy a couple of times, but I had never ventured to the exotic and a bit intimidating South before. Since neither my wife or her parents had visited either, we decided to go for a family trip together. Italy is such an exciting country: the food is great, there's plenty of historic wonders and beautiful nature to wave a camera at, and the people are so entertaining to observe. While I am genetically perfected to sulking alone in the middle of a dark cold forest (thanks to generations of poor decisions by my ancestors), Italians have evolved for thousands of years to a different direction by being surrounded by tons of people, fine cuisine and high culture. The end result is literally worlds apart. Although the chaos is stressful to me, just watching their daily drama and all the hand waving is such a thrill.
First stop: Colosseum.
We had five full days in Italy, and only two of those in Rome. Two days is obviously not enough in La Città Eterna or The Eternal City, but my wife's opinion is that "all big cities are the same anyway" (and I'm not a huge city-fan either), so it had to do. Turns out that not all big cities are the same, especially if the particular city in question is over 2500 years old, was known as The Capital Of The World and is basically loaded with historical and cultural sights, museums and attractions. We barely managed to cover the absolute-must-sees, and I even briefly visited heaven by eating the best genuine Roman carbonara ever, but a little bit more time would had been nice.
Catching a ride at the Spanish Steps.
Just before the trip (and after months of cursing the high cost on various discussion boards), I finally caved in and impulse purchased a new mirrorless camera. As everyone knows, the best way to become a top photographer and to get stellar results is just by throwing money at it and getting an overly expensive camera. With the price I paid (and the amount of remorse I felt right after), the results better be exquisite. Any criticism about the technical quality of the images shall be highly unwelcome.
To be frank, with the very limited time we had it was difficult to get any decent photos. I had envisioned capturing the Colosseum or the bridges of Tiber in a breathtaking sunset, but instead of taking pictures I ended up munching delicious pasta dishes in trattorias. I regret nothing. Anyway, because of the Easter festivities, access to certain locations was limited and public transportation was more difficult to use.
Filtering hundreds of pictures of naked marble men whose wee-wees were chopped off by priests takes a lot of effort, so I decided to split the blog posting in half. The next entry will cover Naples and the Sorrentine Peninsula, and include my favourite dog picture of the trip as well.
I was surprised about the size of Colosseum. Such a marvellous venue for such macabre entertainment.
Trevi Fountain is one of the most touristy spots of Rome.
Perhaps it was because of Easter, perhaps because of the recent terrorist attacks elsewhere in Europe, but armed forces were present in force.
Statues, obelisks, fountains, monuments, everywhere.
Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia who united Italy.
Trajan's Column, completed in year 113 AD, commemorating emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars.
Yet another basilica; I forgot the name.
There are several ancient Egyptian obelisks around the city.
Entering a theocracy. There's a first time for everything.
The amount of art in Vatican is just incredible and the collection spans over millenniums. This is Apollon Belvedere.
Another Greek statue, Apoxyomenos. The popes and the catholic priesthood in general have a fascinating fixation to male genitalia. All the weenies have either been covered with fig leaves or fondled off.
This is how typical corridor ceilings look like in Vatican.
Laocoön and His Sons, "the prototypical icon of human agony" – a fitting theme to spending a morning in a badly overcrowded museum.
Raphael's renaissance art is very beautiful. Raphael decorated four reception rooms with frescoes. This one is "The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple".
The School of Athens, Raphael's masterpiece, depicting famous philosophers from Aristotle to Plato and Archimedes to Socrates.
View from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. St. Peter's Square is in the front, and the Sistine Chapel on the left. I'm upset that I wasn't allowed to take a picture from inside the Sistine Chapel even though my camera doesn't have a flash and I know how to use the silent shutter. I'm also upset because I was probably the only idiot who actually followed the rules.
Pope Pius X raises the roof.
Getting ready for the Easter ceremony.
Made in Finland! To my surprise, a local supermarket was selling Finnish liquorice next to the cashier. Needless to say I immediately acquired as much as my wife allowed me to purchase (i.e. not enough). This must be the last remnant of the barbarian invasions?
While in Rome, I tried to do as Romans do. Me: "Un caffè per favore." — Waitress: "So you want an Americano?" — Me: "No. Caffè!" — Waitress: "Do you actually mean espresso?" — Me: "Si. Caffè!" — Waitress: "Alright one espresso." — Me: *rolling eyes like a Roman*
Colosseum was reserved for Pope's procession on Good Friday, so I couldn't get the sunset photo I wanted.