roma!

great flight over with 150 mph tailwinds that got us here over an hour early --- then an excellent afternoon touring with the susans --- i think i'm in heaven

view of trestevere from the window of frances' fifth-floor apartment on via s. francesco a ripa --- i'm staying in a hotel just down the street

largo di torre argentina is a fine square containing the ruins of four republican-era temples and of pompey's theater, where julius ceasar was assassinated.

the square is also home to a no-kill cat rescues operation caring for more than 250 cats! roman cats are said to be descended from egyptian temple cats, but that doesn't stop people from hating on them and trying to close down the shelter

the pantheon is as thoroughly awesome as i was expecting ---

light rain filtering through the oculus was really purty wonderful

like everything else from classical rome, the building was plundered for building materials, but even stripped of its marble cladding, it impresses

one of the byzantine emperors stripped off the bronze roofing tiles and carried them to constantinople --- one of the popes stole the bronze panels form the portico ceiling and had them melted down for cannon --- but the building has remained in continuous use for 2,000 years and its dome is still the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world

piazza navona is very cool since it maintains the shape of domitian's stadium from the 1st century --- in the center is bernini's fountain of the four rivers, surmounted by a roman copy of an egyptian obelisk

and the churches! san luigi dei francesi has the caravaggio cycle of painting of the life of st. matthew 

every church has something that makes it great, like the magificent trompe l'oiel "dome" at sant'ignazio

chiesa del gesù has the original baroque facade

and its interior is baroque that is totally out of control

the original santa maria sopra minerva was built on the foundations of a roman temple, but it wasn't a temple to minerva, rather to isis --- although over-restored in the 1890s, it is the only gothic interior not baroqued out of existence

in the piazza fronting the church is another egyptian obelisk (6th century bce) for which bernini created an excellent elephant for its base

i will highly recommend relais leclarisse in trestereve, with my room in what was an old convent --- window opened onto viale trestevere, the main thoroughfare --- since nightime temps were only in the 40s, i could leave the window open and go to sleep and awake to the rhythms of the city, with the street car being my alarm clock



i am already in love with rome --- guinness would love it, too, since he would be able to go into restaurants