• Italy … finally!
    Arco dei Borgia
    Outside of Basilica di San Pietro in VincoliInside view, Moses is up on the rightMichaelangelo carved the Moses statue at the bottom, Pope Julius II lying above. Julius died in 1513Altar showing St Peter's chains. Amazing stone work on columns, walls, and floorChains againCouldn't work out what this was but liked the skeletonsAnother chapel with a winged skeleton in the churchCarving of the dove of peaceChurch viewEntrance. The church was started in 439 but changed a lot sinceCuring a goitre using the chainsRome streetTrajans MarketVictor Emmanuel Memorial from Trajans MarketForumThis is meant to be the world's first shopping mall!Market againDifferent buildingsMarkets

    The scene of a murder!

    June 20, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Our last full day in Rome.

    It was going to be a hot one so we were up early and headed to the Basilica San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains). It holds a Michaelangelo statue which we wanted to check out. We headed down Via Cavour to Arco dei Borgia and climbed the steps.

    This flight of stairs is meant to have been the scene for a couple of murders back in the 1400s and did have a dark feel about it.

    The outside of the church itself was very plain. And inside not massively ornate but the Michaelangelo sculpture does tend to dominate. There is also a crypt with the glass box containing a set of manacles that Peter was meant to be incarcerated by when he was freed by an angel. Over the years a couple of miracles are meant to have happened when someone has touched or been touched by these chains, including a fixing of a goitre which is depicted in a painting on the ceiling of the church.

    It never ceases to amaze me how the artists of the 1400s managed to create such amazing statues. Michaelangelo was obviously a master and the statue in this church was exceptional. It is a statue of Moses and was meant to be part of the tomb of Pope Julius II but he isn’t actually buried here he is in St Peters - supposedly Michaelangelo took too long. Anyway it was amazing though I do think the hands are a little too big.

    After looking around the church for a while we headed over to Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperiali which is a museum around the remains of a site called Trajans Market which is a forum and market place. It is a huge area and sits right in the middle of Rome.

    It was started around 100AD and, like most things in Rome, has had multiple functions over its 2000 year history.

    It was an interesting place to visit and no where near as crowded as the Roman Forum which was just up the road.

    It was starting to get really hot so we did what the Romans do and retired for a bit of a siesta.

    Dinner was a fantastic little restaurant down near the Opera House.

    Tomorrow we start the long journey home.    Read more