July 3: Daily Details

We were off to Borghese Gallery in the morning, and what a sight it was to behold! I was particularly excited to see the gallery because it features many of the famous works of my all-time favorite sculptor—Bernini. This is embarrassing, but I can never remember the name of my favorite sculpture. It is a man abducting a woman, and he is grabbing her around the thigh. Bernini manages to capture how his massive hands sink into the flesh of her thigh as he grabs her. It is truly spectacular! In addition to the hundreds of other sculptures there, the walls of the gallery are all ornately frescoed. Some of the painting done to look like sculptures supporting the ceiling was so realistic that I could hardly tell whether it was in relief or merely a painting. The gallery does not allow photography, but I have posted a picture of the exterior of the gallery—it too is beautiful.
After going to Borghese, we returned to see the inside of the Coliseum. It very possibly ranks #1of the favorite things I’ve done in Rome. It is so massive that it takes your breath away—especially when you consider that it was once much bigger and was completely covered in marble before it turned into ruins. The views of Rome from the inside are absolutely breathtaking. This must have been one posh place to visit back in the day!

Next, we went on what was called an off-the-beaten-path tour. Our awesome docent took us to some less common churches around Rome. The first we went to was S. Clemente. It was neat because it has been rebuilt so many times that there is a whole other cathedral underneath the one that is currently standing. We were able to go all the way down into its caverns. We then visited St. Peter in Chains. It was another exquisite, and much larger cathedral and featured the famous sculpture of Moses with horns. The reason he is wearing horns is because the word for “rays” was mistranslated. This is a massive and beautiful sculpture by Michelangelo. After that, we visited St. Maria Maggiore, the only church in Rome dedicated to Mary, the mother of Christ. The pope, at the time, had a dream that such a church should be built, and that it would snow where it should be located. The next morning, it had snowed in Rome, and he went to the site. Another man was there—he too had had the same dream. This man would later become the architect of the site. This church features a holy door that is only opened once every 25 years. After it is opened, they close it again and build a brick wall in front of it.
On our way to our next destination, we heard a band playing off in the distance. We all ran to see what it was, and it was the changing of the guards in Italy that occurs once a week. The fact that we were able to catch it just as it was happening was pretty remarkable. They were a very skilled band and all looked very sharp in their uniforms.

Our day ended at the Trevi Fountain. It is a spectacular thing to behold! I am constantly amazed at how things like outdoor sculptures have survived as well as they have. If you throw a coin into the fountain, it means you will come back to Rome. If you throw two, it means you’ll come back to Rome and meet an Italian lover. If you throw three—I don’t remember, but I think it means you’ll marry that person. So, hopefully I’ll make it back to Rome someday.