Introduction
We recently finished an Italian vacation! We visited Venice, Rome, and Sorrento.
In part 2 of this series, I show some of the sights from Rome and discuss the impact that this visit had on me. I also introduce you to an extremely talented local tour guide named Chiara, who made this trip very meaningful for us.
Finally, I have to thank my lovely wife Toni for spending several months planning this incredible adventure. Without Toni’s dogged determination to make this the best trip ever, I think we could have come back home with far less knowledge and appreciation for what we experienced. Toni is incredibly talented at planning trips, and I need her to start a personalized travel agency for friends and family!
Rome Contains Some Incredible History
If you visit Rome, I strongly encourage you to use a local tour guide. Our tour guide was Chiara Antonelli (search for her on Facebook as Chiara Antonelli Tourist Guide). Chiara is an art historian that is equally versed in architecture, politics, historical personalities, culture, languages, and humor. Chiara brought 2000 years of history to life for us with her voice, characters, passion, and encyclopedic knowledge base.
I have never learned more about history, architecture, politics, society, and religion in one trip. Not only did Chiara take us through the Coliseum and the old city of Rome, but she also toured us through the Vatican. Chiara gave us an incredible experience – I will always be thankful for meeting her.
As I think of the Vatican, Chiara pops into my mind saying: “Oh, Momma Mia!”. The mosaics, the architecture, the Popes, the burial crypts, the Pieta, Leonardo, and the Sistine Chapel. Due to Covid-19, we had low crowds that allowed us even to take the scabby tour, which allowed us to go down, down, down to the original burial grounds to see the suspected box of bones belonging to St. Peter.
Did you know that the Vatican has one of the most incredible museums globally? If you were to take 10 seconds to view every item in the museum, it would take you over 15 years to view the content (thanks Chiara for that tidbit)! Not only is the Vatican in its own country it is also one of the most unique and priceless places on the planet. The Vatican is the 8th wonder of the world in my mind, but then again, so is Chiara Antonelli!
Pictures of The Colosseum
Can you imagine being a gladiator, waiting to fight to your potential death? I couldn’t imagine it either until Chiara took us into the core of the Colosseum where the gladiators ran through the corridors which were beneath the overhead wooden stage. We felt the intensity of the battles and marveled at the intricate details of the Colosseum. Did you know that it is estimated that over 1,000,000 animals died during battles at this site? I didn’t know that either until Chaira explained it to us.
The illuminated Colosseum 
Early morning Colosseum 
Colosseum 
Colosseum 
Colosseum 
Colosseum 
Colosseum 
Colosseum model 
Colosseum and the Arch 
Inside Colosseum 
Inside Colosseum 
Some original marble seats 
Original seats 
Sub-grade Colosseum 
The below-grade corridors used by the gladiators 
We are standing on the wooden platform, which is the level that the gladiators would have performed 
Colosseum 
Colosseum artifacts 
Original pavement 
The Arch of Constantine 
The Arch of Constantine 
The Arch of Constantine 
Across from Colosseum
The Old City of Rome
Other than the Colosseum, I really had no idea about the other historical architectural treasures of Rome. A short walk from the Colosseum, we were treated with such magnificence that I still envision myself standing amongst those buildings.
The passage of 2,000 years of time, coupled with river overbank deposits burying buildings, walkways, and monuments, still boggles my mind. Furthermore, the workers who have had the fortitude to dig through those deposits to uncover the Old City of Rome, well, we owe them a huge amount of gratitude.
The rock types used to make the columns help us determine the timing and source locations from which they came. With some columns being monolithic, multi-ton pieces of rock, I still can’t imagine how they were mined, shaped, transported, and stood up. These Italian builders have made buildings that seemingly can last forever.
Pictures of the Old City of Rome
The Vatican
I grew up in the Catholic church. For most of my childhood, I never understood what to do during a church service because the services were spoken in a language(s) that I did not understand. I followed the lead of other church members and pretended that I knew what was happening.
As I approached my teenage years, I took Catholicism classes with priests from my local church. Each Wednesday after school, I went to the church to learn about Catholicism. My goal was to have communion in the Catholic church and/or to be baptized. I achieved these goals by about 8th grade.
Over many years, I remember the special days of watching the news from the Vatican with my Mom, as we waited for the new Popes to be chosen. We waited for the white smoke or the black smoke to emanate from the roof of the building. Little did I realize at that time, that forty-something years later I would see that building and have one of the most remarkable days of my life as we visited the Vatican and its worldly treasures.
The Vatican is something that everyone should see in their lifetime. Its scale, grandeur, and its contents are simply too impressive to put into words. The sensory overloads that I felt that day were deeply moving. I could not have imagined how this location would make me feel before we arrived on the scene. I will always remember Chiara and her passion as she described the items in the Vatican Museum. I wish Chiara could create a documentary of the places and things she taught us during our days in Rome. I really wish I could have taken my Mom to visit the Vatican. She would have really enjoyed being there.
Pictures of the Vatican
I am convinced that the Vatican is a place that everyone should visit. It is simply majestic. The Vatican museum is incomparable.
The Vatican 
The Vatican 
The Pieta by Leonardo DaVinci 
The Pieta 
Mary 
Mary holding Jesus 
The Pieta was carved out of a single block of marble, personally selected by Leonardo 
As you walk by this incredible work of art, the eyes of Jesus seem to follow you. 
Vatican museum entry passes 
These doors are not opened very often. 
A post card of the Sisteen Chapel 
In the Vatican courtyard 
My girl inside the Vatican. The floors are made from materials recycled from the Colosseum. 
The museum stairs and my girl
Miscellaneous Pictures of Rome
Everywhere you look in Rome, art is combined with architecture in ways that make you stop and pay attention to what you are seeing. There is beauty everywhere. Rome is so full of history that it is hard to remember all the names of the buildings and monuments that we saw.
Our tour guide was Chiara Antonelli (search for her on Facebook as Chiara Antonelli Tourist Guide). Chiara brought 2000 years of history to life for us. I have never learned more about history, architecture, politics, society, and religion in one trip.
Ken Black, Feb 2022, Knoxville, TN
