In case of an earthquake...

Monday was our day for the antiquities. We waited in line at il Palatino, or Palatine Hill, for our chance to roam around the Forum. The large ruin site includes both the Colisseo and Arch of Constantine, as well the Forum and this hill of Roman era houses held up by a wall ordered by Hadrian (not THE Hadrian's wall, but a Hadrian wall?). Archaeological crews tended several dig sites within the area sifting piles of dirt for pieces of the red brick that seems to constitute all the large monuments (which are then faced with the marble you think of when you envision Roman architecture). Except for the columns, which seem to be solid and generally Egyptian--imagining the power (certainly slave) that cut and carried these gargantuan marble blocks across land or sea from Egypt to Rome is mind-boggling.

We paused under a portico for a building no longer there. From our broken marble seats far below, it seemed to extend endlessly into the bright blue sky. The extremes of heinous and marvelous that must have characterized ancient Rome are very present here.

Our next stop was the Pantheon, which is reportedly the best preserved Roman interior around. It's a huge Roman temple that was converted into a Christian church toward the end of the empire. The many colorful marbles covering every interior surface (black, pink, gold, white...) is stunning. Thanks to Rick Steve, we spotted the square chunk of marble cut from the miraculous dome by Brunelleschi--who studied its construction when he was designing the dome of the Duomo in Firenze. At the top, where the dome's composition seamlessly changes to light-weight volcanic pumice, is a perfect round circle of daylight, and it makes me wish we could come back in the rain to see it fall inside the magnificent space.