02-Sept-22
I thought doing a Hop-On Hop-Off bus might be fun and something that KC would tolerate. We had....moderate success....
Our first stop is the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. Some part of it was built around 432 and was one of the first churches built in honor of the Virgin Mary.
What's a church dedicated to Mary without a statue of her on a column out front?
KC deigned to be in this photo. If you look in the shadow of the entry, you can see Max and myself.
Main interior looking toward the altar. Under the altar is the Crypt of the Nativity - supposedly it holds a piece of wood from the manger. The arch above the altar is from the original structure. The mosaics date to the 5th century.
Baptismal chapel
Dan thought it was interesting that the painting was incorporated into the sculpture.
There were several other painting/sculptures like this.
On either side of the basilica were confessionals.
Apparently each one is assigned to a specific priest and the languages in which they can hear confession. I saw one sign that offered Frysk (apparently a language of the Netherlands).
Vertical panorama!
This is the Sistine Chapel altar, but not that Sistine Chapel.
The ceiling was pretty neat. Fun Fact - the basilica is under the authority of the Vatican, not Italy.
Someone wasn't behaving so we had to leave. This is the view on your way out.
For more info check out the Wikipedia page: Santa Maria Maggiore
or the Vatican page: SM Maggiore
We wandered a few blocks away and had some kebab wraps for lunch.
Our next stop was the Colosseum!
Arch of Constantine - named after the emperor not the DC comics warlock/detective.
Wooo! Everyone is looking at the camera!
There's Palatine Hill. (I definitely typed "Palpatine" the first time...)
Back to the bus!
Our bus stopped in front of the Wedding Cake aka la Altara della Patria. It's a big monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, first king of a unified Italy.
Some of us were pretty tired and not really fit to be in public spaces, so it's time to go home.
