Traveling abroad...

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Saint Paul, by Michelangelo


Saint Gregory, by Michelangelo

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Insanity reigns. Busts of all the popes in history line the main hall.

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The interior of the library.  They have huge choir books mounted under glass.1

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We also went up this ultra narrow circular staircase and passage system(them monks were small folks apparently) for a roof top view of the city.

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We also had a half a day to take in some of Rome before heading to the airport.  Someone had gifted me Covid on the plane and I was feeling it by this time so I took it easy and drank a lot of electrolyte water.  It was certainly hot.


The Coliseum and Arch of Constantine I The Great celebrating his victory at Milvian Bridge over the Emperor Maxentious, AD 312.  To the left out of the picture is the Roman Forum, where the Senate met, armies paraded, speeches and trials held.

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The Pantheon of the Gods was originally built by Marcus Agrippa, General and Consul of Rome.  It burned down.  How a marble building burns down is puzzling, but somehow it happens.  The Emperor Hadrian, who loved reclamation projects, rebuilt it and kept Agrippa's name on it.  Agrippa was the General whose fleet defeated Marc Antony & Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. He also defeated the great general Pompey. This allowed Octavian to cement his rule over the Roman Empire.  There is a church that has been holding services in the Pantheon since the mid 600's.  The line to go in was a mile long so we just kept moving.

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Rome from the banks of the Tiber river.  The bridge in the foreground is the Ponte Sant'Angelo bridge constructed by the Emperor Hadrian to lead to the Castel Sant'Angelo which housed his tomb.