Wit by Amanda: Rome

Favorite quote from today in reference to a statue at the National Museum: "God-like humans and human-like God".

It sounds confusing writing it but today that stuck out to me strongly in the Main Campus of the National museum this morning (Pics below). That quote pretty much sums up our day in a sense. We visited probably 8-10 magnificent churches today and a fabulous museum. All very beautiful and old...however they were confused and that quote somehow ties a bow on the confusion in my head. They have become museums to thousands (maybe millions)...and yet they are trying to still be a sacred place. In one of the churches we went to they were about to start mass and the priests were trying to move everyone out...it was a very hard job to do...tourists need their photo with Mary. The churches are spectacles to so many and moving/powerful to few. Dont get me wrong...Christopher and I both would walk into the churches and say "Wow!" or "uhhh... mazing" because they take your breath away. (Side note here: we have already said that our pictures do not even do 10% justice of what it actually feels like to be in these buildings...you just have to come and experience it). :)

So I dont have much more than the ramblings above to share. Talk amongst yourselves about that thought. Consider it my nugget from Italy to you. Do we try to make humans God and are we trying to make God just a human?

Now for pictures:

The start of our day...the name is passing me for this place but it was a beautiful fountain across from Santa Maria Della Vittoria.

The church Santa Maria della Vittoria

Chiesa di Santa Susana Roma (an American Catholic church)

Basilica degli Angela

Basilica degli Angeli

Part of the Ceiling of Basilica degli Angeli

National Museum

Christopher with Caesar Augustus in the National Museum

We thought this guy on the left had a big head compared to the other 200+ busts we saw! Also they all had their "eyes closed" so...when in Rome!

Wonderful museum! Saw every coin from every century in Italy!

Chiesa di Sant Ignazio

Chiesa di Sant Ignazio...this dome is an optical illusion...it is actually a flat ceiling.

Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva...this church had a Michaelangelo statue of Jesus carrying the cross. However this was the church we were all asked to leave, so we could not get a very good close-up of it.

Pantheon - built in 126 AD!

Rafael is buried in the Pantheon

The pillars weigh 55 tons each and were brought over from Egypt in 126 AD...unbelievable

Entrance to Pantheon...the dome is amazing

At one time, the Pantheon was the largest dome in the world. Michaelangelo patterned St. Peters Dome and Brunellesci patterned Florence's Duomo Dome after the Pantheon...quite a piece of work!