The Beginning of our Trip in Rome

I drove Terri nuts because every time we saw another church, I had to comment on it. (how many times could you hear “…and there’s another church!” before you lost your mind?) At every site of ruins, or a piece of the old city wall, or an excavation, I have to stop and wonder that we are looking at history that’s over 10 times older than my home country, and that it’s still in place and being preserved for the future. I mean, Largo Argentina (where the Cat Sanctuary is located) is about two blocks of excavated ruins, including part of the Pompey Theatre where Julius Caesar was assassinated, that lies within a business district. If that were somewhere in the United States, I have no doubt that those thousands-of-years-old building blocks from history would have been leveled and buried in concrete for someone’s new store or office building. That’s not to say that the Romans didn’t do their share of rebuilding on the past. Basilica di San Clemente, for example, starts with a 2nd century A.D. Mithric Temple, which was built on ruins left from the fire during Nero’s reign. Over that was build a Christian church in the 4th century A.D., the first St. Clements church that was filled in and used as the foundation, minus the white marble choir, for the current 12th century Basilica (restored in the 18th century). Well, this has gone on long enough for tonight. There will be more in the next few weeks, and I’ll try and get Terri to post some of her thoughts and recollections as well. I’ve also got almost 800 pictures to sort through and find images worth posting (and possibly scanning some of the postcards from places we couldn’t take good pictures). ’til next time…]]>


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