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The Basilica of Saint John Later-

an is the first of the four Basilica’s

and the first church in Rome. It

is known to be the “mother” of

all churches in Rome and the

cathedral of Rome and of the

world. The church was built in the

4th century by Constantine the

Great and inside it contains some

of the most amazing relics of the

ancient time such as a 13th cen-

tury cloister and San Giovanni

in Fonte, which is an

ancient baptistery.

My first feeling when I en-

tered the church was the power

that was given to those in need.

The main backing of the church

where the ceremony was held, was

covered in gold as well as the ceil-

ing. The first of its kind. What

better way to start of my book

with the first church of Rome.

This is just the beginning of the

wonders in Rome. Keep reading

and fill with joy as the

realization begins.

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The Basilica of Santa Maria

Maggiore stands on the site of a

temple that was dedicated to the

goddess Cybele and is the largest of

the 26 churches in Rome thats dedi-

cated to the Virgin Mary. A long

time ago the church had two

other names; 1st was St. Mary of

the snow and 2nd was St. Mary

of the crib before they finally de-

cided on Santa Maria Maggiore.

The church had a beautiful wide

stable build with many stat-

ues on the front, side and back

at the top of the church. Upon

entering the church on the

right side was a statue of Phillipo

IV, as I entered I was told that

the church is one of the four ele-

ments namely “fire” that runs

along the old ages of Rome.

The inside of the church was

beautiful with a lot of golden

colors and with some of history’s

greatest shrines such as the tomb

of St. Jerome, relics of St. Mat-

thew and pieces of the holy crib.

I know for most of you that

have not yet been to Rome

might find this to be boring, but

to actually be able to stand in

the presence of such wonders and

to be able to put your hand on

these historical monuments is so

much more amazing than I

could ever describe.

The last thing I want you

to go and see when in Rome

is underneath the church. A mu-

seum where Roman remains are

kept and narrow pathways are

shown to a greater extent.

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The Basilica of Saint Peter and

Saint Peter’s Square is where the

heart of the Catholic churches

lay. It is known as the Vatican

City, where the Pope is chosen after

waiting 15 days after the death of

the last Pope, before standing in

front of St. Peter’s Square where

millions of people await the new

Pope that have been chosen.

The church is known as the big-

gest and greatest Catholic church

of all in the entire world. The

reason the name is given as the

Basilica of St. Peter, is because of

Peter being crucified around the

time 67 A.D. during a spectacle

where slaves, gladiators and wild

beasts had fought as if it were

a festival.

There were many answers

given to my question on the

architectural perspective of the

Vatican City. The outside of the

church was again built by that

magnificent marble and also

the pillars and statues that sur-

rounds saint Peter’s Square. The

inside of the church caught me

by surprise on how massive each

and every part of the church

had been constructed in. The

height of the church had been

around 118 meters/ 370 feet and

the width was 64 meters/200 feet.

It had 120 altars of which about

27 of them where dedicated to the

Virgin Mary. The construction

of this unbelievable structure be-

gan in 324 and most of it had

been finished within 5 years. The

ceiling of the church was mostly

gold and had paintings all over

to establish the stories that we

know of today.

St. Peter’s Square has to colon-nades, otherwise known as the

circular pillars that surround the

square. They were built by Bernini

between the years 1656 and 1667

and resembles “two arms embrac-

ing humanity, welcoming oth-

ers to the church and to show

them the way”. The width of

this glorious feature is 340 meters/

1050 feet wide and 140 statues of

saints are sculptured above for the

thought of looking over us.

I never thought that I would ever be able to witness the Vati-

can City, or even come close to

the inside of the church itself. The

feeling of happiness and realiza-

tion came across my face the first

moment that I walked into the

church and saw what history

had brought us into the modern

day of life. The gift of life and love

of the church of St. Peter is what

kept me wondering and staring

at this unbelievable sight.

The thought was unreal to

know that all the hidden facts

about our history originated

from this spectacular palace.

The mightiest Catholic church

on earth, and I believe I could

say so myself the moment I set

foot onto holy ground within

the church. I will treasure what I

have witnessed here in Rome.

The Vatican City truly is one

that will be remembered forever.

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The Colosseum is most probably

one of histories greatest memories

in which gladiators had to fight

for their survival against so

called “monsters” ruled by men

in the ancient times, which is

actually animals to us.

In 70 A.D. the construction of the Colosseum began and ended

or finished in 80 A.D. This massive

structure in its prime was able to

seat more than 50,ooo specta-

tors for the 100 days of games,

of which many animals and

gladiators were killed throughout

the years.

The way they developed the floor

or battlefield as we come to say,

is made out of wood and cov-

ered by a ton of sand. Beneath

the floor were many passageways

and cages that kept the animals

in order. The start of a fight

in which case the gladiators ar-

rive first and the animals were

brought up from underneath the

battlefield with an elevator con-

trolled by hand.

The colosseum is one of my all

time favorite things of history

that I wanted to see, and the

feeling of actually being able

to walk where many gladiators

and Emperors have in the past

were indescribable.

A few words on the architectur-

al side of the Colosseum: The outer

side of the Colosseum is built with

travertine marble which is a

magnificent white stone that

Michelangelo used for many of

his sculptures.

The inside of the Colosseum was

built mostly out of brick and

soft rock and therefore over the

years with earthquakes and such,

had crumbled into whats left of

it today.

This immense structure is over-

whelming the first time you see

it, but truly beautiful. Its elliptical

form gives us the feeling of power

and respect when one stands

inside the Colosseum and look out

from where the emperor were sit-

ting. The emperor had his own

entrance to the Colosseum and

only he decided the fate of the

defeated gladiator by a certain

way he had shown his hand

in front of the people. I would

definitely say that this structure

is to be my greatest memory of

Rome and the Roman History

as we know it.

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The Fountain of Trevi is one

of many amazing sculptures in

the city of Rome, resembling the

god of the sea and the Tritons

that guide the ancient horses, of

which they say some were calm

and others being agitated just like

the sea.

The fountain’s design was made

by Nicola Salvi and ordered into

construction by Pope Clement XII

in 1732. The fountain took about

thirty years to complete and

only finished by 1762.

The water that runs through

the fountain comes from Sa-

lone Springs about 19 kilome-

ters/11.8 miles from the city of

Rome.

The Aqua Virgo or better

known as “Vergine” is the

only aqueduct that provides

Rome with water without

hesitation throughout the

Roman times.

This is one of my favorite places to

visit because of its beautiful view

and also because of the legend

that goes around saying that

if you throw a coin into the

water of the Fountain of Trevi,

you would come back to Rome

one day.

This fountain is also the largest

ever created and in Italian it is

Pronounced as Fontana di

Trevi coming from the word

“Trivium” meaning a three

streets meeting point where the

three rivers flow and meet at this

monument.

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The Sistine Chapel is a mag-

nificent work of art and I felt

honoured to be in the presence

of such an amazing creation.

The walls of the Sistine Chapel were

built between 1475 and 1483 for

Pope Sixtus IV by Giovannino De’

Dolci. The painting of the Sistine

Chapel was done by Michelangelo

between 1508-1512 and as most of us

do not know, Michelangelo was

actually forced into painting the

Sistine Chapel by Pope Julius II.

After he had finished the paint-

ing he wrote a poem describ-

ing the agony he had gone

through in those years painting.

The three era’s that Michelangelo

painted were the 1st being before

the ten commandments were

given to Moses, the 2nd between

Moses and Christ’s birth and the

3rd was the Christian era thereaf-

ter. Michelangelo chose the 1st era

as being the theme of his work

and as some of us have witnessed,

he truly is a magnificent paint-

er and one of a kind.

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The Pantheon was built as a

dedication towards the 12 gods

by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. The

first thing I noticed about

this structure was the story of

Zeuss and his son Hercules. The

story only a myth, but as we

wonder about the 12 gods of

the Roman time, some would

say Zeuss actually lived.

The original Pantheon was

built in 27 B.C. and was de-

stroyed 80 A.D. Years later the

creation of the new pantheon

realized in such a unique way

that many have not yet

understood the purpose for it. The

only purpose most had found

was for people that do not

praise the Roman gods and

therefore could use the Panthe-

on for their own to whom-

ever they choose to pray.

There are still stories that are

being told about the opening

at the top on the inside of the

Pantheon. Some say it resembles

the gods such as Mars and Ve-

nus, but others say it resembles

the heavens above and thus we

would never know the truth.

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