| One of the most incredible ancient buildings we saw was the Pantheon, the only architecturally intact building still standing from ancient Rome. Once a Roman temple, it now was a church. The interior of the Pantheon was a perfect cylinder, and its extraordinary dome was one of the most important achievements of ancient Roman architecture. Not until the Renaissance were architects even able to duplicate it. Interestingly, an opening in the dome let in light while small holes in the floor allowed for water drainage. |
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| The Pantheon |
| Interior of Pantheon |
| With the roots of the Catholic Church in Rome, the city contained a multitude of churches. Everywhere we looked there was a beautiful church. St. Peter�s Basilica in Vatican City was the largest and richest church in Christendom, containing Michelangelo�s first Piata. We climbed to the top of its mighty dome designed by Michelangelo and had great views of Vatican City and Rome. Some of the other churches we visited were St. Peter-in-Chains (San Pietro in Vincoli) Church containing Michelangelo�s Moses and the urn housing the chains used by Herod to imprison Peter; St. Paul�s Outside the Walls Basilica (Basilica San Paolo Fuori le Mura); and the Church of St. Mary of the Angels (Santa Maria degli Angeli) with a sun calendar laying across the floor of its transept used to regulate Rome�s clocks in the 1700�s. |
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| St. Peters Basilica |