Tivoli

Today, we visited Tivoli, which is about an hours trek northeast of Rome, to see the beautiful villa of the emperor Hadrian. It was his own private "get-away" from the strains of being imperator. There are massive lakes, which he used to stroll around and get lost in deep philosophical thought. Hadrian was a cultured man, who enjoyed learning, so he had libraries spread throughout his villa. My favorite part is the Canopo, a massive lake which had statues, some of crocodiles, lined all around it. Hadrian formed the Canopo to give off the image of being the Nile River in Egypt. Afterwards, we headed back to Rome, and I went off on more independent exploration to see some of the most famous historical churches in Rome. First, I visited the Church of San Clemente, which has three layers dating to three different time periods. Pictures aren't allowed, but I was able to sneak some anyway, without flash of course. The first layer was a Renaissance church painted by Michaelangelo. Unfortunately, this place was too crowded, making picture taking almost impossible. The church was dedicated to St. Catherine, and it was quite beautiful. The second layer held a 4th century AD church, containing many mosaics and wall-paintings. The third layer was used during the 1st century BC for the cult of Mithras. Then, I visited the Church of San Giovanni in Laterno. This church was dedicated to St. John and originally was the seat of the papacy until St. Peter's Basilica was constructed in the 16th century. Outside the building was a massive statue of Constantine, the "father" of Christianity. Inside, the nave was lined with statues of the 12 Apostles. Among my favorites was Bartholomew, who was holding a knife and his skin, since he was skinned alive when he was martyred. Across the street is a little building which holds the steps that Jesus supposedly walked upon to receive his sentence from Pontus Pilate. These steps were said to have been transported from Jerusalem after Christianity became the official state religion of Rome. Then, I visited the Church of Santa Maria Maggliore. Outside the church there is a huge Corinthian column with a bronze statue on top of Mary holding the baby Jesus. This church was dedicated to St. Mary, and the great Baroque sculptor, Bernini, was buried here. He was honored with such a privilege because of his great masterpieces of art he constructed for several catholic churches in Rome, most notably his design of St. Peter's Square. Then, I visited the Church of St. Peter's-in-Chains, which supposedly housed the chains in which Peter and Paul were held in during their time in the Mamertine Prison and before their execution. Inside the church was Michaelangelo's statue of Moses. Later that evening we had lecture, and then we went out to eat for one of my classmates birthday.