During the break between the two summer semesters, my roommate(Mark) and I(Sterling) went to Rome. Over the 4 days we did our best to experience all there is in Rome.
Our first day we went to Saint Peter’s Square inside the Vatican City; one of the things that we noticed was the veneration and the acclaim for the former Pope John Paul II right after he became beatified. At every souvenir shop and stand they had items depicting him.
We also went to the Castel Sant’Angelo which was in the beginning a mausoleum used by the roman emperor Hadrian and later used as military fort for the Vatican.
The next day we spent most of the time at the Vatican museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican Museum was enormous and had a little bit of everything from ancient Egypt, to Greek sculptures, to Christian artifacts. We also climbed to the top of the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica. Even though we had to climb the 551 steps on that sweltering day it was all worth it for the amazing view of the skyline of the city of Rome. To finish off day we looked at the Trevi Fountain and the Piazza della Repubblica.
On our final day we started off by going to the Coliseum and the Roman forum, later we went to the Pantheon. To fit in with our Engineering, you really have to appreciate the sophistication and prowess of the ancient Romans. For instance take a look at the Pantheon; it was one of the first buildings to ever support a dome structure and if you take a look at the interior you will notice that the coffers in the ceiling not only have the practical effect of reducing the weight of the dome but also adds a artistic effect to the ceiling.
And of course how could you enjoy Rome without savoring the food between the Pizza, Pasta, Calzone and Tiramisu, yeah we had a good time.
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