ROME to PARIS – even Moses couldn’t save us on the train!
Wednesday – today is our last day in the Eternal City and we have arranged to check out and leave our bags with the agent so that we can explore the city a bit further. After all of our racing around we still have a few things on our list yet to see – amazing isn’t it?
We leave our apartment and head back towards the Torre Argentina. Our first stop today will be to St Pietro in Vincoli or St Peters in Chains where is housed the famous statue of Moses by Michelangelo. We grab a taxi and it is not long before we are standing before a rather unassuming little church.
The basilica was first built in the middle of the 5th century to house the relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter while imprisoned in Jerusalem.
According to legend, when the pope held them next to the chains from Peter’s first imprisonment in the Mamertine Prison in Rome, the two chains miraculously fused together.
The basilica has undergone several restorations and rebuildings, including a restoration by Pope Adrian I, a rebuilding by Pope Sixtus IV and another by Pope Julius II. There was also a renovation in 1875 when some modernizations were made.
We had been advised to visit early as the little church becomes packed with tourists as the day goes on. True to form there is hardly anyone here and we can roam and admire everything in our own time.
The famous statue of Moses by Michelangelo is at the far end of the nave and to the right and because of the lack of tourists we head there first. Incredible hardly describes the workmanship that has gone into this.
Commissioned in 1505 by Pope Julius II for his tomb, it depicts Moses with horns on his head, based on a description in the Latin translation of the Bible used at that time. Pope Julius II died in 1513 and it was finally completed in 1545. The initial design by Michelangelo was massive and called for over 40 statues. The statue of Moses would have been placed on a tier about 3.74 meters high, opposite a figure of St. Paul. In the final design, the statue of Moses sits in the centre of the bottom tier.
A quote from Wikipedia says it much better that I could hope to do – ‘Seated in a serious attitude, he rests with one arm on the tables, and with the other holds his long glossy beard, the hairs, so difficult to render in sculpture, being so soft and downy that it seems as if the iron chisel must have become a brush.
The beautiful face, like that of a saint and mighty prince, seems as one regards it to need the veil to cover it, so splendid and shining does it appear, and so well has the artist presented in the marble the divinity with which God had endowed that holy countenance. The draperies fall in graceful folds, the muscles of the arms and bones of the hands are of such beauty and perfection, as are the legs and knees, the feet being adorned with excellent shoes, that Moses may now be called the friend of God more than ever, since God has permitted his body to be prepared for the resurrection before the others by the hand of Michelangelo’.
Isn’t that description enough to take your breath away? The statue in the natural light is amazing but there is a coin operated box that when a 2 euro coin is dropped inside, the lights come on to highlight the smoothness of the marble. You can see the difference in the photos above. The photo on the right is covered in artificial light.
While we are standing admiring the statue, a voice owned by a person oblivious to the ‘payment for light scheme’ is heard behind me to say ‘isn’t it wonderful, the church has turned the lights on for us’. The three of us groan and think oh dear!
The tourists are starting to pile in en mass courtesy of the tourist companies so it is time to move on.
At the centre end of the nave is the High Altar with the Chains of St Peter. The Apostle was jailed in Jerusalem, shackled in an iron chain for preaching about Jesus. The night before his trial, St. Peter was said to have been released from the chain by an angel and led out of the prison.
Today, the chain is housed in a reliquary under the main altar in the San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains) basilica in Rome. Legend says that when the Empress Eudoxia gave the chain to Pope Leo I, he held them next to the chains from Peter’s first imprisonment in the Mamertime Prison in Rome and the two chains miraculously fused together.
After about an hour wandering inside the church it is time to move on to our next stop – the Pantheon.
Following our map we find ourselves on a hill above the Colosseum. This will be our last views of this majestic place so we spend a bit of time and take some more photos (you can never have enough) before heading down the street.
We pass the Arch of Constantine and the Forum where we find some archaeologists on a dig and a camera crew filming for posterity. Past statues of Caesar and the Monument to Victor, we finally arrive at the Pantheon. The name Pantheon means for all the gods.
Before going inside though, we decide to have some lunch at one of the little eateries surrounding the square. There are many from which to choose and the menus all look good but we finally decide on one that charges a flat rate for pasta, pizza and a glass of wine. It is directly in front of the Pantheon and whilst sitting enjoying our meal we strike up a conversation with an Aussie couple.
Feeling refreshed it is now time to tackle the Pantheon. Built more than 1800 years ago, this magnificent building still stands as a reminder of the great Roman Empire.
With its thick brick walls and large marble columns, the Pantheon makes an immediate impression on visitors.
The front portico has three rows of columns; the first row has eight columns while the other two have four each. A huge bronze door gives access to the cylindrical building.
But the most remarkable part of the building is the more than 43 metre high dome. It was the largest dome in the world until 1436 when the cathedral at Florence was constructed.
At the top of the dome is a large opening, the oculus, which is the only source of light. Any rain that comes through will drain away due to the gradual slope of the floor into a central drain.
The most important problem the Romans faced during the construction of the Pantheon was the massive weight of the large dome. In order to support it without proper reinforcement as is common today, the thickness of the walls was gradually decreased as the height increased.
The Romans also used a different type of concrete for the dome than for the walls. At the base very thick (6m, 20ft) walls were constructed. At the top of the dome, a lighter type of concrete was used and near the oculus it is only 7.5 ft or 2.3 m thick. The use of coffers in the ceiling and the opening at the top also helped reduce the weight of the dome.
Once I get over the jaw dropping effect the dome has on me, it’s time to explore the interior and learn a bit more history.
Originally a temple for all pagan gods, the Pantheon was converted into a church in 609. Its ecclesiastical interior design contrast with the temple’s structural design, but the marble floor – which features a design consisting of a series of geometric patterns – is still the ancient Roman original.
There are now contained within, the tombs of several Italian kings: left – Victor Emmanuel II; centre – Umberto and right – the famous artist Raphael.
Raphael was an Italian painter and architect of the Reis work is admired for its clarity of form ad east of composition. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.
This is another photo of the tomb of Raphael.
That is his sarcophagus and there are a pair of doves hanging over the top. His marble sarcophagus reads: ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI (Here lies Raphael, by whom Nature feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die).
The Pantheon is a wonderful building and it is the best preserved of all the ancient buildings in Rome. When we exit the building there are many ‘Romans’ dressed as gladiators or Caesar who are more than will to part the tourist from their holiday funds.
Unfortunately it is also our last stop on our ‘History of Rome’ excursion and it is time to make our way back to the apartment to collect our bags and head for the station. Tonight we catch the sleeper train to Paris – how exciting is that!
Read on and you will find that the excitement turns to sheer frustration and disappointment – but now I have given the game away.
This is part of the letter of complaint that we sent to Artesia Trains who operated this service. It will give you an idea of what hardships we endured during this trip. I have since learned that Artesia no longer operate this service which is a good thing. So here we go –
‘After a rather long day exploring Rome we arrived at the Termini train station to board our train to Paris. Our train was due to depart at 7:45pm and we arrived at 6:45pm to give us plenty of time to locate our platform and board.
Up until 7:20pm, the platform was not made available to any of the passengers waiting to board. We finally located someone who indicated Platform 9 would be the platform from which we would depart. We waited at the platform until approximately 7:35pm when the departure board showed an entirely different platform. While we understand this is no reflection on Artesia, it provided part of the foundation of what was soon to come.
After racing to the platform and finding our Coach 91, the entire coach was devoid of any light and both entrance doors were locked. It was also at this point in time we noticed the age of the train – which was certainly not indicative of the advertising on your website. In fact, people next us said the train “Looked like it carried troops in the US Civil War”.
After trying unsuccessfully to board the train, one of your Stewards came along and tried to open the doors, to no avail. Your Steward indicated we should get on in another car and walk through the train to our coach. When we pointed out the lack of lighting in our coach, he said he would organize it to be turned on for us.
We tried to board the train in the next closest carriage to the entrance to the platform, but both doors were locked there as well. By this time it was nearly 7:45pm and we were panicked the train would leave without us.
We finally managed to board the train 2 carriages down from our coach and walked back to our coach with our luggage to locate our cabin. We were pleased to find upon arrival that the lights in our coach had been turned on.
We located our cabin and found 2 of the 3 beds made up. We were appreciative of this as it gave us more movement in what was a ridiculously small cabin. After stowing our luggage we waited patiently for the Steward to come and collect our tickets. We also wanted to know where the dining car was as we had forgone dinner in Rome so we could eat on the train.
When our Steward showed up, we asked about the dining car and he indicated this train would not have dining facilities. We said that this train was supposed to have dining facilities to which he replied that the train tomorrow will have dining facilities. Our reply was that is fine if we were travelling tomorrow but we are travelling today and as we are scheduled to reach Paris at 10:30am the next morning, it was totally unacceptable there would be no dining facilities for the passengers on board. It would mean we would have nothing to eat or drink for nearly 15 hours.
He apologized and expressed his understanding, then proceeded to tell us for 15 minutes how after 20 years with Artesia he would be retiring this December. When we stated that was not our concern, he said there was nothing he could do and left.
Deciding there was nothing we could do, we decided to have a shower and just go to bed. We found the Steward again and he said there were no showers on board the train, despite the fact we had been informed by RailEurope that communal showers were available on board the train.
We were told that we could use the bathrooms at the end of the coach to wash up before bed. Deciding to do this, we went to the bathrooms only to find out the lights didn’t work and that it appeared they had not been cleaned since the “US Civil War”.
Returning to use the basin in our own room it was then we discovered the hand basin taps would not turn off and that we would have running water all night.
Deciding enough was enough I went to find the Conductor of the train. After being given several incorrect sets of directions which involved me walking up and down the train for nearly half an hour I gave up and decided to voice my disgust to you upon our arrival in Paris.
Upon return to our cabin my family informed me the Steward had delivered a bottle of water to us as well as a stale croissant for breakfast.
Considering the age of the train, and the lack of air conditioning, it was not surprising we hardly slept that evening. Considering all the travel I have done in my life (which is considerably more than the average person), this was by far the most uncomfortable journey I have ever made.
Upon arising the next morning and having to use the restroom, we found the bathrooms in an even more appalling state than they were the night before – they even smelled of tobacco from people smoking in them overnight!
Upon our arrival in Paris the first of two joys of our journey with you arrived – we got off your abomination of a train and were greeted by one of your Guides who greeted us with a smile and helped us figure out where we needed to go to reach the closest Metro station.
Considering there were several other people lined up to complain, the Guide handled himself with dignity and poise. Considering your journey was the most expensive of all of the reservations we made on our extensive trip throughout Europe it was by far the darkest spot on our journey. I, as well as the members of my family would like to know how, in good conscience, your company can treat their clientele in this manner.
We would appreciate you investigate our claims and advise us of your findings. Alternatively you can also choose to throw this letter in the trash and continue to treat us in the same manner to which we have become accustomed’.
So that ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls is how we spent the night travelling on a First Class sleeper from Rome to Paris.
Highlight of the day : Michelangelo’s Moses