Ciò che siete noi eravamo, ciò che siamo voi sarete
A colleague is going to Rome for a long week-end. Apparently it'll be roasting there on Sat/Sun (the BBC says it'll be 42 C, though according to an Italian online newspaper it'll be 38 C).
The weather here's been awful: grey, and rainy, and rather chilly. When Adrian's Mum was visiting at the week-end we had to have the central heating on for a few hours!
And lots of people - like the poor William (
williamthebruce) - are suffering from SAD.
So a trip somewhere sunny is just the ticket. (Hopefully the weather forecast is correct and it'll be sunny here too for us who are not going anywhere).
There's so much to see in Rome! I've been a few times but it never is enough. Hopefully Adrian (
london1952) and I will go some time soon-ish.
When we went last time (4 years ago) , we visited a rather macabre place, the Cappuccini crypt in Via Veneto. It's really ironic that the street that is the epitome of the Dolce Vita, has such a stark reminder of death; the "crypt" contains the bones of about 4,000 people and what is really unusual/gruesome/morbid is that the skeletons have been dismembered and the bones used to create decorative patterns, ornaments, statues,...
Different bones are used in different rooms, so you have the "crypt of the pelvises", the "crypt of skulls", etc.
I found some good pictures on the net:
Click here to see the other ones, and here for the page from the Cappuccini friars website
The reason for this rather disturbing display is of course to remind us of our mortal state (a sign in the crypt admonishes the visitors: "Ciò che siete noi eravamo, ciò che siamo voi sarete" or "what you are we were, what we are you will be").
Ermmmmmm... perhaps not the best thing to cheer up William!!
The weather here's been awful: grey, and rainy, and rather chilly. When Adrian's Mum was visiting at the week-end we had to have the central heating on for a few hours!
And lots of people - like the poor William (
williamthebruce) - are suffering from SAD.
So a trip somewhere sunny is just the ticket. (Hopefully the weather forecast is correct and it'll be sunny here too for us who are not going anywhere).
There's so much to see in Rome! I've been a few times but it never is enough. Hopefully Adrian (
london1952) and I will go some time soon-ish.
When we went last time (4 years ago) , we visited a rather macabre place, the Cappuccini crypt in Via Veneto. It's really ironic that the street that is the epitome of the Dolce Vita, has such a stark reminder of death; the "crypt" contains the bones of about 4,000 people and what is really unusual/gruesome/morbid is that the skeletons have been dismembered and the bones used to create decorative patterns, ornaments, statues,...
Different bones are used in different rooms, so you have the "crypt of the pelvises", the "crypt of skulls", etc.
I found some good pictures on the net:
Click here to see the other ones, and here for the page from the Cappuccini friars website
The reason for this rather disturbing display is of course to remind us of our mortal state (a sign in the crypt admonishes the visitors: "Ciò che siete noi eravamo, ciò che siamo voi sarete" or "what you are we were, what we are you will be").
Ermmmmmm... perhaps not the best thing to cheer up William!!