Part V: Mediterranean Europe in .NET framework

Generator Code-128 in .NET framework Part V: Mediterranean Europe

Massimo alle Terme, Tues Sun 9 am 7:45 pm (may close Sun at 2 pm in winter); Aula Ottagona, Tues Sat 9 am 2 pm; Sun 9 am 1 pm

In the poetic words of Byron, the Pantheon is simple, erect, severe, austere, sublime And, as you ll find, this lovely description doesn t even begin to capture the power and magic that this best-preserved of Rome s ancient buildings holds Emperor Hadrian designed the Pantheon in the second century, AD and his skilled eye was instrumental in creating the mathematically exact, almost gravity-defying space inside Some amazing factoids await: The 1,800-year-old bronze entrance doors weigh 20 tons each The interior and ceiling create a perfect hemisphere, and the 18-foot oculus, or hole, in the center of the ceiling lets rain and light in The dome is exactly 140 feet across, and the building is 140 feet high This marvel of engineering remained unduplicated until the Renaissance and only recently have scholars actually figured out all the building s architectural secrets For starters, the roof is poured concrete (a Roman invention) made of light pumice stone, and the weight of it is distributed by brick arches embedded sideways into the walls and channeled into a ring of tension around the lip of the oculus (25-foot thick walls also come in handy here) Although the d cor is spare, the building houses the tombs of the painter Raphael as well as Italy s short-lived 19th-century monarchy (two of the total three kings lie here) Fortunately, the Pantheon has survived for centuries, because people barbarians, overzealous Christians, and others have recognized its classic beauty and left the building alone for the most part See map p 394 Piazza della Rotunda % 06-6830-0230 Tram: 8 Bus: 30, 40, 46, 62, 63, 64, 70, 81, 87, 116, 116T, 186, 492, 571, 628, 810, 916, N45, N78, N98, N99 Admission: Free Open: Mon Sat 8:30 am 7:30 pm, Sun 9 am 6 pm

Not only is the Vatican the center of the Catholic faith, it s also home to one of the greatest museum complexes in the world, with 12 apartments and collections, all worth viewing (including the wonderful Raphael Rooms and the amazing Sistine Chapel) In other words, this one may take more than one visit To avoid waiting in line with busloads of tourists, I recommend arriving at the Vatican early in the summer, about 30 minutes before it opens, if possible After you take in the museums, head on over to St Peter s, which is immense enough to hold tens of thousands of people, no problem Your first stop is most likely the Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery), which houses Leonardo da Vinci s unfinished St Jerome, Giotto s Stefaneschi Triptych, and Caravaggio s Deposition from the Cross The most famous work here is certainly Raphael s masterpiece, the huge study in colors and

light called the Transfiguration, which Raphael had not quite completed by the time of his sudden death at the age of 37 The pinnacle of Renaissance painting fills the ceiling and end wall of the Sistine Chapel Originally, Pope Julius II hired Michelangelo to create a magnificent burial site for him, but then he switched the artist to another job painting the chapel ceiling Michelangelo at first balked at the request, saying that he was a sculptor, not a frescoist, but eventually he agreed to work on the ceiling After four years of arduous work, the frescoes were unveiled Michelangelo had transformed the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the chapel into a blueprint for the continuing development of Renaissance art, developing new means of depicting the human form, new methods of arranging frescoes, and new uses of light and color that painters would embrace for generations to come He covered the Sistine ceiling with nine scenes from Genesis (the fingers-almost-touching God Creating Adam is the most famous) and ringed these with figures of the ancient prophets and sybils, with nudes in contorted positions that show off brilliant attention to human musculature The walls of the chapel are covered by wonderful frescoes from earlier Renaissance biggies including Signorelli, Botticelli, Pinturicchio, Perugino, Ghirlandaio all works that would command attention if they weren t under such a fabulous ceiling In 1545, at the age of 60, Michelangelo returned to the chapel to paint the entire end wall with the Last Judgment a masterwork of color, despair, and psychology If I had to choose the other top sight in the Vatican, it would be the PioClementino Museum, which houses ancient Greek and Roman sculpture Look here for the famed Laoco n group (first century BC), the Apollo Belvedere (ancient Roman copy of a fourth-century BC Greek original), and the muscular Belvedere Torso, a first-century BC fragment of a Hercules statue that served as inspiration to Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo The Vatican has numerous other museums, but you need months to get through all of them Some of the best include a collection of Egyptian and Etruscan artifacts, a Modern Religious Art gallery with robes by Matisse, an Ethnological Museum covering 3,000 years of history across all continents (the stuff from China is particularly good), an outstanding Library, and a museum devoted to the History of the Vatican See map p 394 Viale Vaticano (on the north side of the Vatican City walls, between where Via Santamaura and the Via Tunisi staircase hit Viale Vaticano; about a 5- to 10-minute walk around the walls from St Peter s) % 06-6988-4466 www vaticanova Metro: Cipro Musei Vaticani Bus: 23, 32, 49, 62, 81, 271, 490, 492, 982, or 990 Admission: 12 ($14) adults, 8 ($920) students under 26; free last Sun of each month (8:45 am 1:45 pm) and crowded like you wouldn t believe Open: Mar Oct and Dec 20 30 Mon Fri 8:45 am 4:45 pm, Sat 8:45 am 1:45 pm; Nov Feb Mon Sat 8:45 am 1:45 pm Last admission 75 minutes before closing Closed Jan 1 and 6, Feb 11, Mar 19, Easter Mon, May 1 and 20, June 10 and 29, Aug 14, Nov 1, Dec 8 and 25, and many religious holidays; check the Web site or call ahead