54...a photos on Flickr

via Rugged notebooks are largely purchased by enterprise businesses deploying workers in hazardous environments or by local and federal government agencies such as police, firefighters, enforcement, military mechanics or with mobile workers who require a laptop to survive just about anything. blog.groupmobile.com/2017/03/27/panasonic-semi-rugged-tou...

2022-08-27-C312 by pellio-54

Images by

Pixell Photography

Mob: 0438 396 054

pixellphoto@yahoo.com.au

www.facebook.com/pixellphotography

www.flickr.com/photos/pellio-54/

07099-54-A by Olmsted Archives, Frederick Law Olmsted NHS, NPS

Item Number:7099-54-A

Document Title:Mr. George A. Cluett/ Williamstown, Mass./ 3/4" Scale Detail for Arbor on Central Line of Garden to Shelter [r]/ Scale 3/4"= 1' [r]

Project:07099; Cluett, George A.; Williamstown; MA; 07 Private Estate & Homesteads; 139;

Artist/Creator:OBLA / OLMSTED BROTHERS

Location:FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED NHS, BROOKLINE, MA

Category:PLAN

Purpose:A&E (Architectural & Engineering)

Physical Characteristics:0000079021 28" x 28" graphite trace

Dates:16-JUL-1923 [r]

Notes:Scheme A [r]/ Original Date 12-JUN-1923 [r]

Please Credit: Courtesy of the National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.

Belfast 210912 54 A by the red perception

34 emg 54 a-307 (1) by Hüseyin Keskin6

Pope Boniface VIII Tomb by Neil Noland

The Vatican. Smallest country in the world, coming in at about 0.2 square miles (just under 120 acres). It's the seat of the Catholic Church (but not the seat of the Pope, though he lives here).

This is basically a half day trip, as there are only two main things to do: see/tour these museums, and see/tour St. Peter's Basilica and Square.

Given the number of visitors here (the museums alone drew 6.8 million visitors in the most-recent reported year), you will most likely want to book a tour in advance. Read the fine print on what that includes, though, as it won't include everything (or else this could easily be a full day).

Almost all group tours start outside the Musei Vaticani gate. (Tour groups tend to meet across the street on the stairs.)

In general, the tour starts with the museums, goes through the papal hallway, then onto St. Peter's Square and into the basilica. That'll take about four hours.

Since this set contains the basilica only, I'll focus on a more in-depth description of history of this spot, from Roman times, to the old St. Peter's, to the current one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This land in Roman times:

Just after the time our man Jesus was born, the Roman Empire, which was at its peak, was expanding. The "heart of Rome" is across the river on the east bank of the Tiber. At the end of the 1st century B.C., the alluvial plain (Ager Vaticanus) across the river was developed, which allowed rich families to build luxurious estates (horti).

One of these, Horti Agrippinae, belonged to Agrippina the Elder (daughter of Augustus). It was located on the spot where St. Peter's Basilica now sits. She passed the house down to her son Emperor Caligula (ruled 31-41 A.D.), a lover of chariot races, who started building this circus. (He wanted to see Ben-Hur 2,000 years early.). Emperor Claudius (ruled 41-54 A.D. completed construction of the circus. They were still private for the family only.

This changed when they passed it on to Emperor Nero, who loved to be adored as much as he loed spectacle. He made the circus public. He didn't live here, though. As Emperor, he lived in Domus Aurae next to what would be the Colosseum.

When the great fire hit in 64 A..D. he opened up both the house and circus to house Romans who had been displaced by the fire. (That's pretty nice.)

The next year, in 65 A.D., there were mass executions of Christians here, who were the scapegoats for the fire. (That? Not so nice.)

This was the first state-sponsored martyrdom of Christians in the Empire. Among those martyred here? Saints Peter and Paul (sometime between 64-68 A.D.).

Fewer than 100 years later, in the 2nd century A.D. the circus was abandoned, partitioned, and given to private individuals to build tombs and turn this into a cemetery. When they were putting in Bernini's colonnades on the piazza, they kept uncovering pagan tombs under the south side.

Fast forward another 150-200 years, and we see some changes in terms of Christianity. In 312 A.D., Emperor Constantine defeated Maxentius in a battle and legalized Christianity. Among his building projects was the original St. Peter's Basilica.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Old St. Peter's Basilica:

This church stood a long time. Constantine ordered that it be built (between 318 and 322). It lasted until 1505, when in ruins, Pope Julius II (who really wanted to keep the old church and restore it) finally ordered it razed and rebuilt.

Some notes on the old basilica before delving into the new one...

After taking 40 tears to build, it had 12 centuries of growing importance, becoming an important pilgrimage site. (Rome has a lot of those for Christians, and you can find them in my other sets: Santa Maria Maggiore, San Pietro in Vincoli, St. Paul Outside the Walls, etc.). This site, in particular, is the granddaddy of pilgrimage sites, though. It was where 2 of Jesus's 12 apostles were martyred, and one of them -- Peter (duh...) -- was buried.

Papal coronations were held here. Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Carolingian Empire (Franks) in 800 in this building. Saracens sacked Rome in 846 and, knowing about treasures, pillaged St. Peter's grave. (Remember, this was outside the Aurelian walls of the city.). This caused folks to rethink fortifications. Pope Leo IV ordered the Leonine wall built which included the Vatican.

Centuries later, after the popes came back from their self-imposed exile to Avignon in the 15th century, they noticed that St. Peter's was in a seriously bad state of repair.

The style of construction was leading to its demise. It was built in the form of a Latin cross. It held 3,000-4,000 people. The nave was 350 feet (110 meters) long. It had a wide central aisle with two smaller aisles on each side. It had a gabled roof that, at the center, was 100 feet (30 meters) tall.

The old church then was very long, with a high roof, but no buttresses to support it. (An account around the time of destruction said the walls had been displaced from the vertical by the wind -- about 6 feet (1.9 meters) from vertical which, given its size, didn't bode well for folks inside it.

Because it was determined beyond salvage, it was torn down in 1505, to make way for the new basilica (that we see every day).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

St. Peter's Basilica:

Begun in 1506, and completed in 1626, this church's construction is...messy. And very political. Funding was done by granting favors (buying your salvation). As it took 120 years, the main architect changed a number of times (from Bramante, whose design had won a competition to build it, and included Rafael and Michelangelo, among others). The dome is the largest in the world. Heck, the church is the largest in the world. When you're walking around the nave, you'll see plaques on the floor that mark the sizes of other churches.

Bramante's design for the church was a simple Greek cross, and that was maintained throughout the years. Michelangelo reverted to it in the final designs. The nave was added by Carlo Maderno, along with the facade out front.

At the altar of the church, you'll find Bernini's baldocchino with its homage to old St. Peter's cathedral (the "twisted" columns).

Directly below the altar -- which was the apse of the old church -- is St. Peter's grave. A number of other popes are also buried in the crypt. A few of them, including Pope John Paul II, are buried in the nave.

There's also some artwork of note in the church. The most famous is Michelangelo's Pieta (1498-99), Pope Alexander VII's tomb by Bernini, and the statuary in the north and south aisles.

This is a terribly inadequate description of the church. But, it's a start. If you're interested feel free to research more on your own.

2017-04-25-B-020 by pellio-54