Early rising this morning was again difficult because of sleeplessness. We made it to San Luigi dei Francesi and laid eyes upon the three paintings in the St. Matthew Cycle by Caravaggio. Again, all other paintings in the cathedral looked like washed out illustrations after viewing the rich dramascapes of Caravaggio. I stood in front of them for a long time. Tour group after tour group filtered in and out. The love and care poured into these paintings is overwhelming. That cliche about my heart feeling like it could burst came to mind, I really felt that way. I feel drained emotionally. We made a feeble attempt to find the Bernini sculpture at a church we didn't know the name of around the train station some where. In the train station is a mall and I loved the shoes, the heels? What is up with me?
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| San Luigi dei Popolo and the St. Matthew Cycle by Caravaggio. In the background, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew. |
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| The Pantheon |
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| Colosseum |
We entered the Pantheon after going to see the Caravaggios. Apparently the Catholic Church restored the inside, maybe some of the outside of the Pantheon. The statues of Greek gods and goddesses were moved to the Vatican. The Pantheon has been turned into a basilica with statues of martyrs and a pulpit and altar. My heart was troubled by this. The Colosseum was also stamped with a huge cross. I feel as if these places have been stripped of their connection with history, graffitied by Christianity and defiled to their true purpose. The argument is that the Catholic Church saved the structures from crumbling. Intriguing in a scandalous way, the Vatican houses statues and relics of Greek gods, Egyptian gods and Mayan gods, probably more. they have a great collection and their archives are off limits to laymen. I'm tired. My body is tired. My heart is tired. My mind is tired.
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