ROME, ITALY: Guest Post by Tom Scheaffer

Rome, Italy. Romulus and Remus Statue,"the Capitoline Wolf". Traditional scholarship says the wolf-figure is Etruscan, 5th century BC. The figures of Romulus and Remus were added in the 15th century

My brother Tom loves to travel and Italy is one of his (and my) favorite places. In December 2017 and January 2018 he went to Europe, stopping on his way to Montenegro in Rome where he visited a variety of ancient sites, including perhaps the most famous–the Colosseum (also spelled "Coliseum".) Other highlights included a "living history" demonstration of ancient Roman times, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and a special Monet exhibit. Here are some of his photos of his visit to Rome and a few facts about the Pantheon.

At the living history exhibit I befriended a Roman Centurion

The Pantheon, one of the oldest Roman buildings, was built by Hadrian in 126AD. It is one of the best preserved of  all ancient Roman buildings in large part because it has been in continous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century has been used as a church.

Roman ruins illuminated at night

Claude Monet exhibit--many of these paintings were lesser known works and most were of his garden at Giverney

Monet's palette

The Colosseum -- at night many of the ancient ruins are illumined with lights