What captured my attention in Rome.

The lady is kneeling before an altar that houses a small wooden sculpture that is said to have been sculpted by a a Roman soldier from a piece of wood take from the garden a Jessamine where Christ had pleaded with God before he was captured and crucified. The sculpture was taken by ship to Rome but along the way the see got rough and everything on board the vassal was thrown overboard including the sculpture (of an infant). Legend has it that the sculpture was found following the wake of the vassal all the way to Rome after the storm and so it was considered a miracle. This is just my short version of the story according to what was written in the caption.

Below the painting is a tomb of one of the Christian Martyrs and one can find these in many churches In and around Rome. I see these as works of art created by master craftsmen in an effort to express what is the divine in man and to help preserve the sanctity of the Church.

The seraphim's sculpted from wood as a part of a wooden parapet was something that one cannot help but marvel at how man can utilize whatever medium to express himself and make it grand to last a lifetime.

Marbles are what the Italian master were most well known for. At the hands of a master sculptor the marble is turned into malleable forms fluid and flowing. The artists were able to create a feeling  a spirit existing within the cold marbles

These small figurines made from bronze were miniatures of the actual works, but never the less they still are a wonder to behold in themselves.

This wooden crucifix found in a small chapel at the church of San Sebastian was 'raw' in its appearance and it evokes a kind of sacredness in itself. 

Although it was cold inside the Pantheon it was still an awesome sight to behold looking up into the dome with light piercing through its portal.

What is so exciting about this column that is age worn and whether beaten and perhaps was being caressed by myriads of hands through the ages since its first day of creation. It is to me a symbol of human endeavor, filled with pride and firmament.

Just to be there, to be standing within the great hall of the Pantheon feeling the course of human history floating all around me and the artworks of masters of days gone by never to be recreated in the same spirit ever again; this was worth the trip to Rome.