Italy By Lydia Santucci If you were in
Italy By Lydia Santucci
If you were in Italy, where would you go?
The Colosseum • the Colosseum has over 80 entrances and can seat 50, 000 people • it is believed that almost 500, 000 • • • people and over a million wild animals were killed in the people versus beast games hosted in the colosseum ancient Romans were given food and allowed to watch events in the Colosseum for free It took 60, 000 Jewish slaves nine years to complete the Colosseum It was built as a gift to the Roman citizens from the Flavian Dynasty and was meant to provide entertainment as well as showcase Roman engineering techniques to the world
The Pantheon • Built by Roman Architects in 125 A. D. • was originally a pagan temple but in 609 A. D. it was converted into Christian church • it is still a church today and open to anyone for mass on Sundays • the Pantheon dome is the largest, unreinforced concrete dome in the world • The first was created in 27 B. C. and burned • down. Then the second Pantheon was built in the 1 st century A. D. and also burned down. The Pantheon standing today is the third to be built.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa • • • The tower is 8 stories tall It is a freestanding bell tower for the cathedral of the city Pisa there are seven bells in the tower weighs 14, 453 tons there is no clear explanation as to why the tower is leaning but current researchers believe it is because the foundation soil made of mostly clay is slowly sinking the tower has been closed to the public since 1988 to prevent it from leaning at a more extreme angle and eventually crashing down.
Milan Cathedral • • • this cathedral took five centuries to complete construction began in 1386 and ended in the 19 th century when Napolean Bonaparte commanded that it be finished there are 3159 statues, 96 gargoyles and 135 spires o The most famous statue on the building is the Madonnina, a copper statue of the virgin Mary covered in 3900 pieces of gold leaf and placed on the tallest spire o it is located in the dead center of Milan o mass is still held in the cathedral every Sunday and open everyday of the week for public use
Saint Peter’s Square • • • located in front of St. Peter’s Basilica from the square you can see the Papal Apartments where the pope lives the square was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1656 it was created in an elliptical shape the columns supporting the roof are topped with 140 different statues of saints, martyrs, popes and founders of religious orders within the catholic church the square was constructed around an egyptian obelisk and two fountains were placed equidistant from the obelisk and the square’s surrounding walls
- Slides: 7