We went back to the Pantheon, but this time we were armed with tickets and showed up very early in the morning. The crowds were manageable and we were able to get in quickly. I didn’t know why people said it would take about 40 minutes to explore the building. It is only one room. There is a lot to see in there. The roof is open in the middle with no protection from rain or snow. Drains are put into the floor to handle any precipitation. The light that came in was really cool and even though it was cloudy we could see clearly. It was Sunday and technically it is a church so Lindsay again had to remind me to take my hat off.
We walked around and ended up back near our place so we went to San Giovanni Basilica. This place is gigantic. There were services happening so we had the kids watch for a bit. It was all in Italian obviously so we didn’t understand. The exterior was under construction in preparation for the pilgrimage next year. It is one of the 7 places you are supposed to visit when you come.
The dome was really tall and it is crazy that the place is 2000 years old. They had the center under the hole in the dome roped off.
This was my best attempt to get the family in a photo with the dome. It is not my best work.
We were reading the history of this basilica and the pope used to live here. It is just inside the Aurelian walls. We tried to be extra quiet and not interfere with their services. It must be weird to go to mass and have tourists around all the time.