Rome, Italy

I think a lot of people in the world have this photo of Trevi Fountain in Rome. They snap this photo as they throw a coin into the fountain to insure their return to the city.

But I wonder how many people have this photo of Trevi Fountain in Rome. The fountain, and a nearby gelato shop, fill tourists' hands with ice cream and cameras. Wandering though this square many times, it was rare to see it with fewer tourists.

This site attracts many people. And it should. The fountain itself is beautiful! I could stare at the marble and it's water for hours. The water has a blue color that one often sees at a sea.

Art in Stone, Rome Italy

This past week I was at a building in AZ and noticed the fantastic mosaics that had been installed on the walls into the entrance of the building.  I thought about how mosaics are such a lost art form and how beautiful they can be.

Then I remembered this mosaic that is in the Vatican.  Each stone couldn't have been larger than 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch.  And even smaller in some of the fine detail areas of the piece.  Always loving peacocks, I loved how they were included in such detail.  (My mosaics made out of paper squares in third grade art class were generally discernible blobs on color on paper.)

I think that is why this art on the floor stopped me in my tracks.