I have just returned from a short Trip to Rome , Four days in a very swish hotel, I know it was swish because a Gin and Tonic was 18 euros and we got complimentary slippers. The hotel was just around the back of the Pantheon. A building that was constructed by the Emperor Hadrian in around 100 AD built on the site of an earlier structure from 27 BC built by some bloke called Marcus Agrippa ( what a great name) . I wont bore you with the history lesson but its amazing to me that the building has been in constant use for the past 2000 years and is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world . Something that has been around since the time of Christ and under constant use has to be pretty special. It was also very beautiful, the internal frescoes were stunning.
Anyway that aside, apart from the sights and sounds ( and food) we had a visit to the Vatican city and after seeing the Sistene Chapel which I found spoiled by the crowds and the Gallery of maps which to me was the stunning highlight. Tucked away in one of the museums of the Vatican I came across this. It is the Jonah Sarcophagus carved in the third century ...I was instantly drawn to the image . This small figure with a fishing rod in his hand is not really mentioned but a little research online considers that the extreme right hand on the tableau may be a reference to the afterlife , Paradise if you like , Well looking at the figure fishing with a couple of fish looking to show interest and a bird in front of him suggesting fly tying materials arent out of the question then whos to argue against it being paradise. I for one strongly beleive that for once the historians may be bang on.
I find it odd that after seeing the Vatican and the Pantheon and Coliseum this one little image is the thing that made a lasting impression. True thousands of years since the carving but still not so very far away from how we fish today it seemed to embody the very essence of fishing ... Simply Man , rod line and fish . Paradise....
And a picture of the Pantheon , by moonlight no less. A stunning structure ......
And the Vatican Gallery of maps ....
