The Pantheon

May 10th -- We decided to spend some time around the Pantheon today. We took the metro to the Termini station and then a bus to Largo Argentina. Then it was just a short walk to the Pantheon. It was almost 11:30 when we arrived and mass was going on inside. We spent some time in the Piazza della Rotunda looking at the massive 40 foot columns that are made from single pieces of granite. It's amazing to think this was built somewhere around A.D. 120. We then ventured towards the door to observe the mass going on inside. This once Roman Temple is now celebrating it's 1,400th anniversary as a church. You would have thought that the Pope was leading the service the way people were crammed at the open doors taking pictures. So as not to be left out, we also piled in and started snapping away. After a few minutes the service ended and the Bishop came out to bless the crowd. As soon as he was finished and had left, the entire crowd started moving in. It was a good thing we actually wanted to enter because once the crowd started moving in, we had no choice but to go with them. Upon entering we were once again struck by the amazing architecture of this ancient building. The dome has a 30 foot oculus in the center and with it's mathematical perfection is a testament to Roman engineering. It is 142 feet tall and 142 feet wide meaning a 142' diameter ball could fit perfectly inside. The dome served as the model for the domes on the Florence Duomo and St. Peter's Basilica. The interior also includes the tombs of the artist Raphael and modern Italy's first two kings (Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I). We exited the temple and walked a couple of blocks to a nice restaurant for our "Mother's Day" meal. We had some more good Italian food and wine. We then left the restaurant to visit some of the churches nearby the Pantheon. The first one we came to (San Luigi) was closed for restoration work. We then walked back through the Piazza to visit the Bartolucci wood working store that we had visited in Florence. It was here that we experienced our first true traumatic experience of the trip. This next part is not for the weak of heart ("G", stop reading here). We were all in the store looking around. I had exited and was talking to Gilda outside the door. Amy came out and asked if we had Austin and we both said "no, he is inside with you". Amy went back inside and immediately came back out and said "no, he's not". I figured he was just right outside the store since we had been standing there, but he was not. We looked around a bit and then I took off back down the pedestrian only street we just came from and Amy took off the other direction. What happened next is honestly just a blur but I will tell you that we were all running in separate directions calling for Austin. At one point I passed my mom and Abby and they were yelling something about the police. It was difficult because we were on pedestrian only streets and they were packed with people. I tried looking into some of the stores where he might have been but there were just too many. I went back to the wood shop store entry and Amy was walking towards me yelling at me to talk to the police (who were right behind her) as she couldn't do it. She had obviously began to talk with them as they knew his name and that he was missing. One was speaking in Italian on a phone and the other was asking me questions in very broken English. I was trying to stay calm and alert. I saw a beggar sitting on the ground outside the store and began questioning her (to no avail). The one cop was pointing up in the air like there were either cameras or a helicopter looking for him. I remembered that I had just taken a picture of Austin in front of the store so I pulled out the digital camera and showed the police his picture. I was describing his hair color and the clothes he was wearing to the one police officer and then he was translating to the other who was talking on the phone in Italian non-stop. I felt like I was having some sort of out of body experience. We were standing in the middle of a small plaza area and I remember looking at all the people around who were looking at us. They all seemed to be completely frozen. All of a sudden I hear Amy scream and look up to see my mom coming around the corner with Austin in her arms. He had a look that was a cross between confused and scared. My Mom had gone down the street to the huge Piazza by the Pantheon (about 100 yards from where we were) to get the police and ran into a lady who had found Austin and was in the process of returning him to the police. I must say, this was only about a 10 minute ordeal but I could not have imagined it going on any longer. Somehow Austin had wandered out of the store and walked down the street. He, of course, had no idea why everyone was so hysterical. He had his camera with him and had ventured off, I'm sure, to take some pictures. The police took down our information and then off they went. It took everyone a little while to get over the trauma of what had just happened. It was the classic situation of with so many adults, everyone thought someone else was watching Austin. After calming down a bit, we started back on our path to the churches around the Pantheon. We visited the San Ignazio which was full of Baroque perspective illusions (and a praying Abby thanking God for Austin's safe return). After leaving the San Ignazio, we stopped at a gelateria for a much needed Gelato. We sat on a wall near the Pantheon and enjoyed our treat. We then visited the Santa Maria sopra Minerva and finally the Gesu church. By this point, we were all pretty much exhausted and so we caught the bus / metro back to the apartment. It was definitely a Mother's Day that won't soon be forgotten!