Mithras in the Vatican Museum

This particular Mithras has been restored a lot,
so of course he looks great.
He's got the Phrygian cap on,
and as he stabs the bull the three animals are apparent-
the snake and dog (in this detail)
as well as the scorpion down by his testicles-
who tried to steal the bull's blood.
It's a very classical looking piece.

Ravenna: the Squinches at San Vitale

For years I had been searching in vain for good digital details
of the San Vitale squinches that support the dome.
However, most people who post vacation pix
don't look at things like a squinch.
So, I had to go off to Ravenna and take pictures myself!
They turned out rather well, considering that:
1) I didn't have a specialized zoom lens and
2) no tripods were allowed in San Vitale.

Ravenna: Galla Placidia's Mausoleum

Now that I'm home from Italy and back in the land of boring winter,
I am going to post some of my Italian adventures on my blog--
mostly as pictures.
I will be focusing especially on monuments that I teach.
It can be really hard to get high quality, high resolution photos
without copyright problems,
from internet sources.
So-- I'm using these in my class,
and maybe some other instructor will be able to find them useful too.
This is the late Roman mausoleum
of Galla Placidia,
an imperial Roman lady who had a lot of ruling power,
and who has a gorgeous (if small)
tomb building next to a now-ruined basilica,
and the larger, later, famous church of San Vitale.
I love the mosaics, especially Christ as the Good Shepherd,
the apostles and doves,
and the alabaster window panes.