Colossalness in Rome

The last two days have been spent admiring two colossal structures; the Basilica of St. Peter's, and the Basilica of Constantine (or Maxentious, depending on which side of the Milvean Bridge you prefer to stand).  Approximately 1,300 years separate the completion of these two buildings but they have a few things in common.  One, they both have coffered ceilings in their barrel vaulting.  Coffering was not only decorative but greatly reduced the weight of a ceiling.  For example, the building they call the Pantheon also has a coffered ceiling.  Another thing these two buildings have in common is that they are big.  Really big.  Really, really, really, amazingly, astonishingly big.  St. Peter's visit was during class which means no photos were taken.  It wouldn't have mattered; everything is so far away because the building is so frickin' big and I don't have a zoom lens.  I do have some pictures of the facade which I took much earlier and may have already shared them.  The little teeny, tiny black dots in front of St. Peter's are people.  Some are even tall people. 

Those little black dots...at the bottoms of the columns...those are people

Constantine's basilica, unfortunately, is only a shell of its former self and only one third of the original building remains.  What you see below is only one third of the original building.  Oh, and the little green and blue dot at the bottom?  My roommate, Nick.  He stands somewhere around 6'3". 

Basilica apse and tall roomie.

Not my photo but you get the idea

Another striking similarity about the two buildings is that you don't really notice how big they are; they lose all sense of scale.  It it was just you and there were no other people around you don't actually notice how enormous these two structures are.  It is not like you've just ventured into a rabbit hole, you realize the space is monumentally huge, but until someone is standing next to something inside, you cannot really grasp the size.  For example, looking at the baldicchino in St. Peter's it is easy to tell it is large and impressive.  But until someone stands next to the pedestal you don't realize that the pedestal alone stands about 10 feet tall.  Those four little white blocks the massive, bronze columns are standing on are about ten feet tall.  And the baldicchino is dwarfed by the church surrounding it and especially the dome above it.  However, just standing there and looking up you lose all sense of perspective and all you can do is admire the beauty of what you see.