Climbing the dome of the Pantheon and looking down through the Oculus at the room below. Climbing the scaffolding in the Sistine Chapel and seeing the ceiling up close during restoration. Climbing the scaffolding around a part restored Trajan’s column and coming literally face to face with the reliefs. Nicholas Temple’s experience of Rome was second to none.

Of course this wasn’t a holiday, this kind of access to Rome is rare, and the connections that make it possible are one of the joys of being at the British School at Rome (BSR). The late Amanda Claridge was at the BSR at this point as Assistant Director and had used her contacts in archaeology to give the BSR’s scholars access to these remarkable sites.

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