An Academy Moment

Having stayed up too late to watch the United States almost win their game against Portugal (they let in a goal twenty seconds before the end, leading to a tie), I was quite tired.  So, I decided to take a walk to wake myself up. I took the book I was reading, Steen Eiler Rasmussen's classic introduction to architecture, Experiencing Architecture, the first book I read on architecture in college, and walked over to the Vatican to look at the Sangallo's Porta Santo Spirito, the fortified gateway from the 16th century discussed at the opening of chapter 2 of Rasmussen's book.  This is the most direct gateway into the Vatican from the Academy but I had never noticed it.  It was exciting to be able to read about it in the book and stroll over to see the real thing.