Eternal Rome and the Trevi Fountain
"Ahh Roma!"
I had been to Venice once before and Florence twice before, and it was nice to see them in depth for a change, but Rome has always been my favorite city in Italy. There is something around every corner from the Argentine Square where Julius Caesar was killed, to the awe inspiring St. Peters Basilica.
It was nice to have the tour guide to explain the monuments to us. On my previous trips we simply wandered the town, and relied on the guide book, and what my Dad learned while he lived in Rome in the late 60’s. Cecilia was a wealth of knowledge as she guided us expertly through the maze of small streets that is Rome. Our first stop was the time honored Trevi Fountain.
The good news is that the great monuments of Rome are finally receiving some much needed restoration. The bad news is that it seems to be happening all at once, and the Trevi Fountain and the Coliseum were covered with scaffolding.
Tradition has it that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome. It's worked so far, we will have to see if it holds true when you throw coins into an empty fountain!
I had been to Venice once before and Florence twice before, and it was nice to see them in depth for a change, but Rome has always been my favorite city in Italy. There is something around every corner from the Argentine Square where Julius Caesar was killed, to the awe inspiring St. Peters Basilica.
It was nice to have the tour guide to explain the monuments to us. On my previous trips we simply wandered the town, and relied on the guide book, and what my Dad learned while he lived in Rome in the late 60’s. Cecilia was a wealth of knowledge as she guided us expertly through the maze of small streets that is Rome. Our first stop was the time honored Trevi Fountain.
The good news is that the great monuments of Rome are finally receiving some much needed restoration. The bad news is that it seems to be happening all at once, and the Trevi Fountain and the Coliseum were covered with scaffolding.
Tradition has it that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome. It's worked so far, we will have to see if it holds true when you throw coins into an empty fountain!
Pantheon |
From the Trevi Fountain we made our way to the Pantheon, the oldest
building in continuous use in the world.
It’s also the final resting place of Raphael and King Victor Emanuel II, the first King of unified Italy. It is also the largest unsupported dome in the ancient world.
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Piazza Navona |
On our way to dinner, we strolled through Piazza Navona to
see Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers.
There are two other fountains in this large square converted from Dometian's Circus, hence the oval shape. At night the piazza comes alive with all sorts of artists and entertainers, and it is an excellent place to sit back and people watch. |
Rome by Night |
After dinner, we watched the rest of our tour group board
the bus to go back to our hotel. My wife and I decided to walk back to our hotel, soaking up the
ambiance, seeing Rome at its most spectacular, at night.
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Vatican Museum
After strolling through Rome at night, I broke my
streak of early morning city walks and slept in. We then boarded the subway and headed to the
Vatican museum and St Peters Basilica.
As soon as we stepped out of the subway, I felt like I was home again.
We joined our tour guide and began exploring the treasures of the Vatican museums. This is one of the largest museums in the world with exhibits from ancient Egypt to modern art and everything in between. But the true highlights are the frescoes adorning the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo and the frescoes in the Papal apartments now known after the artist as the Raphael Rooms.
We joined our tour guide and began exploring the treasures of the Vatican museums. This is one of the largest museums in the world with exhibits from ancient Egypt to modern art and everything in between. But the true highlights are the frescoes adorning the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo and the frescoes in the Papal apartments now known after the artist as the Raphael Rooms.
St. Peters Basilica |
One of the benefits of going to the museum with a tour group
is that you can take a shortcut from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peters Basilica to avoid
going through the security scanners.
This saves considerable time, yet makes me yearn for the good old days
10 years ago when you could simply walk right inside.
The scale of St. Peters is immense. From Michelangelo’s dome to Bernini’s façade and St. Peters Square, all of the great masters contributed to the crown jewel of Christendom that is St. Peters. One of the highlights of St. Peters is Michelangelo’s Pieta, one of the most moving pieces of art I have ever seen. When you see the Pieta, you realize why after 500 years, Michelangelo is still known by his first name . |
Trastevere
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking to and around
Trastevere, which translates to 'across the Tiber'. It is an eclectic old neighborhood across the Tiber River from Rome proper. It has some
interesting sights including the Villa Farnese with frescoes by
Raphael, to Santa Maria in Trastevere, the world's oldest church dedicated to the Virgin
Mary with Medieval mosaics and columns rescued from ancient ruins.
Trastevere offers a quiet respite from the noise and crowds of Rome.
Trastevere offers a quiet respite from the noise and crowds of Rome.
Borghese Gallery |
After a brief siesta we went to the Borghese Gallery,
the lavish home of a wealthy Cardinal.
Many of Bernini’s masterpieces were made to adorn this amazing home which also houses
pieces by Raphael and others.
This is a small gallery that only allows in 200 people at a time for a two hour visit. Reservations are required and must be made in person or over the phone several days in advance. Cecilia recommended this museum and helped us to set up the appointment. This was something I had never done in Rome before and Cecilia made it possible. It is an absolute gem because of its intimate atmosphere, the limited number of visitors, and the expansive park surrounding it. The highlight is definitely Bernini’s Pluto and Prosepina, the attention to detail is exquisite when you look at how Pluto’s hand appears to dig into the flesh of Prosepina’s thigh. |
Don't Let the Destination Get in the Way of the Journey!
After the Borghese Gallery, we went to Circus Maximus, the Mouth of
Truth, and were on our way to see the Knights of Malta gate, when we found a park on the
Aventine Hill with a birds eye view of Rome. It was almost sunset, so we changed our plans and decided to wait and watch the sun go down from this scenic overlook.
It was a nice, quiet spot to relax and watch the city buzzing below. Later, we took the subway to the Coliseum to dine overlooking this ancient monument.
This reinforces one of the important things about travel. Don't let the destination get in the way of the journey! It's good to have a destination, but along the journey keep an eye out, and you may find something even better than what you were looking for. As part of the tour, we were given a 3 day Bus and Metro pass, which is a great way to zip clear across town to see a particular sight. But in Rome, there is something ancient and different around every corner that you will miss if you only take the subway or the bus.
Always allow extra time for exploring and never pass up an open church, you never know what you'll find. (There are Michelangelo sculptures all over Rome in less visited churches such as St. Peter in Chains near the Coliseum and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva near the Pantheon.)
This reinforces one of the important things about travel. Don't let the destination get in the way of the journey! It's good to have a destination, but along the journey keep an eye out, and you may find something even better than what you were looking for. As part of the tour, we were given a 3 day Bus and Metro pass, which is a great way to zip clear across town to see a particular sight. But in Rome, there is something ancient and different around every corner that you will miss if you only take the subway or the bus.
Always allow extra time for exploring and never pass up an open church, you never know what you'll find. (There are Michelangelo sculptures all over Rome in less visited churches such as St. Peter in Chains near the Coliseum and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva near the Pantheon.)
Basilica San Clemente
The good thing about the Rick Steves tour is that they
combine the popular sites such as the coliseum and Forum, as well as lesser known gems such as the St. Clement Basilica, a 12th century church built atop a 4th
century church built over a 2nd century Pagan temple, which was
built atop an ancient Roman neighborhood.
After three prior visits to Rome, I somehow managed to miss this multi layered masterpiece
every time, but I will recommend it to everyone going to Rome from now on.
Coliseum and Forum |
Next, we began the ancient Rome portion of our tour, including
the Coliseum and the Roman forum.
No visit to Rome is complete without visits to these ancient marvels, and tour groups are allowed to skip the lines which can be quite long during peak seasons. There isn't much to explain what you're looking at in the Coliseum and the Forum, so it was great to have a tour guide to explain all of what we saw. When going on your own, it’s better to either get the Roma Pass or buy your combo ticket at the Forum entrance furthest from the Coliseum, as it has much shorter lines, and allows you to skip the line at the Coliseum. (If a tour guide isn't your thing, Rick has some very informative audio guides for these attractions as well.) |
Victor Emanuel II Monument
To
finish our tour of Rome, we took the last optional tour of the trip and rode
the elevator to the top of the Victor Emanuel II monument. This wedding cake shaped monument is the one place in Rome where you can
see all of the major sights from one spot.
(From atop St. Peters, you can’t see the Coliseum and the Forum
because of this building.)
Santa Maria en Aracoeli
We visited Santa Maria en Aracoeli on the way down because you can access
the church form the Victor Emanuel monument without having to climb the
daunting staircase leading up to it from the Capitoline Hill.
The church has some impressive ancient columns and a statue of the infant Jesus, believed to have healing powers, that is brought around to children’s hospitals at Christmas time.
The church has some impressive ancient columns and a statue of the infant Jesus, believed to have healing powers, that is brought around to children’s hospitals at Christmas time.
Farewell Dinner |
To cap off the trip, we dined in a restaurant that was
built in a portion of the Diocletian Baths.
There was historical atmosphere, a singer to serenade us, lots of reminiscing and
plenty of good food.
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Arrivederci Roma! |
After dinner, we took a walk, snapped a few more photos. We saw both churches near our hotel including Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Maria degli Angeli which Michelangelo converted into a church from the Diocletian Baths.
We then walked back to the hotel as we said, "Arrivederci Roma!" |