Exploring the heart of Rome

Friday Oct 7, 2022.   I thought I would tell my story of today’s adventures in pictures. 

First stop, the Roman Pantheon.  I know, I was here the last trip, but I loved it so much.  

Interesting decor on the wall 

Burial place of Italys 1st and 2nd Kings 

One of the cool niches 

The oculus- the dome is a perfect sphere with the opening at the top being the only light.  

Me trying to be artistic at a coffee shop - see me in the mirror

Same coffee shop right by the pantheon   It is said that the idea for Starbucks came about here when Howard Shultz came to town and had his coffee here 

  I came across this gem, just walking down a side street by the Roman pantheon. It is Santa Maria Aquiro.  The church is ancient. It was restored by Pope Gregory in the 8th century so they know it is older than that. 

The Italian Parliament building.  It was heavily guarded.  And yes, it had the 2nd of many obelisk’s that I saw today   They all have something on the peak and this is the only one in Rome that has kept its non religious symbol at the top. All the rest have been replaced over the centuries.

This column has been in this spot since the 2nd century ad   If you are able to, look closely at all the carvings on it.  It told the story of an important battle. 

Me at the Trevi fountain    Rome has had a love affair with fresh water over the centuries.  The ancient aqueducts brought fresh water to the city.  After the fall of the Roman Empire, they didn’t have fresh water anymore and many aqueducts were destroyed. Trevi fountain  was built as Rome was rebuilding in the 18th century.   Tourists flock to this site and you often can’t move easily. I have no clue why no one is in the picture with me, but check out the picture below.  That is what it looks like with all the tourists.

My daughter Laura saw a tik tok video on this archeological site,  Vicus Caprarius.  It is just yards away from the Trevi fountain and is fed by the same waters.   It was just discovered in the late 1990’s .  It was pretty cool and very empty of tourists.  Although while I was there, they turned away many people because they didnt have a reservation.  Thanks Laura for the info! 

More of the archeological site

Even more, there were ancient steps leading to the water so they believe people came here to fill their containers.

One last look at it! It was well worth the side trip 

This picture is taken from the bottom of the Spanish steps It is another tourist attraction, but for security sake, they don’t let people sit and linger on the steps anymore.  The poet John Keats lived in the house to the right and the poet Lord Byron lived just across the street.    

Outside of the Borghese art gallery.  The Borghese’s were a family of wealthy cardinals that displayed their huge collection of art in this mansion.  It is a fairly intact art collection from that time except that Napoleon forced them to sell many pieces to him during the war.  Since they were sold, they were never recovered after the war and many are now in the Louvre in Paris.  I took a lot of pictures of the sculptures, but few of the paintings.  None of the pictures do the works justice.

Me with my new boyfriend, random Roman emperor

A wide view of the hall of the emperors.  

Aviary on the palace grounds 

Cool Apollo statue. 

The brick wall was part the old Roman wall that fortified and surrounded the city - over 2000 years old. 

One of the old gates into Rome.  Look how think the walls are.

Yes  another obelisk-  I have no info on this one, but I thought it was cool.

I was people watching on this mile long shopping street . 

Random apartment garden that I loved on my walk back. 

Phew!!! That was a long day.  The monument in the background is the huge Victor Emmanuel monument.  I was too tired to climb up the stairs, so I sat down and people watched.  

Tomorrow afternoon starts the official tour!  I am excited to be touring with other people.  While it is great seeing everything, I miss sharing the experiences!  

More to come ……