Roma, Italia (Rome, Italy)

Our last four days were spent in Rome, a city of about 2 million people. There is so much to see and to do in Rome, that it can be almost impossible to know where to start. There is an incredible amount of art and architecture there, although I don't think the city has the charm that Florence has. On the other hand, Rome has the Roman ruins to offer as well as the excitement of a busy metropolitan region. Vatican City sits within Rome too, of course, and offers much to see.

On our first day, we did a walk recommended in one of our tour books. This took us through the Piazza Navona, a lively public gathering place which was very close to our hotel. We enjoyed evenings there viewing the fountains and watching the musicians and other street performers, artists, food vendors, and other nightlife. From there we walked to the Pantheon, a 1st century AD temple to "all the gods", which has an amazing dome--this is Rome's best-preserved ancient building. We also walked by the famous Trevi Fountain--it is said that if you throw a coin into the fountain over your shoulder, you will return to Rome some day. You can see someone doing this in the picture below. Continuing on, we walked to the Spanish Steps, the Piazza di Spagna, and the Palazzo di Spagna, the 17th century embassy to the Vatican.






We took two guided tours in hopes of getting a better introduction to some rather complex sites, these being the Roman ruins and the Vatican. Our first tour gave us an introduction to ancient Rome, including the Roman Forum, St. Paul's Basilica (outside the city walls), the Colloseum (only a view from outside), and Circus Maximus, where the chariot races took place (Charleton Heston was not racing that day).






Another day was spent walking along the Tiber River, through the Borghese Gardens, and touring the Galleria Borghese. The sculpture and art in the Galleria are very impressive, and every ceiling and wall is further decorated with paintings, frescos, and sculpture. We couldn't take pictures inside, but you might click here to view the Galleria's website and to look at some of what we saw. The photo below is the exterior of the Galleria.



On the Saturday before we came home, we did our second tour, which included a frustrating 1-1/2 hour wait in line to get into the Vatican Museum. When northern invaders threatened to overpower Rome, the Vatican collected as much of the available artwork as it could and protected it from looting or destruction. That collection is what makes up much of the Vatican Museum, although more has been added over the years. After only a brief introduction to some of the museum's vast collection, we moved into the Sistine Chapel to see the very famous ceiling that Michelangelo painted. Finally, we stopped at St. Peter's square and viewed the Basilica itself.




On our last day in Italy, we spent a delightful time strolling through streets closed to traffic for the day, enjoyed musicians and other performers. We began at the Victor Emmanuel Monument, built in 1885 and dedicated in 1911, to honor Victor Emanuelle II, the first king of unified Italy. Next we worked our way up the Via dei Fori Imperiali to the Colloseum and toured its interior. We strolled back to our hotel, traveling through an area called the Jewish Ghetto. In the 16th century, Pope Paul IV forced all Jews to live within a walled enclosure near the Tiber. This formed the hub of the present-day Ghetto, where you can see an impressive synagogue, enjoy interesting restaurants (we did!), and see many of the kinds of shops available throughout Rome.