Rome: Part 4

The fifth day consisted of another walking tour. This time I headed across the Tiber River to check out Trastevere, a working-class neighborhood. My walk took me past Circus Maximus, the site of ancient chariot races.

It's amazing that the track is still visible.

My walk also took me past the famous Mouth of Truth outside the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. There was a line of about 20 people waiting to take their picture, but I didn't want to wait around for that. So I took a picture of this random person...

A lovely view of the Tiber.

The ruins of a previous bridge.

A typical street in Trastevere.

The Church of St. Cecilia. The church was built on the site of her house, where early Christians would secretly meet. Cecilia was eventually martyred for her faith.

A statue of St. Cecilia is at the altar. Her remains are buried underneath the church in the crypt.

As with so many churches in Rome, the interior is beautiful.

There is an active community of nuns here.

Piazza Santa Maria and the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

This church was also stunning. The interior is rather dark and gloomy; however, you can put a coin in a box by the altar, and the lights come on and illuminate the mosaics on the dome.

The portico of the church is decorated with stones from catacombs of early Christians.

This guy looks like he's doing jazz hands, but it's most likely a posture of prayer.

As I crossed back over the Tiber, I caught a view of St. Peter's Basilica.

Piazza Navone.

I had done quite a bit of walking at this point and needed a break. So I stopped at the famous Caffe Greco, once frequented by literary greats such as Keats and Shelly. Full disclosure, it was very, very expensive, and I almost walked out when I looked at the menu. But I also really needed to use the restroom.

I spent the rest of the day doing a bit of shopping. The next day, it was arranged for us to get a tour of the American Embassy, which happens to be housed in a former palace.

Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures inside the compound. So all I have are these few pictures from outside on the street.

Later in the day, I visited the Capitoline Museums, which is allegedly the world's first public museum and houses the largest collection of Roman antiquities.

It sits on Piazza del Campidoglio, which was also designed by Michaelangelo (it seems there is little in Rome not designed by him). This is where the seat of government was in ancient Rome.

Remnants of a giant statue of Constantine.

I think this is Minerva? I can't remember.

The famous Capitoline Venus.

Whew! And that wraps up my last day in Rome. I had a wonderful time, and look forward to returning to Italy some day.

Ciao!

Rome: Part 3

Our 4th day in Rome was fairly relaxed; we mostly just walked around the city center and took in the sights. We started out at the famous Spanish Steps.

The view from the top.

We then walked over to Trevi Fountain, another famous landmark.

There were a ton of people surrounding the fountain. We walked by on another day and it was even more crowded!

The legend is that if you throw a coin into Trevi Fountain, you are promised to return to Italy. Let's hope that's true!

I don't know what this building is, but I'm sure it looked impressive in its day. Apparently after the fall of the Roman Empire, people would reuse marble from old buildings, which is why many of them fell into disrepair, and why this building is filled with pock marks.

The building below is the Pantheon, once a pagan temple and now a Catholic church.

The artist Raphael is buried here. Below is his tomb.

A few more photos from our walk:

Day 5 was probably my favorite day. The weather was the best that we had all week, and I got to leisurely explore the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Palatine Hill was where the elite had their "country" villas. There were also some shops, I believe.

The above is a remnant of an aqueduct. 

I believe this was a building full of shops.

There was hardly anyone else around, and it felt so peaceful walking amongst the ruins in this lush setting. It was as if the ruins were growing out of the landscape.

Seeing the once-gleaming buildings now crumbling and overgrown with plants, I can understand how it inspired the Romantics of the 19th century.

The building below was part of  Caesar Augustus's palace complex.

At the bottom of Palatine Hill is the Roman Forum. This was the gathering place of ancient Rome, filled with government buildings, temples, and markets.

There are massive columns just lying on the ground. Some you can even sit on, amazingly!

This is the remnant of the Temple of Vesta, tended by the famous Vestal Virgins.

And this is where their house was, surrounded by statues of some of the more notable Vestal Virgins.

The area below that is covered by the shed roof is the site of Julius Caesar's funeral pyre.

And this is the mound where his body was. People now throw coins on it and sometimes leave flowers.

The scale of everything is so impressive.

The following photos were taken on different days, hence the change in lighting.

At the edge of the Forum is Mamertine Prison, which is purportedly where Paul was imprisoned. It's amazing to think that the city that once imprisoned him for preaching the gospel is now the center of the Catholic Church!

That's it for now...much more to come!