Roma

I thought of a few names for this post, including all the clichés, such as "Roman Holiday," "When in Rome," "All roads lead to Rome," "Rome-ing Around," etc. In the end, the only appropriate title for this post describing my first encounter with this great city is its given name, Roma.

We arrived in Rome from Venice via train around noon on the 30th of October. Speaking of trains and therefore train stations, I forgot to post something in my previous Italy posts. If you want to truly get the full Italian experience, you need to see this commercial. Now imagine that you see it about 60 times within a week at various train stations. You're welcome/sorry.

Anyway, back to Rome. For the first time for each of us, we were in an all-female hostel, and it was really well-kept and comfortable and in a great location! Score one for Rome.

my little bed with all my trappings dumped on it

We headed out to take our first walk through Rome, 

starting near our hostel along the Tiber.

more Tiber strollin'

a church along our walk

We came across a market at the Piazza Campo de' Fiori, where we bought lunch and some fruit. Also, we met a few merchants who, when they asked where we were from and we responded (Texas), they thought we were rich! Oil money! Ha. Nice. When I told them I wasn't rich, they said "That's okay no money, you have beautiful smile! No matter no money!" Precious. (Italians are very flirtacious. I'm prettty sure "Ciao bella!" and/or "Ciao principessa!" should be their national slogan or motto or whatever.)

pasta at the market

the pomodoro (tomato)-mozzarella sandwich I bought at the market

Bien sûr we somewhat accidentally ate our lunch right in front of the 

French Embassy in the Piazza Farnese... le français nous suit!

There are these Madonnelle (little Madonnas) everywhere on

corners of building. They portray saints, but mainly the Virgin Mary

(hence the name). After a little research on the interwebs, I see that

apparently ancient Romans used to put little statues or sacred images

of protective spirits at intersections in order to look over the streets.

As Rome was Christianized, so was this habit.

the State Archives with a father kneeling to help his daughter

in the courtyard... couldn't resist the photo!

Our walk took us to the Piazza Navona, which is a plaza that

is built on the location where there was originally an ancient stadium,

and the plaza still has the same shape as the stadium.

artists and vendors in the Piazza Navona

les deux américaines in front of the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, 

the Fountain of the Four Rivers (Ganges, Danube, Nile, Platte)

(Danube on the left, Ganges on the right)

Platte, representing the Americas

Tartufo, an Italian dessert featuring a cherry in the middle, covered

by some chocolate-brownie type goodness, and whipped cream

so delish it merits not one but two pictures - promise

the Pantheon, a temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa and formerly dedicated to all the gods of Ancient Rome, rededicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs

The Pantheon's dome is huge! According to the ever-accurate

Wikipedia,*  two thousand years after construction, the dome is still the

"world's largest unreinforced concrete dome." I'd believe it!

Here's a full look at the interior of the Pantheon.

some (probably significant) people are buried within

a statue of kid Jesus... You don't see a lot of statues

of little kid Jesus, you know?

We stumbled upon the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola

(founder of the Jesuit order) and decided to stop in.

From what I understand, this is a model of a future opera house (?) in the middle, with models of typical houses of worship from around the world. Allegedly this is the scale of how huge it will be? I have no idea, really. Some men next to me were speaking French and reading the signs in Italian, so I asked them about it. However, they said they don't know Italian either, so really this is all a guessing game. But the models of churches were interesting, n'importe quoi!

apse of the church

I can't remember exactly what this statue depicts (maybe Kimberly will remember), but I do know it's someone with the book of God triumphing over someone with the book of the world, or something along those lines.

the Column of Marcus Aurelius in the Piazza Colonna (You know when you're just walking along and every other minute you find an 1800-year-old column dedicated to a Roman emperor? That's a good sign you're in Rome. It's amazing.)

another of the Madonnelle

Obelisk of Montecitorio, brought to Rome by Caesar Augustus

motorcycles everywhere!

Fontana di Trevi

Good to know! I heard that over €1,000 are thrown into the fountain

each day... I find that a bit unbelievable, but maybe!

Legend has it that if you throw coins in with your right hand

(and your back to the fountain), you'll return to Rome.

Here's to next time, Rome!

Check out the (sideways, sorry) video here!

side view... so crowded!

sunset view during our walk to the Spanish Steps

the Colonna dell'Immacolata (Column of Immaculate Conception)

in the Piazza di Spagna near the Spanish Steps

inscription on the Colonna dell'Immacolata -

Luke 1:28, also the first part of the Hail Mary/Ave Maria

the Spanish Steps on the way up to the Trinità dei Monti

Here's a bit of our walk up the steps...

view of Rome from the top of the Spanish Steps

on to the Piazza del Popolo, the Plaza of the People,

where there apparently used to be public executions - yikes

This Egyptian obelisk in the middle was carved during the reigns

of the pharaohs Sety I and Rameses II.

The obelisk was, like the Obelisk of Montecitorio, brought to Rome by order of Augustus. I mean, really. HISTORY. Up in your face.

Behind this fence is Caesar Augustus' mausoleum, no longer accessible to the public. There are little quotes and candles, etc, lined up in front of the fence. I liked this one best.

the Castel Sant'Angelo, which was near our little temporary home

Tiber by night

The Ponte (bridge) Vittorio Emanuele II is covered

with sculptures which we loved.

(continued)

I really like this one, with the soldier protecting the family with his shield. It exemplifies the impression I got of the personality of Rome... 

very strong, solid, etc.

So ends our first day in Roma. That's right - this was all

the FIRST DAY. Seriously.

Guess what? I had a sore throat in Italy. (Surprise - I show up somewhere cold and my throat hurts, that's how it goes.) Anyway, the best part was when I rolled up into the Italian pharmacy and described what I needed, using about 25% English, 25% French, 50% gesture. Hey look, it worked. :)

Good (gloomy) morning, Roma!

On to Vatican City!

As a sovereign city-state of the European Union, Vatican City has its own euros.

The rain can't keep us down! (Not yet, at least.) Or all these people gathering

 in front of St. Peter's... Hmmm...

Seriously, look at all these people with their umbrellas. What could they possibly be waiting for? Time for some investigation...

Here's what we found out!

...and here's some PopeMobile action!

See the PopeMobile (going up the steps in the middle)?!

Can you see him?

PopeCam

It was pretty sweet to hear the Pope speak. (Though I was admittedly disappointed by the size of his hat.) The introductions and closings were translated into lots of languages (including English and French), so I could understand it, but the main message was in Italian (or maybe Latin?), so I couldn't, of course. (Side note: When the Pope addressed the English speakers in the crowd, he shared blessings for the Hurricane Sandy victims in the USA.) 

For the rest of this day (Oct 31st), there are no pictures, because it was so rainy and miserable that we had to go back to the hostel. Then I tried to go out again, nope. IMMEDIATELY SOAKED. So much for that. You have that day to thank for my Milano & Lago di Como post. :) The next day (Nov 1st) was our day in Pompeii, which will get its very own post later.

We resume Friday the 2nd with a little walk - here's the Isola Tiberina,

the island in the middle of the Tiber.

The Ponte Fabricio (Latin: Pons Fabricius), connects the Isola Tiberina to the East Bank. It's the oldest bridge in Rome (the only one that's still as it was at its construction, which took place in 62 BC).

Here's the Largo di Torre Argentina, a sacred area with the ruins of four temples built during the era of the Roman Republic.

Behind this round temple with the brown columns is the location where there was once the Theatre of Pompey, where Julius Caesar is said 

to have been assassinated.

Now the area is a shelter for cats, apparently.

It's like the ultimate cat castle. (Note: I took that video before 

I knew the significance of the area.)

Can you spot all the cats? There are about six in this photo.

This is the monument for Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of unified Italy. The building is made to emulate the style of the ancient buildings (what they would look like if they were in their original state - all white marble, etc).

More of the monument... Did you know that Italy didn't become a unified country until 1861? Despite being a place with lots of history, it's a pretty young country!

guards guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier...

You can see one of the two eternal flames on the right. (This is similar to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Paris' Arc de Triomphe.) We just happened to catch the changing of the guard!

the Colonna Traiana, or Trajan's Column, celebrating Trajan's 

victory over the Dacians

Trajan's Forum with Trajan's Column on the left

Historical note: As you're about to see a lot of pictures of ruins of forums, I figured I should explain what a forum is for anyone who doesn't know. A forum is an area in the middle of the city that acts as marketplace, meeting place, area for the town crier to make his announcements, etc. Basically it's the center of city life. Many of the emperors had their own forum built, so there are lots of fora in this area, each named for its emperor.

Here's me chillin' with Emperor Trajan... with our guns up. (Wreck 'em.)

This picture is actually a mini-tribute to both Texas Tech and...

...the TTU Honors College London/Paris Trip 2007! Hollerrrr! (This is all of us in London with this statue of Trajan with, again, our guns up.) ps: Thanks to my BFF Amy, from whose Facebook I stole this picture... 

Hope that's okay! Thank you! :)

Forum of Augustus with the Temple Mars Ultor

main Roman Forum (seen from the street)

You'll never guess where I am.

Close up! The Colosseum was actually originally called the Amphitheatrum Flavium, or the Flavian Amphitheatre (after the Flavian dynasty, whose emperors commissioned it). "Colosseum" is a nickname - there used to be a colossal statue of Nero nearby. Eventually Romans started calling it the Colosseum after the statue, and it kept the name even after the statue was gone.

Roma Caput Mundi - Rome, Capital of the World

We decided that it was totally worth it to skip the four combined hours of lines for the Colosseum and the Forum and get a tour for this day. Totally worth it. This yellow sticker designates my VIP-ness. Also, all facts I cite (including the one about the nickname) come from our fabulous tour guide that day!***

You can kind of see the Roman numerals above the portal 

which designate the number of the entrance.

view from the outer corridor into the Colosseum by way of the Emperor's seat (where the cross is)

The structure looks as if there's been a war inside; really, what happened is that after the fall of the Roman Empire (and anytime when Rome was suffering), people would come and take the iron nails out of the Colosseum because metal was scarce. (This is the reason why one of the sides collapsed.)

The cross on the left is where the Emperor's seat was, the stage in the middle right is the part that's reconstructed to be similar to what it was originally, and the small section of seats above the reconstructed stage (partially in white marble) is where the aristocracy would sit. Here's a video view of the interior.

Hi.

You can really see the structure here - underneath what used to be the stage there is a system of hallways and small rooms and elevators where they would raise up the gladiators and wild animals as if they just magically appeared. Pretty sweet.

the Colosseum seen from behind the Emperor's seat

Oh, you know.

colossal gelato (har, har) 

(Also, no, this was NOT my second gelato of the day...)

;)

entrance to the Forum Romana

Here's the website of the Capitolium that has lots of good information; one part even allows you to explore a map of the Forum and hover over to discover facts about individual items, if you're interested in what you see!

Palatine Hill - one of the seven hills of Rome

This is allegedly where Remus and Romulus were taken care of by the shewolf, as well as where they decided to found Rome (and where Romulus killed his brother). By the way, Rome is named after Romulus.

our guide for the Forum, a big Chelsea fan

fallen column

the Arch of Titus

It's an ongoing archaeological site... how cool is that?

Temple of Romulus (not Romulus the founder of Rome,

a different one)... These are the original bronze doors.

inside the Forum

plaque at the entrance of the remains of the Temple of Caesar

the altar where Julius Caesar's body was cremated

Here you can see the image of the shewolf suckling Remus and Romulus, one of the main emblems of Rome (which can be seen everywhere from buildings to trashcans). Same with the letters SPQR, which stands for "Senatus Populusque Romanus," which means "the Senate and People of Rome." (Also if you look, you can see the name Benito Mussolini, but I'm not sure why.)**

Also... my camera died this day and I didn't get to (wait in line to) get a picture with the Bocca della Verità (à la Roman Holiday). I am pretty sad about that one. I did get to see it, though, through the gate.

After our full day, we took a little walk in the Trastevere neighborhood and found a restaurant with the second-best pasta of the trip! (The absolute best was our first night in Venice.)

Tiramisu! It wasn't my favorite, as it is after all coffee-flavored, but it was better than any of the few times I've tried tiramisu in the States.

On our last day in Rome, we headed back to the Vatican to see the museums, where we stood in line for a looooooong time and stared at this sign (and ones like it). Musei Vaticani -> .... but where?! (We couldn't see the beginning of the line... hint: It was far away.)

(Seriously they're everywhere.)

Finally inside the Vatican Museums!

One (or several?) of the Popes had the nude statues in the Vatican covered with fig leaves for modesty.

Headache, boo?

tapestry illustrating the assassination of Julius Caesar

This is the ceiling in the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, which was this awesome corridor painted in the 16th century that has all of these amazing beautifully illustrated maps.

map of Corsica

The paintings were complete with elaborate compasses and ships and sea gods; I loved this room! Also the predominance of the blue and green colors was pretty.

This is in the Sala di Costantino (Room of Constantine), dedicated to the life of Constantine, the emperor who Christianized the Roman empire. This painting is the Battle of Constantine against Maxentius. This whole room was completed after Raphael's death by his apprentices and 

based on his drawings.

In the middle all of the images depicting Constantine's great victories is this painting on the ceiling, Triumph of Christian Religion, which shows the fallen pagan idols and the cross in their place. In the midst of the other paintings (battles), this one was very striking.

The School of Athens  by Raphael

I loved this one especially because of the woman (about a third of the way in from the left) dressed in white who is looking directly at the viewer, unlike anyone else in the painting. For me, her gaze was what struck me first about the image. I tried to look up who she might have been (the painting shows mainly Greek philosophers), and all I've been able to find is that she is thought to be La Fornarina, Raphael's mistress, but that may just be people making assumptions. Who knows. I just like the painting.

Incendio di Borgo  by Raphael's apprentices

"Fall and/or skip down this way to the Sistine Chapel!"****

Here begins a series of illegal Sistine Chapel pictures I took... 

without flash of course!

The Last Judgement  by, of course, Michelangelo

Here you can see Jesus in the middle with the Virgin Mary at his right side. Also, if you look on your right (Jesus' left) you can see the damned souls descending down to hell and Charon kicking them out of his boat. On the left (Jesus' right), you can see souls ascending from their graves to heaven. Also, you can see angels and demons fighting throughout the painting.

Here are a few of the central ceiling paintings.

Separation of Light from Darkness

Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Plants

Separation of Land from Sea

Creation of Adam

Here's an attempt at a picture of the whole ceiling, which I again took illegally, so it's kind of awfully tilted. Oh well, it's something!

The crossed keys of St. Peter are everywhere in the Vatican. They represent the keys to the kingdom of Heaven, given to Peter by Jesus. (Matthew 16:17-20)

We accomplished it - the Vatican Museums... victory pic! 

(We were worried we weren't going to have the time.)

And on to St. Peter's... where we got to wait in line again!

Luckily it was a much shorter line than the museum.

taking advantage of having to stand in front of St. Peter's for a while

Just in case you were wondering what you can bring into St. Peter's...

a statue of St. Paul, who has Philippians 4:13 engraved on his scroll

façade of the basilica (If you click that link, it also tells who's who among the statues on the roof... hint: It's basically the Apostles.)

the Loggia of the Blessings (the balcony from which the Pope gives 

blessings and addresses)

the Vatican seen from St. Peter's -

This is what the Pope sees when he's talking.

the Holy Door, which is only opened every 25 years

inside the basilica - It's HUGE!

(video evidence)

Michelangelo's Pietà

burial place of Pope John Paul II

the dome

the tomb of St. Peter, also called the Confessio (after the confession of faith which resulted in his martyrdom)

statue of St. Peter

a list of all the deceased heads of the Church, starting with Peter and going through Pope John Paul II

very fancy Vatican guards

On the way out of the Vatican,

we witnessed an actual pilgrimage take place.

It was incredibly moving... check it out yourself.

(French) Aaron, ça c'est pour toi. Tu l'aimes?

For our last Roman stop, we headed to Giolitti, the best-known gelato shop in Rome. The Obamas went there when they were in Rome.

Of course, this led me to call it GelatObama the whole time.*****

It was amazing! I stuck with my ol' faithful fragola-cioccoloto combination.

And with the gelato to end it all, we came to the end of our own Roman Holiday. Rome was incredible. It wasn't one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen, which isn't to say it wasn't beautiful. It's just that beauty isn't really what it's all about. Rome has a strong, solid personality, as if it doesn't have to prove anything to anyone because it's, well, thousands of years old. All European cities are history-soaked in comparison with our young American cities, but in Rome, you can't avoid or ignore history even for a moment. I've never been so bombarded by history at every turn. It just feels epic. It is, in fact. I really enjoyed it (if you can't tell by this ridiculously long post), and there was just so much to see. I would love to come back someday to spend more time in the Vatican museums, more time in the Forum, see the Capitoline museums, get my Bocca della Verità picture (no joke, I really want it), take a better look at Caesar Augustus' mausoleum, check out the Appian Way... okay, I'll stop. All I'll say is that hopefully my road will someday once again lead me to the Eternal City.

*Really and truly, Wikipedia is not always accurate. But as this is a blog and not a research paper, it's fine. However, if someone ever realizes any fact I cite to be inaccurate, please tell me and I'll change it!

**This picture was taken by Kimberly when my camera died!

***I may have taken notes.

****Actually heard a woman refer to it as the "Sixteenth Chapel" one of the days in Rome. Pretty sure she was American. Represent.

*****This gelato has been approved by Barack Obama.