We left the hotel and got caught shopping. We seem to do a lot of that. Mom and I bought 2 leather bags, one white and one crème and black. We finally made it on to the hop on hop off bus around 11:30. It was a gorgeous day and this was the perfect thing to do. We sat on the top while the bus drove us around to many of the major sights and provided some context through a headset. I was able to get some great photos. While this kind of touring is a bit unusual for me, this was absolutely the best way to get around this town as a tourist. This city, with it’s winding and tiny streets that don’t show up on maps, is very difficult to navigate. It will frustrate in a hurry. This kind of bus is a great option for Rome.
Some of the sights:
Some of the sights:
The Piazza dell'Esquilino:
My favorite church in Rome: Santa Maria Maggiore
I LOVED the Santa Maria Maggiore, bc it is beautiful, but also bc of how important this church is to early Christianity. It dates from 440 and is the finest complete surviving example of an early Christian basilica. It was (and I imagine still is) one of 4 great pilgrimage churches in Rome. The ceiling of the long narrow hallways is gilded (with the first gold brought to Rome from the New World), and the chapels on either side were beautiful. One was designed by Michelangelo, but was clearly not one of his finer works, in my opinion. The Borghese Chapel was spectacular. The Pauline Chapel was nice as well. I loved descending under the baldachino to see the statue of Pope Pius IX on his knees in prayer in front of the Sacred Cradle reliquary, which ostensibly, contains 4 pieces of wood from a cradle in which Baby Jesus laid.
In the Crypt of the Nativity below the Santa Maria Maggiore sanctuary is buried Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin. Also, St. Ignatius Loyola performed his first mass as a priest here in 1538. Btw, there are 26 churches in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Santa Maria Maggiore is the largest.
We passed the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II (Il Vittoriano), begun in 1911 to celebrate 50 years of Italian unity. It was completed in 1935. Victor Emmanuel II was the first king of a unified Italy, and thus he is Padra della Patria/ Father of the Fatherland.
American soldiers in Italy during WWII nicknamed this The Wedding Cake.
We passed the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II (Il Vittoriano), begun in 1911 to celebrate 50 years of Italian unity. It was completed in 1935. Victor Emmanuel II was the first king of a unified Italy, and thus he is Padra della Patria/ Father of the Fatherland.
American soldiers in Italy during WWII nicknamed this The Wedding Cake.
Just behind the monument is the Santa Maria di Arocoeli church, with many steps in front of it, and the steps leading up to Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio.
Sandy stopped to check out some of what this guy was selling. Turns out he was the same man she had bought something from the day before. He recognized her and they got a big laugh out of it.
Here is the beautiful US Embassy in Roma:
I LOVED seeing that flag that I love so much.
The neighborhood around the Embassy was beautiful, with lot of palm trees and vegetation.
When the bus came upon Saint Peter’s Basilica, it prompted quite a reaction from me and the rest of the bus. It truly is spectacular. This was my first view of St. Peter's this morning:
Michelangelo's famous dome:
Those masterfully-planned, famous columns:
One thing I find interesting about the relationships between the Vatican and Rome... The Kingdom of Italy unified in 1861. The Vatican, however, wanted to hold on to its land throughout this new country and did not want to surrender the lands to a unified kingdom, as many of the other principalities had. Rome became the capital of this unified kingdom in 1871, but the Vatican refused to recognize this new government, even though other countries all around the world already had. Thus, this funny thing happened for about 60 or so years, with Popes declaring themselves to be prisoners in the Vatican, surrounded by the capital of this government they did not recognize. They even urged Catholics not to participate in this new government.
Conflict continued between the Vatican and the Kingdom of Italy until the Lateran Pacts was signed in 1929. Finally, in 1929, the Vatican and Kingdom of Italy (with Prime Minister Benito Mussolini representing the King) ended the "Roman Question." The Vatican was compensated for some of its territory, which resulted in the Papacy being able to focus more on religious as opposed to temporal matters, and the Kingdom of Italy recognized the Vatican/Holy See as an autonomous, sovereign city-state known as Vatican City within the confines of Italy. Catholicism was also recognized as the religion of Italy.
Now they seem to get along fairly well. Our bus travelled in and out of this separate country...there are no border guards or anything like that. The Vatican does have its own postal system (evidently much faster than Italy's), and all the other conponents you would expect in an independent country. The Pope exercises ultimate executive, legislative, and judicial power. Vatican CIty is about 110 acres and has a resident population of 800. It is the smallest state in the world. Men, as you might imagine, FAR outnumber women in Vatican City.
Something else I read that made me happy: 3 years ago ( in 2007), the Vatican became the first country in the world to commit to being carbon netural. They can obviously do this far more easily than other countries, given their size (they plan to offset their carbon footprint with a forest in Hungary) but I think it makes an important statement.
I remember the Vatican well from my first trip to Rome in 1995 and look forward to visiting again tomorrow.
I enjoyed walking around Palatine Hill, one of Rome's seven historic hills. This hill was the home of Emperors and the place where they lived and died. The weather was very pleasant in early April but I would not want to do this much later in the summer. I have memories of how hot Italy was the first time I visisted in July of 1995.
Palatine Hill is also the location of where Romulus and Remus lived. In Roman mythology, these brother decided to build a city on the banks of the Tiber. They got into an argument and Romulus killed Remus. Thus, as our guide mentioned, we have Roma, not Rema.
Palatine Hill has been occupied by humans since at least 1000BC. Emporers Augustus, Tiberius, Domitian, Vespasian, Titus, and others lived here.
Here is the Hippodrome of Domitian. Domitian was very unpopular with the Roman Senate, having taken away much of their authority. Thus, when he died, most references to his rule were destroyed by the Roman Senate.
Palatine Hill is also the location of where Romulus and Remus lived. In Roman mythology, these brother decided to build a city on the banks of the Tiber. They got into an argument and Romulus killed Remus. Thus, as our guide mentioned, we have Roma, not Rema.
Palatine Hill has been occupied by humans since at least 1000BC. Emporers Augustus, Tiberius, Domitian, Vespasian, Titus, and others lived here.
Here is the Hippodrome of Domitian. Domitian was very unpopular with the Roman Senate, having taken away much of their authority. Thus, when he died, most references to his rule were destroyed by the Roman Senate.
Many of the pieces in the Palatine Museums come from excavations of the Hippodrome.
The Roman Forum, the site of the ancient city of Rome. It is fun to walk around and read about what the ruins were at one time. I must say, however, as someone who works in a museum, that some markers and text are badly needed at Palatine Hill and the Forum. Visitors must use a guidebook or the services of a guide to become oriented at all bc there are very, very few signs.
The Arch of Titus was constructed in 82 AD (yes, the 1st century...so cool) by Domitian to celebrate his brother Titus' sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It's architecture has obviously inspired many of similar arches throughout the world.
The Arch of Constantine is between the Colosseum and Forum. Constantine is the Emperor credited with legalizing Christianity within the Roman Empire. He issued the Edict of Milan in 313, offerring religious toleration throughout the Empire, and adopted Chrisianity on his deathbed in 337. The Edict versed many of Emperor Diocletian's policies of persecuting Christians. Diocletian hated Christians, in part bc he thought they were responsible for setting this massive fire. His policies regarding Christianity were pretty horrible (he required that everyone worship the Roman Gods and ordered the destruction of all Christian places of worship...if someone who was believed to be a Christian did not renounce, that person was subject to torture...bad torture, and death.). So Constantine's policies were very important.
Also, during Constantine's rule, Byzantium was turned into Constantinople to become the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Jeff and I talked about how great it has been to visit places that are so connected. In February we were in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) and he was in York, England in April, where Constantine was proclaimed Augustus in 306 AD.
Visiting the Coloseum was awesome. The colosseum, sight of gladiatorial combat, political events, and many other types of entertainment, held 50,000 people. It was begun under Emperor Vespasian and completed in 80AD under his son Titus. The people would eat pork, fish, beef, an fruits and veggies during the events. Women and slaves sat at the top, with equestrians and senators at the bottom.
Later in the day, we got off the bus and went inside!
The Circus Maximus (the flat part) with Palatine Hill just beyond it:
Crossing the Tiber:
Castel San Angelo:
The Judicial Palace...lawyer friends: please find some excuse to do some work here so I can come visit!
Just walking around was also fun. I like the enotecas (wine bars) and the colorful store and deli displays.
Later that afternoon Mom and I went to the Pantheon. On the way we passed a department store that looked like they had a huge section just for clergy!
Here is the Pantheon, with half of it’s façade is being restored. The 30 foot diameter oculus is pretty spectacular. It was the largest dome every created until 1960. I’m not sure what took it’s place in 1960, but that structure must be something. We saw Rapheal’s tomb, and I loved the sculpture of the Virgin Mary above his sarcophagus. We saw the tombs of King Victor Emmanuel II and the second King of Italy and his wife Margareuite. The Pantheon is old, dating from 127 AD, and was built on the exact spot of the older Pantheon. Here is the back, and then the front. Half of the front is covered in scaffolding. I know that looks bad, but the historian in me appreciates it. It is a good sign to see people actively caring for these important structures.
Inside the Pantheon:
Police! I had to photograph this, bc it reminds me of when I used to teach about Guiseppe Mazzini and the Carbonari, secret societies involved with Risorgimento (the movement for Italian unification in the 19th century). I miss teaching that class.
We walked to meet Britt and Sandy at Piazza Navona, and I was disappointed to see scaffolding surrounding Bernini’s amazing fountain. But again, a good sign of active preservation.The piazza was still beautiful, and became even more so as the sun set. It is built on the site of another of Domitian's hippordromes.
We shopped a little. I bought a sketch of St. Peter’s Basilica and Britt bought some watercolor paintings. I bought a sketch of St. Peter's Basilica.
We shopped a little. I bought a sketch of St. Peter’s Basilica and Britt bought some watercolor paintings. I bought a sketch of St. Peter's Basilica.
Bernini's fountain at Piazza Navona:
Piazza Navona:
We ended the day by going to a unique restaurant. It took a little walking to find, and we inadvertently came upon the Theater of Pompei. I had been looking for this place, as this was the location of Julius Ceasar’s assassination. It is now a hotel. Amazing.
We finally found the restaurant. It is a local place run by a couple who serve you “what they want you eat.” There is no menu, and what they serve changes every night. Flat fee of 22 Euro per person. It was difficult to find but was fabulous. So charming and all 4 courses were excellent…the antipasta (prosciutto and salami, olives, these balls and pancakes,lentils, and some sort of white vegetable), penne pasta (with white cheese sauce and with tomato sauce), the entrée (spinach, meat, fried potato chips), dessert (some sort of pudding, with a crust that was still doughy), a shot of mandarin juice, and coffee were excellent. I was stuffed. At dinner, we saw a young priest out to dinner with friends, wearing his priestly collar and a North Face fleece. That made me smile.
We walked back to the hotel via the Trevi Fountain, where we threw yet another coin into the fountain below that masterful piece of sculptuary. 
We just happened upon this while walking back to the hotel. That is one of the aspects of Rome that I love. Historic structures are absolutely everywhere.
These 2 pics are out of place. The ceiling is from the Santa Maria Maggiore, and the belltower is from a Greek Orthodox Church in Rome.
Tuesday was a long but great day in Rome!
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