The first part of my story about my travel to Rome, Italy.
Rome I | Rome II | Vatican City | Florence
So, it was my first time in Rome. At beginning we thought to buy ticket to London, but as I know, end of September is not the perfect period in UK (you know, rains…). And we decided to fly to Italy.
We came to Italy at night, and “caught” the bus (6€) from Fiumicino Airport to Termini Central Station, and then we went from Termini to our hostel- Yellow Hostel. I recommend this hostel for youth and tourists without children, because this place is real hostel, with bar, music and noise at night. We reserved the room for two, with bathroom and window to the patio (Italian patio with large windows and ropes for drying clothes). I think that the right position for tourist who want to see everything- go straight and make notes on the map. The first place where we were was the Rome’s Jewish Ghetto (call of blood?), and I want to recommend you very interesting untitled Jewish bakery (corner Via del Portico D’Ottavia and Piazza delle Cinque Scole, near “Jewish Cakes” store). I think, it was one of the best cakes in my vacation tour…mnomnomnom:)
I knew that Italian food is something amazing, and you know, it is true. I like pizza (the best pizza in my life, even better than Tony Vespa’s pizza), pasta and deserts. I tried one of the most delicious pasta in my life- pasta with tomatoes, basil and lobster. But Italian ice-cream (gelato) was definitely not impressed… And I recommend you to try Aranchino- rice balls with cheese and tomato souse. It cost only 1€, but it’s very tasty and nourishingly. Also I tasted limoncello- Italian lemon liqueur (around 16%-30% vol.), it was my first alcohol after 15 years. Certainly alcohol it’s not mine:) If you are in Rome and looking for a restaurant with good vibes, perfect service and delicious meals, I want to recommend you “Made In Naples” restaurant in central area of Rome.
And now photos!
Fountain of the Naiads by Mario Rutelli was opened in 1901. The naiads represented are the Nymph of the Lakes (recognisable by the swan she holds), the Nymph of the Rivers (stretched out on a monster of the rivers), the Nymph of the Oceans (riding a horse symbolising of the sea), and the Nymph of the Underground Waters (leaning over a mysterious dragon). In the centre is Rutelli’s Glauco group (1911-12), symbolizing the dominion of the man over natural force.
The corner of Piazza della Republica and Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando.
Via Nazionale connected Piazza Venezia and the centre of town with Piazza della Republica and the eastern districts beyond. A focus for much development after Unification, its heavy, overbearing buildings were constructed to five Rome some semblance of modern sophistication when it became capital of the new country, but most are now occupied by hotels, mainstream shops and boutiques.
The entrance to the church of Santa Maria deli Angeli.
Santa Maria deli Angeli is not Rome’s most welcoming church by any means, but does give the best impression of the size and grandeur of Diocletian’s bath complex. It’s a huge, open building, with an interior standardized by Vanvitelli into a rich eighteenth century confection after a couple of centuries of piecemeal adaptation (started by an aged Michelangelo).
The meridian that strikes diagonally across the floor in the south transept, flanked by representations of the twelve signs of the zodiac, was until 1846 the regulator of time for Romans.
The pink granite pillars, at 3m in diameter the largest in Rome, are original, and the main transept formed the main hall of the baths; only the crescent shape of the facade remains from the original caladium (it had previously been hidden by a newer facing).
The back exit of Santa Maria deli Angeli with small historical church and baths.
Nymph of the Rivers from Piazza della Republica.
Via Nazionale and Roman Forum with Il Vittoriano (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II).
Monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. The eclectic structure was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1885 and sculpture for it was parceled out to established sculptors all over Italy, such as Leonardo Bistolfi and Angelo Zanelli (1911-1925).
Via Nazionale.
St. Mary and baby Jesus fretwork from Via Nazionale.
One of the unnamed (for me) churches in Rome. Sorry, guys!
Front of the Palazzo dell Esposizioni. Palazzo was designed in 1883 by Pio Piacentini (father of the more famous Marcello, favorite architect of Mussolinu) and after 2008 there hosts regular large-scale exhibitions and cultural events.
Via Genova. Street…you know…street…
The dome of Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano (outside).
The stairs to the Roman Forum, Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano and Colonna Traiana.
Colonna Traiana is a Roman triumphal column, that commemorates emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan’s Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in AD 113, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101–102 and 105–106). Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern.
This catholic church stands in front of the Colonna Traiana, a few dozen steps from the similarly domed, but externally more colorful, church of Santa Maria di Loreto.
The dome of Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano (inside).
Vittorio Emanuele Monument (Vittoriano) erected at the end of the nineteenth century as the “Altar of the Nation” to commemorate Italian Unification. The structure is full of the weighty symbolism that was typical of the period.
The figure represent one of two seas that surround Italy- Adriatic and Tyrrhenian (on the right side of the entrance to Vittoriano) and the dome of Santa Maria di Loreto.
Huge 1920s bas-relief represents the nation, focused on a figure of Minerva (the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy).
The sculptures either side of the entrance and stairs of Vittoriano.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, flanked by eternal flames and a permanent guard of honor.
Minerva.
The main stairs – Aracoeli Staircase to Santa Maria in Aracoeli, was erected by Cola di Rienzo in 1348 and is one of the city’s steepest climbs.
Via dei Condotti.
The original Roman Forum was the centre of Republican-era Rome. Even in ancient times, Rome was a very large city, in many places stretching out as the Aurelian Wall in a sprawl of apartment blocks.
The Colosseum or Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre.
Capitoline Hill.
Piazza Venezia is a major circus and the central hub of Rome. It takes its name from Venice (“Venezia” in Italian), after the Venetian Cardinal, Pietro Barbo (later Pope Paul II) who had built Palazzo Venezia, a palace set next to the nearby church of Saint Mark, the patron saint of Venice. Palazzo Venezia was the former embassy of the city of the Republic of Venice to Rome.
Mercati di Traiano is a large complex of ruins in the city of Rome, located on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, at the opposite end to the Colosseum. The surviving buildings and structures, built as an integral part of Trajan’s Forum and nestled against the excavated flank of the Quirinal Hill, present a living model of life in the Roman capital and a glimpse at the continuing restoration in the city, which reveals new treasures and insights about Ancient Roman architecture. Thought to be the world’s oldest shopping mall, the arcades in Trajan’s Market are now believed by many to be administrative offices for Emperor Trajan.
Santa Maria in Aracoeli – the highest point on the Capitoline Hill and is built on the site of a temple to Jupiter where, according to legend, the Tiburtine Sibyl foretold the birth of Christ. Santa Maria in Aracoeli is one of Rome’s most ancient basilicas.
The giant figures either side of the entrance to Piazza del Campidoglio – Rome’s most perfectly proportioned squares, designed by Michelangelo in the last years of his life for Pope Paul III, who was determined to hammer Rome back into shape for a visit by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
In the centre of Piazza del Campidoglio Michelangelo placed an equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which had previously stood unharmed for years outside San Giovanni in Laterano.
Capitoline Museum.
One of the streets of Rome’s Jewish Ghetto.
Fontana del Pantheon.
Pantheon commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) and rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian about 126 AD. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon’s dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft). It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings.
The dome of the Pantheon.
Left photo- Piazza Barberini, Fontana del Tritone – a sea-god gushing a high jet of water from a conch shell in the centre of the square. Seventeenth-century fountain, by the Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Commissioned by his patron, Pope Urban VIII).
Colosseum is Rome’s most awe-inspiring (but not for me) ancient monument. Built of concrete and stone, it was the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire, and is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. It is the largest amphitheatre in the world.
Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in 70 AD, and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96).
The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.
The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.
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The best pics of Rome I’ve ever seen! Want to be back to those great moments in Italy. Thanks
You are welcome:)