The second part of my story about my travel to Rome, Italy.
Rome I | Rome II | Vatican City | Florence
Before we flew to Rome, we decided to buy tickets to the Opera. We chose “The Barber of Seville” (classical Italian opera buffa). At the day of show we missed the beginning of the Opera, but when we came we found closed door. What The Hell Is Going On? I made a mistake – The Barber of Seville was supposed to be the next day:)
At the next day we came on time and it was very experienced adventure, when the orchestra played in front of you and actors walked through the hall during the “show”. And the most unusual situation was during the intermission when we ate the pasta directly into the Opera hall (really!). But you need to understand that it’s not a real Opera;) – Teatro Salone Margherita.
In past part of my story about Rome I told you about food, but I forgot the best Tiramisu of those that I’ve tried in my life! I tried 2 of 5- tiramisu with strawberry and tiramisu with banana and chocolate (I’m sure Vika liked her tiramisu, too- with berries and with pistachios).
I have a lot of stories about Rome, about our adventures and about my impressions, but I’m very lazy for it. Sorry, guys.
But I want to tell you that I don’t like Rome. This city looks like a scenery for movies, without spirit of real life and without citizens. I’m sure if you like Jerusalem of Saint Petersburg you’ll like Rome, too. Despite this I loved Florence, but Florence will be in other post. Ciao!
The huge Arch of Constantine was placed here in the early decades of the fourth century AD, after Constantine had consolidated his power as sole emperor.
The part of Arch’s decoration. Very important part for the Jewish people- Romans endure menorah from Jerusalem. There is an opinion that the menorah is somewhere in Vatican.
You can find a lot of fountains in Rome, and in all drinking water.
Roman forum.
Palatine Hill – supposedly the place where the city of Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus, and home to some of its most important classical remains.
Palazzo Barberini is home to a series of apartments that were once occupied by the Barberini family and, more importantly, that nowadays house the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, a rich patchwork of mainly Italian art from the early Renaissance to late Baroque period that is now better displayed than ever in a set of recently renovated galleries.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of the gallery is the building itself, worked on at different times by the most favored architects of the day – Bernini, Borromini, Maderno – and the epitome of Baroque grandeur.
The palace’s first-floor Gran Salone is its artistic highspot, with a ceiling frescoed by Pietro da Cortona that is one of the best examples of exuberant Baroque.
Scalinata di Spagna (Spanish Steps) – sweep down in a cascade of balustrades and balconies beside Giorgio de Chirico’s house. The scene has not changed much; it is still a venue for international posing. And advertising of pasta with shrimps:)
Piazza di Spagna – historically, it was the artistic quarter of the capital, and wealthy young men and women on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century grand tours would come here in search of the colorful and exotic.
Dior vs. Prada
Roasted chestnuts – my new love!
Piazza del Popolo is a dignified meeting of roads laid out in 1538 by Pope Paul III to make an impressive entrance to the city; it owes its present symmetry to Valadier, who added the central fountain in 1814. The monumental Porta del Popolo went up in 1655, the work of Bernini.
Left photo – Vittorio Emanuele Monument, Piazza del Popolo. Right photo – Santa Maria del Popolo.
Santa Maria del Popolo holds some of the best Renaissance art of any Roman church, with works by Raphael, Caravaggio, etc. It was originally erected here in 1099.
Pincio Gardens.
Fontana del Nettuno is equally fanciful, depicting Neptune struggling with a sea monster, surrounded by briny creatures in a riot of fishing nets, nymphets, beards, breasts, and scales.
Santa Maria del Popolo.
In my humble opinion- one of the biggest problems of the Roman – Pakistanis. There are everywhere. They sell umbrellas, monopods for phones and all the small stuff. I can compare them with Eritreans in Tel Aviv or the Uzbeks in Moscow.
Circus Maximus – a long green expanse bordered by heavily trafficked roads that was the ancient city’s main venue for chariot races. At one time this arena had a capacity of up to 400,000 spectators, and if it were still intact it would no doubt match the Colosseum for grandeur.
The last race was held at the Circus Maximus in 549 AD, but it still retains something of its original purpose as an occasional venue for festivals, concerts and large gatherings (three million people crowded in here when AS Rome won the Scudetto in 2001).
Piazza della Bocca della Verità, also known as the Forum Boarium due to its function as a cattle market in ancient times. This marketplace contains two of the city’s better-preserved Roman temples, the Temple of Portunus (photo) and the Temple of Hercules Victor.
La Bocca della Verità is an image, carved from Pavonazzo marble, of a man-like face, located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. The sculpture is thought to be part of a first-century ancient Roman fountain, or perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one of several possible pagan gods, probably Oceanus.
The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one’s hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. The Mouth of Truth is known to English-speaking audiences mostly from its appearance in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. The film also uses the Mouth of Truth as a storytelling device since both Hepburn’s and Peck’s characters are not initially truthful with each other.
Hearse car in the Jewish Ghetto.
Right photo- the dome of Tempio Maggiore di Roma (Great Synagogue of Rome).
We wanted to go to the synagogue, but it cost 11€ per person. Fuck, 22€ for entry in synagogue!!! I think it’s wrong!
The bridge to the Tiber Island. Built in 62 BC, it’s the only classical bridge to remain intact without help from the restorers.
The Tiber Island is one of the two islands in the Tiber river, which runs through Rome. The island is boat-shaped, approximately 270 m long and 67 m wide, and has been connected with bridges to both sides of the river since antiquity. Being a seat of the ancient temple of Asclepius and later a hospital, the island is associated with medicine and healing.
The Jewish Rome’s Ghetto.
Resident of Rome.
Left photo – Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Piazza del Popolo.
The dome of Chiesa del Gesù. The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits.
The dome of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major churches of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. The church’s name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was built directly over the ruins or foundations of a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis, which had been erroneously ascribed to the Greco-Roman goddess Minerva.
The church and adjoining convent served at various times throughout its history as the Dominican Order’s headquarters. Today the headquarters have been re-established in their original location at the Roman convent of Santa Sabina.
While many other medieval churches in Rome have been given Baroque makeovers that cover Gothic structures, the Minerva is the only extant example of original Gothic church building in Rome. Among several important works of art in the church are Michelangelo’s statue Cristo della Minerva (1521) and the late 15th-century (1488–1493) cycle of frescos in the Carafa Chapel by Filippino Lippi.
Street actors.
Street seller with his “magic” salver, which is transformed into a vase…holy crap…
Ape Calessino 200 looks at you.
“New Rome” behind the walls of Piazza del Popolo.
View of the city from the Pincio Gardens.
View of the Vittorio Emanuele Monument.
The clock in the Pincio Gardens.
What is she reading? She reading Paulo Coelho “The Alchemist”.
Modern Italian family.
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