Rapporto di Roma 6: Walk to the Vatican

Unbelievably, the next day was also sunny! We decided to walk to the Vatican. We headed off in the direction of the Tiber and through some pretty nice neighborhoods of Rome. We saw many fashion designer stores but when we saw the Ferrari store, we could not resist and had to go in!

This is the car that was currently racing Formula 1 in Bahrain [and won!]. Though the staff told us wouldn't get far in it, because the engine was across the room on display. [I didn't think my ass would fit into the cockpit anyhow.]


Now that is a piece of machinery! I bought a bright red Ferrari cap with thin red, white and green racing stripes on the sides. It is really hot/cute.

We crossed the Tiber River at the Ponte Cavour. I took this photo of the River as we crossed:

You can see the next bridge to the south, Ponte Umberto. Then, I turned to my left and shot the street light at the Rome side of the bridge.


Traffic looks busy. We crossed the bridge and continued walking along the Lungotevere, or Riverwalk, towards the next touristy attraction. We came upon the Palazzo di Giustizia or Hall of Justice, which was built by Guglielmo Calderini between 1888 and 1910.


Of course the whole way we were walking on this side of the Tiber was lined with people selling souvenirs. Knock-off handbags and scarves, small camera tripods, all manner of Rome related crapola, and junky rosary beads. When I had been here in the sixties, it was really much better. The souvenir sellers were here, but they had better quality stuff. My mom bought a real coral necklace and they had real marble rosaries and eggs.

Suddenly, I saw the cutest little tri-color dog! I raced after it, but it was off lead and once I located the owner, I followed her. She was moving rather quickly through the crowd. I did catch up to her, but she said did not grant her permission, saying that her dog, a basenji, was very shy. What a shame! Her dog looked straight at me questioningly. It looked kind of like this:


We continued walking and shortly came upon the Castel St. Angelo, originally built as the tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian between 135 and 139 AD. Eh, more antiquity... But it was too beautiful a day to go into places


Finally, we made it to the Vatican. All along the way, I had assured Sean that there would be no line to get into St. Peter's. Then we get there and there is a HUGE line! I was shocked!


You can't see it in this photo, but the line went all the way from the front door, down one side of the colonnade to where we were standing! It was moving, but we weren't into standing on any lines. I was so bummed! I was very tired and Sean wanted to explore the other side of the river and I wanted to head back to the hotel. So we split up and I went back to rest. I took one more photo of Via Portoghesi on my way home.


Though claustrophobic, it had three jewelry stores that were reminiscent of Tiffany's.

Rapporto di Roma 5: Foro Romano

We walked up the street from our hotel, and found the Quattro Fontane. Here are photos of the goddess Juno and the River Arno. The famous church seemed always to be closed when we passed by. So we never did get to visit it.

This is the Horse Tamers sculpture that is on Quirinal Hill. It dates from Antiquity. The light wasn't great, but how could we not photograph it? We don't have many sculptures dating from Antiquity where we come from.

We arrived at the Roman Forum and I was so excited! Of course, when I was last there in 1967, you could roam around in it for free! Here are the photos I took:

This is Caligula's Palace:

You can see the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II looming in the background. I heard that Mussolini took tons of marble from churches he razed to build it.

Me, standing in front of Trajan's Column.

I admired the artistry and detail of the workmanship in marble that lay in pieces around the site, but looked good as new even though it was created so long ago. Here are some samples:

Sean took these last two shots:

By now you should know there has to be a dog in this story! The owner of this 6 month old canine claims that he is a Slovakian Wolf. He chewed up my hand pretty good, but heels on his leed very well for only 6 months. He sure is cute as a button though, isn't he?

Rapporto di Roma 4: Piazza Navona

Once again, we rounded a corner and eureka! The Piazza Navona was before us! It was such a lovely sunny day, that we stopped for some overpriced cappuccino and to chat with an ex-pat couple who were vacationing from Brussels. We listened to a fine classical guitarist and even left him a few Euro.


I dashed across the piazza to snap a photo of Sasha, a 4 month old German Shepherd dog, who very politely “struck a pose” for me. Madonna in the making?


The Fountain of Neptune was all sparkly and gorgeous in the sunshine. Unfortunately, the Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini was shrouded by construction walls and was probably being cleaned or repaired. My photo of the fourth fountain, La Fontana del Moro, was less well lit due to the position of the sun at the time of day we were there.

A gentleman adores his white poodle by the Fountain of Neptune. Who wouldn’t?


My camera loved the French Bull dog being walked across the Piazza. I had to run to catch up to take these photos. The owner must have thought me crazed. He did kind of chuckle to himself with amusement. But I guess it has happened before; his dog is a chick magnet.

The pigeon lady was almost invisible against the gray wall with her largely gray sweater. But I shot the photos once I had spotted her. If she keeps feeding them, they will take over the Piazza! Picturesque now, but a nuisance later!

We window shopped our way back to our hotel; done for the day! Rome is a terrific place to window shop! You just never know what you will find.

Rapporto di Roma 3: The Pantheon

The Pantheon was built by Marcus Agrippa in 27 BC and rebuilt in 110 AD. Read more about the Pantheon here. Just like most extrememly old and historical places in Rome, you turn a corner, and there it is. Eureka! Of course the obligatory hansome cabs were in front of it.

It was mobbed with student groups and tour groups. I had to wait a long time to get photos of each niche without people in them. The one with the lit casket is Raphael's tomb. The Madonna and Child are carved in marble above it, as commissioned by Raphael. Italy's first two kings, Victor Emanuel II, Umberto I and his wife Margarita are also buried there. One of the photos shows two guards standing by a book where visitors can register their support for the Savoy royal family.

Although the only source of light was the 30 foot [9.1 meters] oculus, 142 feet [43.3 meters] above us, the Pantheon seemed well lit and was bright enough for photos. Its dome is the world's largest unreinforced dome. The coffers, width and different ingredients in the concrete make this possible. It is certainly a wonder of the ancient world!

Rapporto di Roma 2: Fontana di Trevi

You can hear the water falling from a block away and the excitement builds as you approach the Fontana di Trevi. It was a beautiful bright, but cold day as we took the short walk from our hotel to the fountains. This was my third time there and each time I threw a coin to ensure my return.

This is the Chiesa dei Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio in the fountain’s square.

I took pictures of this hansome cab because I love horses. I sure hope they treat them well here in Rome. Cabs like this are a common sight in the Eternal City.

For future reference, marble is really cold on your ass.

We continued on our way and on and nearly a block down the road was the Piazza di Pietra which houses a temple that was built in 144 AD by Antoninus Pius for Emperor Hadrian. Below are the columns from that temple and the last photo is a detail from the marble roof trim with a lion head roof drain.

Next stop, the Pantheon!