We stayed at the Albergo del Senato, on the Piazza della Rotonda, next to the Pantheon. When we arrived, there were fresh flowers, fruit and champagne waiting for us on the terrace overlooking the Pantheon (a breath-taking view!). Our suite with a separate sitting room, was spectacular and the service was great. Note the little "Good Night" towel and slippers housekeeping puts down on the floor for turn-down service.
We left on May 8th, 2010 for two weeks in Italy. The first week's adventures on our own in Rome, Venice and Florence preceded our gastronomic week in Tuscany with the fabulous Sherry Page of Culinary Getaways!
Self-portrait in the Pantheon.
On the balcony and the view of the Piazza della Rotonda.
The Senato at night with views of the sculptures in the front windows.
Above is the view of the Pantheon from our balcony! Amazing. It was originally built in 126 AD by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Rome. Although it has been in continuous use since its construction, it has been used as a Roman Catholic church since the 7th century. It also serves as a tomb for the painter Raphael, the composer Corelli, and two Kings of Italy.
Before dinner, Limoncello and Campari on the roof Terrace bar at the Senato--with a great view over the roof tops of the Roman city centre, and of course, the Pantheon.
The Trevi Fountain at dusk. I love how the elements erupt out of the building behind it. The cut stone facade and marble columns seem to melt and morph into rough lava rock and vegetation, like an hallucination.
Dusk turns into night, the lamps come alive and the fountain begins to glow from within...
As you can see, people visit the Trevi day or night. Even well after dinner, the fountain is mobbed...
I love that Italian Euro have a picture of the Roman aquaducts and an image of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous Vitruvian Man on a coin!!!
Taken at 7AM: "What do you do for a living?"
"Oh, I mop the Pantheon."
In front of the Pantheon (and the Colosseum) are men dressed as Gladiators and Centurions, ready to pose for photos with tourists for cash. 8AM: Centurion on a cellphone...
On our way to the Colosseum, we walked down a street lined with shops that sold religious articles and paraphenalia. One of the windows was so over-the-top and lurid, I had to stop and take a picture. Surely this must be your one-stop shop for all things Catholic!
Here I am standing on the street in front of the window.
Next is a statue of Caesar Nerva, seen on our walk past the Forum, to the Colosseum.
Here we are outside the Colosseum. It's interesting that it does not strike one as large as the lore and media images make it out to be. But don't get me wrong, it's PLENTY big. To the right, you can see our lovely Italian tour guide. We weren't so keen on taking a tour, but it is a good way to bypass the hour-plus wait in the entrance line and march right in. Once the tour was underway, we were so glad we chose it. It was informative and pointed out lots of fascinating things we might have otherwise missed.
The inside of the Colosseum is fascinating. The sunken area is actually a two-story basement or hypogeum, where slaves, gladaitors and animals were kept--the arena floor would have been on top of it and in fact, they have placed a partial arena platform at the far end. to show how it would have looked.
After our Colosseum tour, we were happy to discover that a tour of Palatine Hill was included! From left, the walk up the Hill; ruins on the hill; Mussolini's house; the fascistic eagle over the entrance to Mussolini's house.
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Villa on Palaitine Hill
Panormaic view of the Forum below from Palatine Hill
Villa from below Palatine Hill
Lunch back at the Piazza dell Rotonda after a long day of walking around the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.
We liked our Colosseum and Palatine tour so much, we decided to tour Vatican City the next day with the same young man, Jason. Again, we bypassed the very long line at the Vatican Museum and entered through the "Group Tour" door. The tour was great, hitting all the highlights without wasting time. The Vatican Museum has so much, it is estimated that if you paused for one minute in front of each piece, it would take you twleve years to see it all. Grazie Jason!
Left: a seemingly endless hall of staturay at the Vatican Museum. Above, the famed Apollo Belvedere.
Left, you can see the impressive scale of the museum and their holdings. Right, known as Nero's bath, a "bowl" the size of a swimming pool made from extremely rare and priceless Rose Porphyry.
With an enormous bust, above. Right: the incredible ceiling in the Hall of Maps. Inset: in the Hall of Maps with a map of Italy behind me. Far right: one of the many Raphael Rooms.
Left: A member of the Pontifical Swiss Guard in traditional uniform. Above, Saint Peter's Square, or Piazza San Pietra in Italian, in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Right: statues of saints and popes top the crescent of columns around the piazza.
Inside St. Peter's Basilica, and the dome. The Statue of Liberty can fit insdie the rotunda of the church. Seriously.
Left three pictures: the brass baldocchini or canopy by Benrini. Above: beneath the canopy is the tomb of St. Peter, whose remains are believed to be buried under the church.
Left and above is the tomb of Fabio Chigi, Pope Alexander VII, with a shocking image of a winged skeleton symbolizing death flying from the tomb, an hourglass held high in its fist. Right is an example of the stunning marble and stone flooring that runs throughout the Basilica.
After our long and extensive visit to the Vatican, we strolled back along the Tiber. We have a little collection of pictures of us by famous rivers: the Seine, the Thames, and now the Tiber! We were starving, so we stopped for lunch. Our waiter took our picture--that's me trying, unsuccessfully, to keep my tie from dragging into my pizza!
Left: my favorite "post card" shot of Rome. Above, the grand unifroms of guards outside a government building near the Piazza Navona.
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"SENATUS. POPULARE. QUE. ROMANUS."
Above: at the Spanish Steps. Center and right: the ambience of Rome at night. Notice the shrine to the Madonna above the motorcycles.
