Three days are not enough

Let’s face it, we couldn’t do Rome in just three days. So today we are going to cover the sites we haven’t had the time to see yet. Most of which are outdoors, all free (well we had already bought tickets for them GDR) , all different, all interesting.

First site of the day: The Spanish steps.

Bit of history (sorry): Set of marble steps connecting the fountain of Piazza di Spagna with the Church della Trinita dei Monti. The piazza was named after the Spanish embassy. Although the Spanish got the honours by given the steps their name, the steps were actually sponsored and built by the French. Well done Spaniards! Chiquie ones!

Apparently these steps have been attracting foreigners from the 18th Century. So, as we are tourists, we have to go too.

We got the train from our aire early this morning, and arrived at this site just before 11.00 am. The weather again, miserable and rainy. Not the best day for outdoors sightseeing, never mind.

We come out of the metro station and we can hardly see the steps. Hundreds of people are sitting on them.

We struggle to take a photo. But finally…

I can’t understand why this place is so famous. Yes, the scalinata looks an impressive, long walk up to heaven. But they are just steps, quite eroded. The whiteness of the marble has disappeared, turning  into a layer of dust and sand, and now encrusted in the marble.

We look back. The fountain behind us looks more interesting. We take a photo.

We walk up the steps for the views. Going up the steps is quite annoying. They are too low. If you take them one by one, too slow, if you take them  two by two, too tiring.

The views from the top, not bad although they have been spoilt by guys selling touristic stuff. The hundreds of people sitting on the steps so small, they look like ants.

We pop in the Church della Trinita dei Monti. We have lost count of the churches we have seen so far in Italy. This one, seems it  is currently being repaired.

The theme of the church: the passion of christ. All sculptures and frescos display images of the stages that he went through.

Melodramatic images but very colourful.

There is no one in the church at the moment. Not surprising. The church doesn’t look cosy; the images about christ’s death; the lack of light, the scaffolding, the lack of heaters…

We move on to our second site of the: The Trevi Fountain

Bit of history (again): The largest and most famous fountain in Rome, immortalised by Anita Ekberg’s sensual dip in Federico Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita.

It is raining again. Is it ever going to stop? I thought it was always sunny in Italy.

Lots of people with small, cheap, weak umbrellas. Umbrellas sellers must be making lots of money selling the stuff, a few times, to the same people.

We get to the Trevi Fountain. It is covered in scaffolding. They are currently undertaking some works. “Great” I exclaim.

Not to panic. They seem to be doing repairs only at the bottom bit but we can still see the top. Although this means there won’t be any water. There are still lots of people around. They have arranged a temporary walkway for the people to get closer.

This is actually quite interesting, the preservation experts, we assume they are, they could just be some guys hacking away at a monument, well this is Italy, they are taking it back to the bare bones, how they will reconstruct it, who knows! GDR

Even though the fountain doesn’t look a fountain at the moment, we can still appreciate the scale and the beauty of it. The sculptures, huge, powerful, remarkable.

Apparently, if you throw a coin to the – currently non-existing – water you come back to Rome. Some people must have liked it too much, they have thrown in a €2.00 coin. I have a €0.20 coin. “€0.10 each. That will do for us” I say to Gary.

Ok, The Trevi fountain, done. We head off. On the way to our third attraction, we stop for an ice-cream. The thing to do around the Trevi Fountain, everybody is having one. Our guide highly recommended a shop called San Crispino and the flavours to have: dried figs or honey.

We find the shop. They don’t have these flavours, but they have lots more. The one that catches our attention: Barolo wine, of course . We go for it. One ice-cream for two. I don’t fancy one myself in this cold weather. Gary is not happy about it. Absolutely delicious. Smooth, soft, creamy… This shop will get a high rate on TripAdvisor.

LINK TRIP ADVISOR PAGE

It is raining, we have hardly used our travelcard and, more importantly, we haven’t got on a tram yet, a must in every city we go. We get on one. Four stations later, and we are not sure where we are but we must be very close to our next destination. So we get off and walk around backstreets to avoid the crowd.

We come across a lovely, cute, colourful square.

And another church, arising majestically to our left. This attraction is not on today’s itinerary, neither is it in our guide.

Its facade is very beautiful. It must be important. The church is called St Ignacio de Loyola. St Ignacio de Loyola was a Spanish knight from a local Basque family, priest and theologian, who founded the Jesuitas order. Another guy with too much time in his hands, with no real needs, as his family was very wealthy. I wonder how much assets of the family was given to the poor.

The look of the church, overwhelming. We must admit, no matter how many Italian churches we see, they don’t stop surprising us.

This particular one has lots of ornaments in gold.

The frescoes adorning the ceiling… From down here, we can’t figure out whether the artist has played with the forms of his/her paintings to make the ceiling look like a dome or whether it really is a dome.

Another good review on TripAdvisor for this church.

For me this is as good as the Sistine Chapel, remarkable use of perspective against the forms of the building really brings it to life. GDR

We continue towards our third site of the day and the most I look forward to: The Pantheon.

A bit of history: A 2000-year old temple, now a church (once again, the catholic church expropriating buildings to increase their assets).

There are so many people everywhere, it is incredibly. And today is a weekday, no bank holiday, just a normal day.

From the outside this place looks really shabby. GDR

This building is the best preserved of Ancient Rome. It was built around AD 120. The facade looks almost intact, no attempts to introduce other styles since it was originally built.

The inside, of course, was re-worked when it was expropriated by the catholic church in 609.

There are signs everywhere with the warning: “Silent, this is a sacred place”. People ignore them. Although a church, it felt like a bar, noisy, buzzy.

The most amazing feature, the dome, the largest in the world until the 15th century. Then, the dome of the Florence cathedral became the largest.

Absolutely stunning piece of art.

The squares, perfectly geometrically designed. The shade they create from the bottom, beautiful. Such a simple design. Just play with light and forms.

This is one of the most stunning architectural forms which moulds light, sheer perfection. Every photo looks like an oil painting. The scale, unbelievable. The crowds amazing, but you could be wandering around on your own. For me, a real highlight of Roma. GDR

We leave the crowd behind and head off to our fourth site of the day: Piazza Navona

A bit of history (you are getting lots of that today): Rome’s most celebrated square with its pavements cafes, colourful cast of street artists, tourists, pigeons…

Nothing really special about this place, perhaps we have become immune to sculptures after being four days in Rome.

There are lots of tourists but no pigeons.

Impressive fountain.

A bit closer.

Now that it has stopped raining, we sit on a bench to have something to eat. Today we have a very weird bread for lunch. It is made with vegetable carbon. We got it yesterday and it is still fresh. Italian breads are nice, but you have to eat them on the same day. Any bread left over would turn into a stone the next day. This one, however, it has kept as fresh as if it had come out of the oven

Two good reasons of having brought lunch with us. One, the obvious, we save money. Two, we are not pestered by the waiters of the nearby restaurants.

After lunch we walk around. The square has another two fountains, a bit smaller. The sculptures of these fountains are human faces and they seem to be vomiting water. It looks rather disturbing.

And we head off to another museum, the Palazzo Altemps. It is included in our national museum ticket, so we pop in and see. Not many photos in this place. We have seen lots of roman sculptures, lots of frescoes. There are so many of them that the brain can take. We’ve got a busy day, so we have to press on.

We walk around back streets, away from tourists. Rome is quite pretty, we like Rome but it is far too old. They live of the past. And it seems that this attitude prevents the city from moving forward, from modernising, from becoming a dynamic, advanced, innovative city. So the houses, the roads, the cars, look very precarious.

We come across Campo de Fiori, a square where, for centuries, public executions used to take place. These days, it hosts a much-loved market, selling anything, from spices to large parmesan cheeses. But we didn’t time it very well. They are already packing up.

16.30. How can we make the most of our last hour in Rome?

We visit a couple of free sites, which conveniently are located in Piazza Venecia, from where we have to get the public transport to get back to Dora.

First: the II Vittoriano, a mountain of white marble which was built in honour of the King Vittoriano. This guy must have had a significant impact in Italy’s history. Almost every single town and city has a road or street dedicated to him.

Another large scalinata to get to this place.

Yeap, white marble. A material which seems to have widely available in Italy.

We pop in. Another impressive church. It is weird, such remarkable building and it has no name outside. Maybe they think it is architecturally insignificant compared to beasts like the Vatican or Santa Maria Maggiore.

Lamps, the size of our living room.

Gary has got a fondness of bees. He liked these stained window.

And the quality of light that these colourful glasses brings into the church. Very unusual.

Last quick look to Rome before we get back. We finish our stay in Rome the way we started it, looking at the Roman forum.

Ooops, on the way down, we come across another site, Piazza del Campidoglio, a square designed by Michelangelo. Gosh, sightseeing in Rome is never going to stop! It feels a lifetime is not enough to see it all.

Not impressed, maybe I am just too tired. Gary likes it though. Gary liking old architecture!!

Bye-bye Rome. You are an amazing, incredible, educative, intense, charming, and unforgettable city.

SM