Roman Holiday, Part 1 (Ancient Rome and Le Fontane)

We had a wonderful first day in Rome. I am going to post another blog on some thoughts that have struck me on this trip in comparison to my last trip to Rome, but this (second) visit really reinforced that Rome is certainly one of, if not the most, interesting and fun cities in the world to visit! Kelvin loved his introduction to Roma. Please note that information I have provided on our visited sites, below, is garnered from Rick Steves' Rome guide!

We started the day at the San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains). This church, one of the oldest in Rome, was founded in 440 AD, and holds what are believed to be the chains which held St. Peter in the Mamertine Prison (near the Roman forum).



St. Peter's chains


The church also includes sculptures by Michaelangelo, including this "Moses," (1515) which was part of an unfinished tomb for Pope Julius II which was originally supposed to lie in St. Peter's Basilica.




We then headed to the ancient city center to the trio of the Colosseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill.

The Colosseum (or Flavian Amphitheater), built in AD 80, was a stadium which held 50,000-100,000 spectators who watched barbaric contests featuring men vs. men, men vs. beasts, and beasts vs. beasts.







"Gladiator" shot


From the Colosseum, we had great views of the Arch of Constantine, named after the emperor who, after having seen a vision of the cross in the sky and winning a battle in 312, turned Christianity into the religion of the western world.



(view of the arch from Palatine Hill [where Romulus was said to have founded the city of Rome])


Kelvin was amused by these texting Gladiators!


After the Colosseum, we headed to the Roman Forum, the center of Roman city life.


Temple of Vesta


Burial place of Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.), who lived and whose body was burned here


After glancing at the Circus Maximus (site of chariot-racing), we hiked up to the "Other" Capitol Hill (Capitoline Hill/Campidoglio), the former religious and (still) political center of Rome.

Another She-wolf statue (the original is in the Capitol Hill Museum) with the suckling twins


The Renaissance square, redecorated by Michaelangelo, with statue atop the "Grand Staircase"


Below the staircase is the Victor Emmanuel Monument, which I remembered well from my last trip to Rome. It is dedicated to Italy's first king and holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and an eternal flame, but looks very much like a typewriter (or set of dentures!).



After lunch, we hit the Pantheon, a Roman temple initially dedicated to all gods and rebuilt by emperor Hadrian in AD 120.





The perfectly circular dome was the model for Florence's Duomo and that of St. Peter's Basilica. The rooftop window is 30-feet in diameter, the interior houses the tomb of painter Raphael.



We ended our first afternoon wandering along the Tiber River, through the markets at Campo de' Fiori, and admiring some of Rome's greatest fountains, which were all supplied by aqueducts.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers [Danube, Ganges, Nile, Rio de la Plata]) sits in the center of Piazza Navona, one of Rome's prettiest squares.





And next (after an interesting public minibus ride which navigated many alleys of Rome), we arrived at the Trevi Fountain, a baroque creation of N. Salvi, completed in 1762 which is so spectacular because it appears dramatically after you round narrow corners of the side streets.



Here is Kelvin, just about to toss a coin in (tossing a coin in is supposed to guarantee a return visit to Rome. I must have thrown in one in 2003!)



Acting like a teenager...


Another Bernini fountain, Fontana del Tritone (Fountain of the Triton), in Piazza Barberini.


Speaking of Bernini, here is his tomb, housed in the Santa Maria Maggiore church (down the street from our hotel)


...and, to end, here is just one of my random favorite photos, by Kelvin...

Piazza della Repubblica by night


Buona notte, Roma!

More of the Tuscan Sun: Siena and Pisa

We spent our last day in Tuscany doing side-trips. We headed first, via bus, to Siena, one of Florence's rival cities, with some beautiful architecture and buildings in the "burnt siena" color. The main town square, Piazza del Campo (or Il Campo), is a striking shell-shaped space framed by the Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) and many storefronts.

Siena alleyway


She-wolf statue, with the twins, Romulus and Remus


Il Campo


Palazzo Pubblico


(Me, threatening to prove that this is, in fact, "drinkable water" [acqua potable] from the Piazza Fontana)




The Duomo (cathedral) is also spectacular, with pretty pink marble on its Gothic face.


We did stroll the town markets but did not buy anything.


We otherwise found the town a bit "sleepy" and, on impulse, returned to Florence to take a (cheesy) side trip (another hour by train) to Pisa, if only to see the Leaning Tower. It was sooo worth it (even with the hefty 40-euro fine imposed on us because, in our haste to board the next departing train, we missed the tiny ticket-validating machine. Boo for non-lenient Italian train officials!)!

The Campo dei Miracoli, which includes the tower (campanile), cathedral, and baptistery amidst large patches of green, is surely one of the most beautiful squares in the world.



The tower's construction was started in the 1100s by the architect Bonanno Pisano. Only three levels were initially completed, but it already began to tilt. It was completed in two more stages, but, due to the marshy land underneath and other natural changes, has continued to lean by approximately 1 mm per year and is now over 4m off the vertical perpendicular!

We really enjoyed our time taking pictures; it reminded me of our fun Taj Mahal photos (and we really missed our expert photographer, Kimie).


















Goodbye, Tuscany, hello Lazio (Rome!).

Best of the Renaissance

Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, is one of the most culturally-rich cities in the world. With its wealth of art (much of it commissioned by the wealthy Medici family), architecture, and museums, it could easily occupy weeks to months of your time. We were lucky to hit the highlights in our three days in Tuscany.

On another recommendation from Tia, we hiked up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, in the Oltrarno district of Florence, south of the river Arno, to watch the sunset on Monday. The large square bears one of the two copies of Michelangelo's famous "David" sculpture in the city of Florence (this one in bronze) and offers great views over the city.

David No. 1




Pinocchio (the book was written by Carlos Collodi, in Florence) by the sunset


City shot




We were extremely glad to get photos of the David-replicas, as you are not allowed to take photographs [apart from the entryways] in either the Accademia (which houses the real David) or Uffizi galleries, which we visited on Tuesday.

On many others' advice, we had pre-booked tickets and thus did not have to wait in the queues for either gallery... a MUST if you visit either of these, even in low-tourist season (currently, we are in moderate tourist season but there are still tons of people!).

The Uffizi Gallery was built adjacent to the Medici Palace for Cosimo I de Medici as a collection of offices and completed in 1581. Over the ensuing years, the building became used as a gallery to display works of art commissioned by and collected by the wealthy Medici family and is now one of the most visited galleries in the world. The collection (mainly paintings, but lots of marble busts, sculptures, and tapestries, too) includes work by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and even Rembrandt.

Uffizi (legal photo)



Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (internet photo)


The Accademia is a smaller gallery which actually had a very nice Musical Instrument Museum, but which is famous for the striking marble David (over 5m tall, on a large pedestal).


(internet photo)

While both K and I enjoy browsing art, we are not people to spend 4 hours in an art museum. However, the statue of the biblical David is astounding and we definitely marveled at it for more than a few minutes. It was chiseled by Michelangelo in about 3 years out of a basically abandoned piece of marble, and originally stood in the main town square (Piazza della Signoria) until 1873, when it was moved to the gallery for better protection.

Here is the second Florentine David replica, placed in the Piazza della Signoria in 1910


Here are some more pics of Florence's architectural wonders:

Palazzo Vecchio (town hall)


Basilica di Santa Croce (Holy Cross Cathedral)


This is the main Franciscan Church in Florence and the largest Franciscan Church in the world. It has sixteen chapels, lots of more art, and the tombs of many prominent Italians, including Nicolo Machiavelli, Dante Aligheri, Michelangelo, Galileo, and Rossini.

Michelangelo's Funerary Monument


Dante


Choir stalls


The Basilica also houses the Scuola del Cuoio (leather school), where you can see artisans at work (and gasp at the 200-euro wallets).


We also visited the opulent Capelle Medicee (Medici Chapels), part of the Basilica de San Lorenzo, which were built to include tombs for the wealthy Florentine family members.



Some more sights of glorious Florence:
The Arno River (from Ponte Vecchio)




And other delectable Florentine treasures:

Cream croissants


Cappucino (best drunk standing up at a bar like a true Italian-- apparently this is almost exclusively a breakfast drink in Italy and it is kind of frowned upon as a post-tomato-y-meal drink [a rule which I broke]).




Pasta

(although Kelvin didn't participate, I had an awesome gorgonzola ravioli last night and am loving the cheese here! He had wild boar [cinghiale] instead, which was also delicious!)

... and, our favorite....

(no, I am not double-fisting. Kelvin had to take the photo and I was just "watching" his gelato for him!)