When in Rome

 

The Colosseum

Ah, Rome. You are a treat for the eye. The eyes, I mean, as I did keep both open while walking your confusing labyrinth-like city streets.

 

 

View from the top of St. Peter's Basilica, The Vatican

Standing at the top of St. Peter's Basilica was only possible after climbing a potentially heart-exploding number of stairs...which wound upward like a tiny stone spiral...getting increasingly tighter and more precarious with each step...but it was quite worth the near-death experience once we made it to the top. The view was magnificent. If I were the Pope, I'd spend most of my time up there reading in a comfy chaise-lounge.

 

Rainbow at the Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps were quite nice, too, as we found them at the tail-end of a rain storm, highlighted with a gorgeous rainbow. It seemed like a sweet gift to look up and see the colorful arch perfectly placed for our enjoyment. Awww, Rome...you shouldn't have.
 

 

View of St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican

We enjoyed exploring the Vatican and its museum. So many show-stoppers along the way. There was no way we would ever be able to see it all...and lord, was there a lot to see. We stood before masterpieces in hushed awe. It's always mind-blowing to see things in real life you've only studied in books. The Vatican does not disappoint. Its museum is filled to the brim with the stuff dreams are made of.

  

The School of Athens, by Raphael

While exploring the rich history all around us I was filled with a palpable, excited energy. Of course, after a time the excitement began to wear thin and was replaced with a desperate, gnawing hunger. Thank god for Gelato. I'm most certain our trip was a success due mostly to Roman Gelato. Every few hours we stopped to refuel with a new flavor.

 

 

Come to Mama, Roman Gelato

Suffice to say, we ate our way through Rome. The food, it was magnificent...the Antipasto, the pizza, the pasta...there were moments I was so overwhelmed, with plates of god's own food in front of me, I felt as though the only thing to do was weep for my happiness. Of course, weeping had to wait as I was inhaling enormous amounts of food...also an awe-inspiring sight, if you were to see it with your own two eyes.

  

 

The Vatican Mercenary Guards from Switzerland

So many things to see...like the Vatican guards in their colorful uniforms designed by Michelangelo...no less. (Not the Ninja-turtle, mind you.)

 

 

Seeing the Main Altar in St. Peter's is enough to make you fall to your knees. Though I don't recommend it on those marble floors. It is most certain you will develop a crick in your neck--and possibly step on and/or run over other tourists and their children, as you make your way around the atrium. The senses are overwhelmed with so much beauty to see. Nevermind the painful squeals of others as you trample them...you've got too much ahead of you to look back.

 

Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, The Forum

Slightly confusing were all the ruins as we made our way through Roman Forum. C'mon guys, it's been 2,000 years--let's fix the place up already!

  

St. Teresa in Ecstacy, by Bernini

Rome certainly can't be summed up in a single post, though that's what I intend to do here. Just be assured there's a million other fabulous sights and historically important places I've left out. We walked and walked the streets of Rome until we could barely make our way back to the hotel at night. We got lost a lot. Our plans changed hourly. We had the happiest of Thanksgivings, surrounded by wonderful people, while eating the best pizza on the planet. Being there with my family...watching them all stuffing pizza down their cake holes...was magical.

 

The Trevi Fountain

Maybe that's why so many people throw their coins in the Trevi Fountain...hoping to return one day...Rome is just that great.

 

Well, it worked for me...twenty-one years later I returned. (And threw yet another coin in the fountain...hoping to return again.)

 

The Pantheon

Every moment in Rome is worth savoring.

 
 
Victor Emmanuel Monument

Ah, Rome...you are a beauty.

XX, E

Comments

[b.]

Wow, wow! These photos are beautiful! Way better than that Ireland crap you churned out. Blech.

[Amelia]

Beautiful photos E! Thanks for taking me to Rome.

[kmkat]

As an art history major who has never been to Italy or France, I LOVED this post. OMG, the masterpieces you have now seen! Although I can't help remembering that all that Renaissance magnificence was funded by indulgences sold to the rich and that it triggered the Reformation and all the subsequent wars and strife, etc., etc., etc. But still, wow, gorgeous.

The Victor Emmanual monument does not seem to me to fit with the rest, stylistically -- at first glance I thought it was German, maybe the Brandenburg Gate. It has a sense of heaviness, of militarism, quite out of tune with the graceful Renaissance bits. (I guess I absorbed more of the sense of various historical styles than I thought I did.)

Thanks for sharing your Rome with us :)

[eurolush]

kmkat--

You're right about the Victor Emmanuel monument...it's actually loathed by the locals. It is pretty awe-inspiring to see--in a sort of Wizard of Oz fashion. Apparently the white marble it's made of is notoriously hard to keep clean. Romans see it as a waste of money and an eye-sore. I liked to imagine there was some sort of evil emperor-overlord living up there. It does have that feel to it.

Art history was my favorite class in college...though I was an international relations major. I still have my textbook.

One masterpiece I couldn't photograph was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo...astounding. Though, it was tempered a bit by the Roman guard continuously yelling, 'NO CAMERA!' to all the tourists. I think he got some sort of perverse pleasure out of it.

[Paola]

If you allow me I'll tell you something not everyone knows which I found out after naming my son Brizio.
The S. Brizio Chapel which is inside the Duomo of Orvieto in Umbria, is what inspired Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel. It's a gem, gorgeous in its small vaults completely filled with affrescos.
I am glad you enjoyed Roma, it IS a wonderful city breathing history and beauty.

[The Coffee Lady]

That Trevi fountain, though, it's a crush. You have to stand right up to it. Like someone dropped it into a tiny space in a precinct by helicopter.

[kristina]

Oh it all looks amazing! I thought I was the only art major never to have made it to Italy, but I see in the comments I'm not alone. One of these days. But will have to get the names of all the best gelato places from you first!