Arevederci Roma!
Today is our last day in this beautiful city and my day to choose the itinerary. Yesterday morning we looked at a guidebook which listed the top 12 things to do in Rome. To our delight we found we had already done 10 of them! While Danny snoozes I go through the maps and guidebooks to try to come up with our route. Our plan is to tackle the last two spots, and see what we can see along the way. We are out the door at 9:45am, hoping to get a bit done before the oppressive heat promised for today sets in. We take the metro to coloseo and start off. It is awesome! We see
1. Gladiators quarters-right across the street from the coloseum-no long commute to work for them!
2. A gorgeous church run by Irish nuns since 1657-a time machine with awesome excavated ruins below the church, a maze of roman house, pagan temples, even a hidden spring. No guide needed so we can wander and take our time! It is cool and really interesting-totally Danny! A plus!
3 So many churches I have kind of lost track. A few are-
Bocca Della Verita/Chiesa Di Santa Maria in Cosemedin- where we stuck our hands in “The mouth of truth” and found out we are not liars!:
Chiesa Di Santa Maria in Aracoeli-atop a thigh-blasting 14th century Araceli staircase, Romanesque church with a 13th century fresco by Cavalini, crisp 15th century frescoes by Pinturicchio, and the famous Santa Bambino(holy baby) believed by Jesus to heal the sick! The church itself is on a Michaelangelo designed piazza, with sculptures of Castor and Pollux, which was built in the 15thcentury for a visit from Emperor Charles V, and is built on the spot where the Tiburtine sybil tipped off Augustus about the coming of Christ. Two ancient temples sat on the site, but as we learned, as Christianity took hold in the city, Popes loved to build churches right on top of pagan temples, as if to wipe out the memory of them. Chiesa Del Gesu, Chiesa Di San Luigi Dei Francesi-with Caravaggio paintings and Domenichino’s 17th century fresco of Saint Cecelia, Chiesa Di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva-this has Michelangelo’s sculpture Christ Bearing The Cross(with a baroque loincloth added later!) and was built in the 13th century. There is a Bernini sculpture,Elefantino on the square, and we love Bernini! Chiesa di Sant’Agnese in Agone-built on the spot where Saint Agnes lost her head, and the martyrs skull is inside the church.
4. Piazza Navona- with extravagant fountains by Bernini-most famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi which depicts the nile,ganges,Danube and Plata rivers of heading out from Rome. Loads of street artists, moving statues, restaurants and cafes.
5. We also cruise through Circus Maximums- this was Rome’s largest chariot racing stadium, it could hold 250,000 and was sometimes flooded for mock sea battles! It is undergoing renovation into something nice, from the signs we saw, right now it is a hot, dusty field filled with trash and cig. Butts. Hence the walking by and glancing at it!
6. The Italian Lunch- this was one of my goals, to go to a real neighborhood Italian place, and we did! Lunched at Enoteca Corsi- a wine shop restaurant that is open from 12-3, and from 8-12, and serves one daily menu and feeds all Italians chattering merrily at the tables all around us. When we arrived there at about 2pm, Danny’s face was the colour of a pomodoro and he had sweat everywhere. The waitress was quite alarmed and brought us water and napkins right away! Thank goodness, we were so hot! We relaxed with fresh bread, a buffalo moz. And tomato salad and the pesto lasagna, all of which were fantastic. Danny couldn’t get over the cheese ball! I enjoyed watching everyone visit with each other, the staff hanging out at the tables, everyone taking their time-no drive through Subway here I can tell you!
We did hit some of the above mentioned churches on our way home, but we were so hot, it was hard to do anything. We walked all the way to the Vatican area so Danny could choose his Blessed Rosary for his souvenir and then we attempted to bus home. Mistake! Rush hour on surface roads = disaster! We finally just hopped on a bus, then another, got off when we saw a metro and then shot below ground and got home. Packing and dinner and last night of gelati were on the schedule(it was crema and tiramisu for the flavours, for those of you following at home!) We also read our book to each other, and didn’t turn out our lights until midnight! Back to reality tomorrow, and we are ready to pack our guidebooks away for a while! It is stressful filling all your hours, and following maps, and guarding against pickpockets, and resisting the urge to buy more purses! I need a break from my vacation(poor me, I know!!)
Thanks for sharing the adventure with us!
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