Roma

Rome, the "eternal city!" Since our flights to and from Italy landed there, we opted to spend a few days at the end of our trip exploring the city on the Tiber. I tried to prepare for the visit by reading the guide books and studying the maps. Our group had frequent discussions about just what we wanted to see and do while there. In the end, the preparation and sketchy plans just gave way to a "wandering wonderment" at the sights and sounds of this great place. While I'm glad I did some homework on the subject, there is no better way to "get" a city than to walk it's streets using all of your senses to absorb and internalize a complete picture of the place. It's no wonder over half of the nearly 900 images I shot with the camera were taken during our three days there. Here's a sampling:

Everywhere one looks, there are interesting details...		and more details. Like this painting of the She Wolf nursing Romulus and Remus.
	and buildings...
	I don't know what it is, but I find myself drawn to ruins and antiquities. It must be the sense of connecting with history that comes from walking the Forums or finding the best seat in the Colosseum. Click here or on either of these pictures to go to more photos.
	Another fascination was with the entries to various buildings.
Temple of Antoninus and Faustina in the Forum.		The city was fairly covered with graffiti, but this picture of "Gesu" stood out.

The Parthenon is reportedly the oldest, intact building from Rome's Imperial Period. Built as a temple for the planetary gods of the Romans by Hadrian in AD 120, it was converted to a Christian (Catholic) church some 500 years later.


	Nearby the Parthenon is the Piazza Navona. Borromini redesigned the facade of Saint Agnese in Agone (left). At night the Piazza was fairly overun with tourists and the accompanying hawkers and vendors. It was like a classy take on a summer night on the boardwalk at the Jersey shore.

		Ill Vittoriano honors Victor Emmanuel and it's imposing size and white marble is visible from nearly anywhere in Rome.
Louis the Navigator, map in hand, winds his way through the city.
	San Eustachio	A sculpture in the museum on the Palantine hill.

	Upon our return, a friend asked if we saw the Trevi Fountain. I said, "Yes." He asked if we threw coins in per the legend (to ensure our return to Rome). "I couldn't get close enough for all the people," was my response. It is beautiful, if crowded.

	From the moment we started planning the trip there was discourse on the pros and cons of touring the Vatican Museum. Ultimately, we did. Click here or on either picture to see more photos from our five hour adventure in the Vatican. <Ann in St. Peter's Square. Michaelangelo's "Pieta" >

		Buildings were adorned with all manor of architectural details and/or art. On the far left was seemingly 'unfinished' stone carving of a Madonna and Child on a building facade. The building in the back is, I believe, the Villa Medici: the home away from home of the powerful Florentine family. I grabbed this shot in part because of the wonderful old facade of the building and in part to document the irksome intrusiveness of the McDonald's directional sign in the foreground. It was sad and amazing how many "MacD's" there are in Rome.

Campo di Fiori was near our hotel and where we had a wonderful dinner our last night in town.	Along antiques row, Via di Babuino, we found a well known gallery with a familiar name.	It seems as though everywhere you look in Rome, your gaze falls upon a church. The ugliest are handsome and go up from there.
If the exteriors of the churches are sometimes plain, the interiors are anything but. The workmanship is extraordinary as each artisan tried to prove their worth not only to their patrons but to the Papacy as well.


Cocktails at an outdoor Cafe in Campo di Fiori set the mood for an evening stroll. That's a glass of Brunello in the foreground, with a Daquiri, Bellini cocktail and a glass of Naturo Azzuro from left to right.		Again, the architectural details constantly delight the eye. < A wonderful carved column capital Below, an ornate niche in a courtyard used for parking in an apartment house.

	< These guys were enjoying there dinner along the bank of the Tiber. The entrance to the Palantine Hill held this > interestingly overgrown fountain.

	< Got Vino?	This odd fountain was in front of a building in the shopping district of "Il Tridente." It appears to be quite old.

One evening we strolled along the Tiber for awhile. I looked up and noticed the four busts capping the balustrade on this building.	This obelisk stands in front of the Pantheon. I loved the fact that the moon was visible just over the cross.	On the opposite side of the river, images of the "She Wolf" were visible along the retaining wall.

One afternoon as we were walking back to the hotel I glanced up an alley and caught site of this shadow from a potted palm growing on a rooftop.		<I've no idea what this building is/was but I liked the looks of it when we passed it by one evening during our "passigiatta."
		Above is the interior of "our church:" San Andrea della Valle. It was around the corner from our hotel.
Just another quaint side street in Rome. I don't see how anyone could go there and not want to explore the city's nooks and crannies. It might take a lifetime to absorb it all, but it would be a lifetime well spent.		Below is the churches exterior.

More church interiors. I was in more churches during my three days in Rome than I can count. But each one was spectacular in its own right.		Legend has it that San Eustachio was converted to christianity when he saw a cross appear between the antlers of a stag he was hunting. It's an interesting image.

Statues stand guard over the Piazza San Pietro.		The Spanish Steps. Another popular place to stop and watch the people.

	< We hiked up to the Piazza del Popolo to visit the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. Caravaggio's The Conversion of St. Paul and The Crucifixion of St. Peter are housed in the Cerasi chapel within. We arrived just before the Sunday evening Mass ended. Once it did, we only had a few minutes to gaze upon these masterworks. Across the Piazza are the "twin" churches of > Santa Maria del Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto. The churches are not truly identical but balanced in the Baroque style,

	Almost as common as churches are these shrines on the exterior of residential and commercial buildings. Some are quite weathered. Others seem to be so well cared for that they look brand new.