Roma, Italy

Italy 2024 Chapter 6 – Roma. Upon arriving by train from Napoli, we walked about a block and a half to our apartment near the Termini train station. We didn’t plan for much time in Rome this time, so I wanted to try and see some lesser-known sites. Our priority was to find a place for dinner. I think the best places to eat in Rome are in Trastevere. We set out for a long walk in that direction with stops at the Colosseum, The Roman Forum and Circus Maximus. Crossing the Tiber into Trastevere you can blindly pick any restaurant, and the food will be outstanding. Most places didn’t have room for six of us, so it took half an hour to find something. In the end, everything we ordered was great. It was getting late, and we made the long walk home, passing by many more famous sites.

The next day was our only full day in Rome, so we started off by taking a metro from Termini to Piazza del Popolo and slowly wandered back to our apartment. I had marked a few lesser-known sites on my map and was able to see most of them. You don’t need a map of Rome, you just walk in any direction and discover.

Piazza del Popolo is surrounded by history. There are three fountains, the centre one is fed by an ancient aqueduct, the gate of the Aurelian Walls, twin churches and an Egyptian obelisk. The Obelisk was carved in 1300 BC in Egypt and once stood in the Circus Maximus before a 16th-century pope had it recovered from the scrap heap and moved to Popolo. This was the first of many Egyptian obelisks moved to Rome. The crazy emperor Nero was said to be buried here under a walnut tree before a later Pope had the tree and his remains removed for the building of one of the twin churches.

Walking further into the centre, you pass the Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain and Largo di Torre Argentina where Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Hidden among these famous places are countless churches, libraries, fountains, and statues.

There is a fantastic painting on the ceiling of the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola. The painting is on a flat surface, but you wouldn't believe it was flat. The image is three-dimensional and looks as if you are looking into an infinite sky.

Early the next morning it was sadly time for the friends to fly home and Lynne and I would continue north on the train to Orvieto….or so we thought…