~A few randomly selected photos I took in Rome during the week we spent there ~ May 22-29, 2009~
The Vittorio Emanuele II Monument is visible on the Roman skyline from many parts of the city. It sits near Capitol hill and the Roman Forum in the center of the city.
The Roman forum or ancient Roman ruins at the heart of the city used to be free to visitors, but now admission is charged.
The ruins take up a very large space in the city center.
Near the Forum stands the huge Roman Colosseum -- an arena where the public came to view all kinds of shows, many of which ended in death. It was originally covered on the outside with marble, but the marble was removed years ago and used in other buildings.
A view inside the colosseum, showing the passages that were beneath the stage floor. At the far end a modern stage has been built for shows that use only a portion of the old arena.
The Trevi fountain, one of many fountains in Rome. This is the largest one we saw and may be the largest in Rome.
The Piazza Navona was about a 15-minute walk from our apartment and one of our favorite spots in Rome. There were artists, cafés, restaurants and shops in the area. The church on the right is St. Agnes in Agone. In the center of the plaza is a fountain with an Egyptian obelisk in the middle.
Since it was quite warm during the day, we enjoyed walking around after dinner in the evenings.
A view of the Vittorio monument from the steps to the Borghese Gardens in the northern part of the city. This was pretty early in the morning and it was a bit hazy still.
The Borghese collection is housed in this museum in the Borghese gardens. We came here to see 6 paintings by Caravaggio as well as numerous other paintings and sculpture. The house itself has fabulous decor and painted ceilings.
After visiting the museum we ate a picnic lunch in the park and walked around some more. This was one of the few planters I saw with flowers in all of Rome. I really missed the gorgeous flowers we saw in Paris.
A path around the lake in the garden.
A pavilion on an island in the lake in the Borghese Garden.
I found the architecture of the churches in Rome to be surprisingly different from others I'd seen in Europe. This is Santa Maria Maggiore.
These are called the Spanish Steps and they lead up to the church called Trinitŕ dei Monti, which has another obelisk in front of it.
I had no idea there were so many obelisks in Rome. This one is in a plaza outside San Giovanni in Laterano. Most if not all of them came originally from Egypt.
The side entrance to San Giovanni in Laterano. I didn't realize it was just the transept until I got inside. We came back out this way so I didn't get a photo of the front facade. This is the Basilica of Rome, making it higher in the church hierarchy than St. Peters in the Vatican city. The Pope presides here.
A portion of the carved ceiling in San Giovanni in Laterano.
A wall with a walkway on top that used to connect Castel Sant' Angelo with the Vatican.
View of St. Peters from the roof of Castel Sant' Angelo
The piazza in front of St. Peters is known in English as St. Peter's Square, but it's definitely not square. We should use the word 'plaza' or 'place' in my opinion. Another fountain and another obelisk. I'm sure someone has done a collage of all the obelisks in Rome.
The huge columns enclosing the Piazza San Pietro create a shady colonnade.
The front facade of St. Peters in Rome.
I believe St. Peters is the largest church in the world. There are makings on the floor showing the relative lengths of some of the other large churches around the world. This interior was overwhelming!
On our tour of the Vatican we walked through this long hall with maps on the walls and an incredible ceiling!
A detail from the ceiling in this long hall.
One of the few Gothic structures in Rome. I'm not sure what church this is. We passed it several times on our way back to our apartment.
The keys Jim had to carry around every day. These let us into the various doors to the apartment.
We really enjoyed staying here. There was a lot more space than we really needed, but it was cheaper than a hotel. See Jim in the living room at the end of this corridor? Behind me is the large entry and laundry room-a huge bonus! I loved doing laundry here. Since it was hot, we walked around in the morning, had lunch and returned to the apartment some time during the afternoon. Then I would do laundry if I needed to, read, plan our next day, etc. In the evening after it began to cool off again we would go out for dinner and more walking. The first door you see here on the left is the first bathroom; the second door is the other bathroom; beyond the lace curtain are the kitchen, bedroom and at the end the living room.
Here's the kitchen. We mostly just ate breakfast here, but the fridge had a small freezer compartment, so I refilled our water bottles every day and put them in the freezer. It was wonderful to have cold water several hours into our walk the next day.
The elevator was one of our favorite things in Rome. I could touch both sides at once with my elbows, but it was about 6' long. It had been squeezed into the space in the center of the old stairway, as so many are in the older buildings of Europe.
Well, that's a glimpse into the sights we saw in Rome. I could have done quite a few pages with different themes, but was afraid I'd never finish a project like that, so I just threw some of my favorite photos here. If I do more I'll add links later. There are more photos available that can be linked from this page. Those photos appear on a page with a map of Rome and a gps trail showing where we walked on that day.
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