Final Favorite Photos of Rome

It's had to describe the richness that is Rome given its history, architecture and art but here are some of my favorite snapshots of my last visit offered with the exhortation to add it to your "bucket list" if you haven't already.

First of all, you have to love a city that has such beautiful ticket stubs!

Piazza Navona is a magnificent square, one of Rome's showpieces with three fountains and artists' stalls everywhere. It's a great place to sit and people- watch and soak up the vibrant energy and atmosphere.

Here's one of the sculptures in Piazza Navona that's considered a "lesser" fountain to Bernini's marvelous central fountain, the Fountain of the Four Rivers. This is the Fountain of Neptune.

And finally, the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone with the Brazilian Embassy next to it in the same piazza.

The Trevi Fountain with its marvelous sculpture is considered the most beautiful of Italy's many fountains.

I like the whole shabby chic vibe going on here.

The Pantheon is one of the best preserved ancient buildings not just in Italy but in Europe. It's largely unchanged in almost 2000 years and where I found that statue of St. Anne (2 posts ago) that I love so much. It was originally a temple devoted to all the gods and later converted into a Catholic church in AD608.

Just one of the details inside are these gorgeous columns and the various kinds of marble used.

Speaking of columns, I like this sculptural staircase in the Palazzo Barberini which houses the National Gallery of Antique Art.

More columns outside the Palazzo framing it's fountain.

Art can be from the over-the-top unbelievable very ornate school of art like this church ceiling (not even one of the major churches),

to the more whacky down to earth school of art, the gargoyles in hidden places all over the city. This is my favorite and I named her the grandmother gargoyle. Haven't you had days where you felt like this?

Shall we give her a name, too?

A Neighborhood in Rome

This week my husband and I swapped homes with friends in Rome. They're at our house with access to the beach and National Parks and we're in the middle of Rome able to walk to sights we want to see. But what I wanted to tell you about is Monti, the neighborhood in Rome where we're staying. Not the tourist spots, although they're all around, but a neighborhood where folks live, work, shop, eat and hang out. This neighborhood, between Via Nationale and Via Cavour, and our street, running between the Colosseum and the Quirinale. It's tucked in among major tourist attractions which we've taken advantage of, but we've been especially exploring and enjoying this neighborhood.

There are small local eateries with  tables inside and outside serving delicious local dishes.

Little stores and markets abound (rather than souvenir shops) to pick up necessities: the Alimentari for fruits, vegetables  and drinks, the specialty market for meats, cheeses, breads and all kinds of typical Italian foods, the Forno for focacia pizza and the best fresh baked breads, many caffés but one with Rome's best coffee and, of course, many gelaterias but one with the best gelato in the neighborhood.

Some of their breads.

Best coffee in Rome at Caffé Brasile.

One of four cases of home made gelato with unusual flavors (like lemon and basil) and each decorated.

The casalinghi with truly a little bit of everything. I found somethings I needed - with so many choices it's hard to miss. Is this place a trip or what?

Our local church, Church of the Madonna dei Monti, built in the 16th century.

Many streets have an outdoor shrine and this is the one on ours. The lights in the halo light up and someone keeps the flowers fresh.

At the very end of the street is the Colosseum which is amazing to look up and see while out strolling around.

The apartment buildings have such lovely colors.

With some quaint touches on some. See the grapes? Right in the middle of Rome!

And hanging vines, a final delight right around the corner.

My camera ran out of battery power before I could get a photo of our local piazza, the Piazza della Madonna dei Monti, but it's always filled with people, mostly locals, sitting, chatting, visiting, eating and playing. The energy is evident and contagious. What a great way to vacation.

Happy Fourth of July. Hope your vacation surprises and delights you too.

Vestals

Have you ever been in an area with an energy that is palpable if inexplicable? While touring the Palatine Hill on a recent visit to Rome I came across ruins of the Vestals or Vestal Virgins of ancient Rome and had that experience.  I knew nothing of these women but felt their presence, like echos calling me. I spent time among their remnants and then decided to learn more about them.

In ancient Rome, Vesta was the goddess of the hearth and home and the Vestals were the priestesses of Vesta. They tended the sacred fire inside the Temple of Vesta that was never allowed to go out and from which all Romans could draw fire for their hearths. They existed from about 700 BC to 394 AD "to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off- limits to the male college of priests." (Wikipedia) Besides conducting sacred ceremonies, they were included in state decision making and became an influential force in Rome even serving on College of Pontiffs, made up of the highest ranking priests, as their only female members.

The girls were chosen for this role between the ages of 6 - 10 and served for 30 years; ten years to learn, ten years to serve, and ten years to teach. Unlike Roman women of their time, they had extraordinary freedom, safety and respect and lived independently in luxury. They enjoyed a place of honor at public ceremonies and were free to own property, make a will and vote. Vestals could give evidence without taking an oath because their word was trusted absolutely. Although they were allowed to marry after their 30 years, few did as they would lose their status and independence and be subject to their husbands.

Artist rendering of the house of the Vestals (from Wikipedia):

As Christianity gained prominence and promoted the idea of one, as opposed to many gods, the Vestals were disbanded. There role in protecting Rome for 1000 years and being seen as fundamental to the continuance of Rome was over. 

There's something about reading of women in history who had unique and essential roles and respect that breaks my heart when they lose it. Reading The Mists of Avalon was like that for me, too. Maybe that's what I experienced in this place of the Vestals history. This trace of their energy now gone. I felt it. I grieve this lack of recognition of the feminine contribution in our current culture. How long will it take?   How many girls and women silenced or ignored when their voices are so important?

Amazing Grace in Rome

This is a gorgeous version of Amazing Grace sung by four tenors in the Colosseum in Rome. Stay for the middle part which will knock your socks off! That's all- music for your enjoyment and inspiration.

Click here: AMAZING GRACE sang beautifully by four Tenors!

What inspires you these days? 

The Sistine Chapel

            My favorite place in my recent week in Rome: (click on the [teeny!] link at the end of this post)

Beautiful!

This virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel is incredible. Apparently done by Villanova at the request of the Vatican, but I thought you would enjoy the quality and a bit of Rome on your computer.

TO VIEW EVERY PART OF THE MICHAELANGELO'S MASTERPIECE JUST CLICK AND DRAG YOUR ARROW IN THE DIRECTION YOU WISH TO SEE. In the lower left, click on the plus (+) to move closer, on the minus (-) to move away.  Choir is thrown in for free.  Hold down the left clicker on your mouse or use yor computer's arrow buttons to rotate the picture. AMAZING. MOVE THE ARROW AND YOU WILL SEE EVERY PART OF THE CHAPEL, INCLUDING THE CEILING.

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Roma

Ah Roma…

Even though I live two hours from Rome, my husband and I took a week to really have the time to walk, look, appreciate, sit, soak it up. Rome calls for that. It's hard to know where to let your eyes rest, there's so much. They'll be happy no matter where. So much beauty, art, architecture, history, ambience, good food. Everywhere.  It's a delight to the senses and the heart. The gods cooperated by providing a week of sun and temperate weather unitl the last 2 days when it was windy, cooler but still sunny. Good walking weather. And Rome is a good walking city.

The museums have audio tours available in English and I found these anywhere from quite good to outstanding. There are English speaking tour guides available and we hired one for a fun night tour of Rome and an individualized tour of the Capitol Museums. It costs more for these specialized tours but they're worth it depending on your interests, needs and budget. Our guide majored in Art History at the Sorbonne with a specialty in Italian Art. She was amazing!

The Vatican Museums ending with the Raphael Rooms and the stunning Sistine Chapel were gorgeous and diverse. From classical statuary, Renaissance paintings and Etruscan art to Egyptian artefacts, it can take all day to see or pare it down according to your interests or stamina.  The sheer abundance and extravagance is overwhelming but my favorite was the Sistine Chapel. I just sat and stared at Michalengelo's masterpieces for an hour or more. His spirit seemed immediate in these monumental works and afforded moments of inspiration in the presence of greatness.

Check out the official Vatican Museum website for a trippy look at what's there, from every angle. Go to "exhibitions" and then click on "collections online" and you can see the ravishing Rafael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel from 360 degrees. Stop at whatever you want for closer views. It gives you a flavor anyway.

There are the must sees in Rome like the Trevi Fountain and the Coloseum and some less known destinations like the delicious Giolitti gelateria with the best gelato in Rome! Walking the neighborhoods gives a good feel for their differences and is a great way to people watch to catch the unique Rome vibe.

Outside of Rome, we spent an entire day in Tivoli, a treasure of a place with three villas to amaze and delight visitors. We saw two of them, Hadrian's Villa and Villa D'Este. When I say amazing, I mean awe-inspiring, one-of-a-kind, I'm-so-glad-we-did-this amazed! Hadrian's Villa had ruins of 30 buildings spread over three miles in a beautiful countryside and called it home!  I loved meandering through all this beauty for hours. Villa D'Este was in the town of Tivoli but became it's own world behind the gates. Fountains galore was its speciality. Old town Tivoli is lovely.

One of our walking tours featured the best mosaics in Rome. This took us to three churches rich in this beautiful art. One, San Clemente, featured three levels of excavations in their basement dating back 2000 years to the first century.  The oldest section was a pagan site with intact altars and stone school benches among other artifacts.  Since this is off- peak tourist season, we got to wander around with abandon to our hearts content and just soak in the history.

To think about the decades, the centuries of people who have been here before and to be a part of this human procession over the ages was really a remarkable experience. I'll be back.