Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 

A full day of sightseeing in Rome
Monday, 20th May 2019
 
 
Parking, Rome style - the view from our room.
 
Our guide Flavia met us in the foyer of the hotel at 9:30am. Rain was forecast, but we were well prepared as we set off on foot.
 
Our first stop was at Santa Maria della Vittoria.
 
In the Cornaro Chapel is Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa.
 
 
Fontana dell'Acqua Felice, also called the Fountain of Moses. Like Trevi and others like it, it is the terminus of an aqueduct.
 
Piazza Barberini
 
 
 
We approached the steps from the top, where we paused to admire the view.
 
 
 
At the bottom of the steps we asked Flavia to take this photo of us.
 
 
Our friend Victoria suggested that we look out for this famous tea room. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to stop and indulge!
 
 
 
 
Sant'Andrea delle Fratte
 
Bernini's two angels
 
 
 
 
Within the Rinascente department store is an archaeological site where the Virgin Aqueduct was discovered during works on the basement level. We would never have known it was here without Flavia's knowledge.
 
We revisited the Trevi Fountain...
 
...which was being cleaned and therefore had no water.
 
Galleria Alberto Sordi
 
 
 
The Column of Marcus Aurelius in Piazza Colonna.
 
 
Geoff had long wanted to return to the Pantheon after our visit six years ago when it was closed to the general public because of Pentecost. In fact, it was one of the reasons why he wanted to return to Rome at all. This time we were lucky and being able to go inside was quite special.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A short walk later, we went into San Luigi dei Francesi...
 
 
...with its three Caravaggios!
 
 
Very nearby, we arrived at the wonderful Piazza Navona.
 
Sant'Agnese in Agone (also called Sant'Agnese)
 
Fountain of the Four Rivers
 
 
Fontana del Moro (Moor Fountain) on the south side of Piazza Navona.
 
It was time for our guide, Flavia, to leave us, but we were still keen to carry on exploring. It had started to rain quite heavily so we decided to have a light lunch near Piazza Navona and hope that it cleared soon. We were lucky. By the time we had eaten, the sun was shining again and we headed in the direction of Campo di Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto.
 
 
Campo de Fiori
 
Largo di Torre Argentina, a square with four Roman Republican temples and the remains of Pompey's Theatre.
 
 
 
Synagogue in the Jewish Ghetto
 
Isola Tiberina
 
 
 
 
Teatro Marcello
 
 
 
 
We didn't walk as far as the Colosseum, but we did walk past The Vittorio Emanuele II Monument.
 
 
The Vittorio Emanuele II Monument
 
 
 
Trajan's column
  
 
 
By this time, we were both exhausted... and we still had quite a walk to get back to our hotel...
 
...but we made it eventually, by which time it was time for a drink on the terrace before dinner.
 
After such a long and satisfying day of sightseeing, we had another delicious meal at the same restaurant as last night. We were slightly disturbed before dinner when we got a message from British Airways to say that our flight to Gatwick tomorrow had been cancelled due to strikes at all Italian airports. A quick call to our travel agent in the UK and we were rebooked on a flight to Heathrow instead. Unfortunately it meant that we would have to get up two hours earlier tomorrow than originally planned.
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble