Hello Roma (Rome)!

After several train delays, we finally make it to Roma, our last leg to our Italy Trip. Today, we went to the National Museum, home to many Greek and Roman original statues and busts. We also did the Night-Walk Across Rome, which took us from the Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain.

In the center of Campo de Fiori is a statue of Giordano Bruno, a heretic who was burned in 1600 for believing that the earth was round and not the center of the universe. The statue was erected in 1889 despite Vatican protests for honoring a heretic. The statue faces the Vatican Chancellory, where he was condemned. His pedestal reads: And the flames rose up.

After some gelato at the Blue Ice, we made our way to Piazza Navona, an oblong square that was a racetrack built by Emporor Domitian. Here, you will find the massive Four Rivers Fountain (by Gian Lorenzo Bernini) in the center of the square. There are four river gods, which in 1965 represented the four continents - the Nile, the Gagnes, the Danube, and the Rio de la Plata (Uraguay). Also in this Piazza is the Tre Scalani cafe, where chocolate lovers like me could satiate their tastebuds on Rome's specialty dessert - Tartufo - rich chocolate ice cream dipped in dark chocolate!!! This is also where we bought our oil painting of Venice!

Not too far is the Pantheon, first built in 27 BC and later rebuilt in AD 120. It was originally a temple built to honor the pagan gods of ancient Rome, but was later converted to honor the martyrs of christendom (to save it from destruction). It's greaterst wonder is the domed room that inspired future domes - Brunelleschi's dome atop Florence's Duomo, and even Michelangelo's dome atop St. Peter's Basilica. The dome epitomizes ancient Romans' mathematical and engineering perfection. The dome is as high as it is wide - 142 feet. The Pantheon is the only ancient building in Rome still in use today.

From the Pantheon we made our way to the enormous Trevi Fountain, completed in 1762 by Nicola Salvi. Salvi took full advantage of the city's powerful aqueducts; in fact Salvi was hired by a pope to celebrate the reopening of the ancient aqueducts. No street leads to it, but it is very lively, especially at night.

Throughout Rome, you can find 13 obelisks - the more than any other city in the world. Ancient Egypt used obelisks to honor the sun god Ra. The ancient Romans brought these here as a symbol of their occupation of Egypt.

See more pics of Day 19

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See more pics of our Italy Vacation:

Day 1 - Lake Como: Varenna, Menaggio, Bellagio, and Cadenabbia
Day 2 - Varenna, and Bellagio
Day 3 - Venezia (Venice)
Day 4 - Venezia
Day 5 - Venezia
Day 6 - Venezia
Day 7 - Cinque Terre: Vernazza and Monterosso
Day 8 - Cinque Terre: Corniglia, Manorola, and Riomaggiore
Day 9 - Pisa and Firenze (Florence)
Day 10 - Firenze
Day 11 - Firenze
Day 12 - Firenze and Siena
Day 13 - Siena and San Gimignano
Day 14 - Siena
Day 15 - Sorrento
Day 16 - Sorrento, Amalfi, and Ravello
Day 17 - Sorrento, Ercolano (Herculaneum) and Napoli (Naples)
Day 18 - Sorrento and Pompeii
Day 20 - Roma
Day 21 - Roma and the Vatican City
Day 22 - Roma - Our last day in Italy :(

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