ROMA - A TIMELESS ANCIENT CITY

:)
Dec 24, 2015
3 min read

Ciao e Buon giorno, Roma! Hello and Good morning, Rome!

Rome or known as Roma in Italian is the capital city of Italy. It is also the country's largest and most populated township and the fourth most populous city in the European Union (Wikipedia, 2016). Rome's history spans more than two and a half thousand years.

Today we are taking a brief walk around town. This little kid is too excited chasing pigeons at the courtyard of Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio). The Capitoline Hill is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The Capitoline contains few ground-level ruins, as they are almost entirely covered up by Medieval and Renaissance palaces (now housing the Capitoline Museums) that surround a piazza, a significant urban plan designed by Michelangelo.

Just on the right hand side of the piazza of Capitoline Hill, you will find the gateway to an amazing view of the Roman Forum (Foro Romano). The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the centre of the city of Rome. Citizens of the the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.

Asians at work, as always.

(due) Here we arrive at the Piazza Venezia, just approximately 5 mins walk from the entrance of the Capitoline Hill. Piazza Venezia is the central hub of Rome, Italy. It also served as the embassy of Republic of Venice in Rome. One side of the Piazza is the site of Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Altare della Patria, part of the imposing Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, first King of Italy.

The front view of the Piazza, do watch out for the wet floors. I am not sure if they are always wet or just wet on the days that I visited. On the right, you can climb the bulding for free for an amazing view of the city.

Am I the only one to think that the patterns of the roman ceiling architecture to be pretty?

(tre) the view to town while looking for food

While in Italy, time to dig in on some Funghi Risotto. :D Delizioso!

Hey check out the pretty car with them flashy eyelashes!

(quattro) Here at Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi), standing 26.3 metres high and 49.15 metres wide is a fountain designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one the most famous fountains in the world.

In support of local musicians, this guy is pretty cool.

(cinque) the Pantheon, is a building in Rome, Italy. The present building was completed by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated about 126AD. The building is circular with a porch of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind). Under the dome, is a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.

The oculus looks so unbelivable, I am really inspired how the Romans can achieve such perfection in creation and architecture. I was so curious, so I asked the guard whether if maintenence works or refurbishing was done to the interior of the building. To my amusement, only cleaning works (as far as I know) were done. All parts were retained since long time ago. I hope one day I could come back and see rain falling. It would be such an amazing once in a lifetime experience.

There are many interesting shops hidden amongst the alleys in Rome. From crafts and souvenirs, truffles and cream, to coffee and gelatoes. I bet you'll manage to find something you like. :)

After dinner, we still manage to catch the pretty night view with birds flocking around trees that I describe as "broccoli" looking.

This time around, I didn't bring my camera, so here's pictures credited to our friend - Mr.Kev.

Day 2

The next day, we made our visit to the famous Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti). Here's a picture taken from the front at Piazza di Spagna.