Tourist Mecca Trail Around Rome

Meh, we did the usual tourist mecca trail around Rome today.  Yes, we are chomping at the bit to visit the Roman and Imperial forums, which are right here, right near us, but we want to wait for good weather, which is supposed to happen tomorrow.

We set out to check out a train station which is about 3 km or a 30 minute walk from where we are staying.  This took us outside the tourist zone, it was wonderful.  We saw old city walls, so we went to check it out.  They are the Aurelianic Walls, 271 - 275 AD.

Not far from the Aurelianic Walls is a museum of Greek and Roman sculpture which is cleverly displayed in a decommissioned power station, so we headed in that direction.  Then we decided that we had seen enough sculpture for now and were about to turn around.  However, I saw a rotunda and some wall so we went over to see what it was all about.  Well, it turned out to be a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery from WWII.  There are 422 graves in this war cemetery, of which, 22 are Canadian.  What a peaceful place it is, with the exception of two nearby roosters, crowing like the mad little beasts that they tend to be.

It is impossible to get lost in Rome.  We wanted to walk a different route back to the main area of Rome so we just walked in the direction of the Tiber river and followed it until we were back in the throng of visitors.

Piazza Navona

The Piazza Navona was actually the Stadium of Domitian, a race course put up during the Emperor Domitian’s reign, dated 92 - 96 AD.  The stadium had a hairpin shape at one end and a straight wall at the other.  A concrete hill was built and lined with stone seats, there was also a wall surrounding the stadium with two tiers of arches and columns.  The superstructure was concrete faced with brick.  It is quite interesting to note that the Romans preserved the stadium in the form of the Piazza Navona.

Two rather famous Baroque architects, Bernini and Borromini both have works in the Piazza Navona.  Bernini designed the Fountain of the Four Rivers, which is rather ugly.  Borromini, the moodier of the two and a rival, designed the Baroque church that sits alongside the piazza.  At either end are two additional fountains.

The Fountain of Neptune

The Piazza Navona, was the Stadium of Domitian, the Fountain of the Four Rivers is in the centre.

We then wandered off to the Spanish Steps, which is a place where people hang out and sit on the steps.  This is also the favourite haunt of the flower pushers.  Guys with some crappy looking roses push them right at you and you have to take evasive manoeuvres.

Rome is such a shopping mecca, from one extreme to the next.  You know when you are getting near to a tourist area as the kitch starts to appear.  Then you will pass by designer label stores with spendy jewelry, shoes, handbags, clothing, the whole consumerism bandwagon on display.  The area we are staying in is actually pretty neat as there are a lot of tiny shops selling retro and old antique type wares.

The Piazza Polopo

This piazza is massive, there is a fountain in the centre with a series of lions spewing water from their mouths.  The people clamour up onto the lions and pose with them to get their photos taken by their companions, John refers to them as selfies.

Neptune flanked by two Tritons, Tritons are Greek mythological creatures.

Personification of Rome, between the Tiber and the Aniene Rivers.  There is also a she-wolf feeding Romulus and Remus, the she-wolf is actually Etruscan, but the Romans stuck the mythological founders of Rome under her to suckle.

The Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain was a mob scene, this is a very popular visitor destination.  The fountains were usually the terminus of an aqueduct.