All roads lead to Roma.
My hostel, The Yellow, was a decent one. As one of the reviewers puts it: "This is your typical big hostel." Not my favorite type, but well organized and clean. Most importantly, it was conveniently located near the train station. I started my day walking towards downtown. The first major church on the way was the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
It was one of the papal churches, which means that it must be well maintained because the Pope is one of the richest guys in town.
I didn't spend too much time inside because I knew it was going to be a busy day.
The streets of Roma had their unique charm: Cozy, sometimes chaotic.
Look at this traffic light, isn't it cute?
Walking further southwest, I arrived at the second church of the day, Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli. It was located in a small hill and with a modest entrance, it even took me for a while to find it.
The church housed the chains that held St. Peter in prison. But the main attraction in this church was this set of statue.
Once again, it was the great Michelangelo who made this amazing sculpture of Moses.
Let's get a front view of it.
Getting out of the church, I was a little lost, until I located the grand Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II.
It was a huge, three-story building honoring the first king who united Italy.
The center of it was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which explained the presence of flags, I think.
A closer look at the Italian National Flag.
The monument provided a nice view over part of the city.
Then I walked southwest towards the Colosseo. Between them were a lot of remains of the ancient city of Roma.
They used to be a series of imperial forums at the center of the city.
I couldn't remember all of their names although there were simple descriptions on display, mostly in Italian.
Through the magic of Google, I was able to identify this one as the Trajan's Forum.
And this one, Temple of Mars Ultor.
The Temple of Mars Ultor was part of the Forum of Augustus.
In sunset, they looked amazing.
There were two statues nearby: One for Julius Caesar and this one for Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.
Some architectural details.
I found this by accident. If you look closely, there were four maps of Europe on the wall. On each map, a white area indicated the growing territory of Roman Empire. I thought it was a great idea.
I walked further into the center of the city and my first stop was the mighty Pantheon.
I took some time to look at this ancient wonder from the outside.
Walked further in, you could see the famous Corinthian order.
You might have seen it in many places. But do you know that it was the Pantheon that provided the perfect model for later architects?
The first thing you might notice on a sunny day inside the Pantheon was the bright light came down right through the oculus, the hole in the center of the dome.
The Pantheon used to be a Roman church worshiping all Roman gods. Later, it was used as a Christian church. That was why it didn't have the usual design of a Christian church, whose plan would resemble the cross.
The main altar was richly decorated.
Only the most important persons would have the honor of being buried here. Among them were King Victor Emmanuel II and Raphael.
And I could not leave without my picture taken here.
I wondered around and saw so many churches around that I could barely remember their names, even after googling around. I found this picture of Santa Maria on a corner of a building.
After the visit to Vatican City, I did remember the coat of arms of the current Pope. You would find it on papal churches.
The Piazza Navona was just several blocks west of the Pantheon. Two fountains marked this oval-shaped piazza. The one on the near end was Fontana del Nettuno.
On one side was the Palazzo Braschi.
The Fontana del Nettuno had very interesting sculptures.
I had lunch in the center of the city, where food was abundant. Then I walked back through Piazza Venezia to my next stop, the Colosseo.
The Colosseum was even bigger than I thought. It was a perfect stadium with easy access from all directions.
I took my time walking inside slowly, imagining the gladiators and beasts. Click here for a big version of this panorama.
I gladly had my picture taken, thanks to a kind fellow tourist.
The Arco di Costantino was just around the corner. You could see it even from inside the Colosseum.
After I exited the Colosseo, I walked around to see it from different angles. By the way, there was a pretty nice exhibition about the Greek god Eros, where the word "erotic" was derived. As I mentioned before, it was a nice scholarly discussion about human sexuality, featuring items from all over Italy.
A closer look at the facade.
Finally, my favorite picture of the Colosseum in sunset.
After the Colosseo, I still have some time and energy to spare. So I walked all the way up again to the "most romantic" place in Roma, the Fontana di Trevi. It was PACKED. There were so many people hanging around, talking loudly and taking pictures. I could not relate it in any way to the word "romantic". So I quickly did the usual, tossing in a coin for good luck, and left.
Somewhere on my way, I saw this old dog resting at the door, motionless. He did not mind me taking a picture of him at all. It was a hot day.
By the time I walked back to my hostel, it was already dark. I couldn't believe how much I had walked in one day.
My hostel, The Yellow, was a decent one. As one of the reviewers puts it: "This is your typical big hostel." Not my favorite type, but well organized and clean. Most importantly, it was conveniently located near the train station. I started my day walking towards downtown. The first major church on the way was the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
It was one of the papal churches, which means that it must be well maintained because the Pope is one of the richest guys in town.
I didn't spend too much time inside because I knew it was going to be a busy day.
The streets of Roma had their unique charm: Cozy, sometimes chaotic.
Look at this traffic light, isn't it cute?
Walking further southwest, I arrived at the second church of the day, Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli. It was located in a small hill and with a modest entrance, it even took me for a while to find it.
The church housed the chains that held St. Peter in prison. But the main attraction in this church was this set of statue.
Once again, it was the great Michelangelo who made this amazing sculpture of Moses.
Let's get a front view of it.
Getting out of the church, I was a little lost, until I located the grand Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II.
It was a huge, three-story building honoring the first king who united Italy.
The center of it was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which explained the presence of flags, I think.
A closer look at the Italian National Flag.
The monument provided a nice view over part of the city.
Then I walked southwest towards the Colosseo. Between them were a lot of remains of the ancient city of Roma.
They used to be a series of imperial forums at the center of the city.
I couldn't remember all of their names although there were simple descriptions on display, mostly in Italian.
Through the magic of Google, I was able to identify this one as the Trajan's Forum.
And this one, Temple of Mars Ultor.
The Temple of Mars Ultor was part of the Forum of Augustus.
In sunset, they looked amazing.
There were two statues nearby: One for Julius Caesar and this one for Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.
Some architectural details.
I found this by accident. If you look closely, there were four maps of Europe on the wall. On each map, a white area indicated the growing territory of Roman Empire. I thought it was a great idea.
I walked further into the center of the city and my first stop was the mighty Pantheon.
I took some time to look at this ancient wonder from the outside.
Walked further in, you could see the famous Corinthian order.
You might have seen it in many places. But do you know that it was the Pantheon that provided the perfect model for later architects?
The first thing you might notice on a sunny day inside the Pantheon was the bright light came down right through the oculus, the hole in the center of the dome.
The Pantheon used to be a Roman church worshiping all Roman gods. Later, it was used as a Christian church. That was why it didn't have the usual design of a Christian church, whose plan would resemble the cross.
The main altar was richly decorated.
Only the most important persons would have the honor of being buried here. Among them were King Victor Emmanuel II and Raphael.
And I could not leave without my picture taken here.
I wondered around and saw so many churches around that I could barely remember their names, even after googling around. I found this picture of Santa Maria on a corner of a building.
After the visit to Vatican City, I did remember the coat of arms of the current Pope. You would find it on papal churches.
The Piazza Navona was just several blocks west of the Pantheon. Two fountains marked this oval-shaped piazza. The one on the near end was Fontana del Nettuno.
On one side was the Palazzo Braschi.
The Fontana del Nettuno had very interesting sculptures.
I had lunch in the center of the city, where food was abundant. Then I walked back through Piazza Venezia to my next stop, the Colosseo.
The Colosseum was even bigger than I thought. It was a perfect stadium with easy access from all directions.
I took my time walking inside slowly, imagining the gladiators and beasts. Click here for a big version of this panorama.
I gladly had my picture taken, thanks to a kind fellow tourist.
The Arco di Costantino was just around the corner. You could see it even from inside the Colosseum.
After I exited the Colosseo, I walked around to see it from different angles. By the way, there was a pretty nice exhibition about the Greek god Eros, where the word "erotic" was derived. As I mentioned before, it was a nice scholarly discussion about human sexuality, featuring items from all over Italy.
A closer look at the facade.
Finally, my favorite picture of the Colosseum in sunset.
After the Colosseo, I still have some time and energy to spare. So I walked all the way up again to the "most romantic" place in Roma, the Fontana di Trevi. It was PACKED. There were so many people hanging around, talking loudly and taking pictures. I could not relate it in any way to the word "romantic". So I quickly did the usual, tossing in a coin for good luck, and left.
Somewhere on my way, I saw this old dog resting at the door, motionless. He did not mind me taking a picture of him at all. It was a hot day.
By the time I walked back to my hostel, it was already dark. I couldn't believe how much I had walked in one day.
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