ROME - THE ETERNAL CITY

Rome became known as the Eternal City because is of its fierce history of achievements and conquering lands far and wide, so it is easy to see that Romans felt themselves invincible.  Their belief was such was that if Rome fell - then so would the rest of the world - hence it became known as The Eternal City!

And the saying that Rome wasn't built in a day? Well that's easy to see where that came from - during the great days of the Roman empire, their fabulous buildings were both architecturally beautiful and also built to last - with many still standing several centuries later.

This is Anne C and while my colleague Anne H has been to Rome many times (and wrote about it a couple of years ago here and here),  but this was my first visit. I have tried to approach it slightly differently to her blog, so I hope you're not bored!

My daughter and I flew to Rome in January to celebrate her birthday - and we both fell in love with the city! It is everything you read about, see in photos and watch in the movies - and much more.  

It is a vibrant, happy, beautiful, stunning and historic city with plenty to do and see.  Turn any street corner and you find remains of the magnificent buildings which once formed one of the most powerful civilisations in the world at the time.

Our hotel

We booked into a small Bed & Breakfast, the Domus Libera, in the centre of the city and obviously had no idea what it would actually be like.  My daughter made the arrangements, and when I saw the address, l was disappointed to see that it was in a back alley and we had a code to enter the door as there was no reception between 7pm and 7am. However, we did actually get in without any problem as the code worked perfectly.  The lift was so tiny that the two of us and two cases didn't fit it, so she gamely walked up the three flights to our room - which was opened with said code!

But what a surprise! The room was just lovely - a large king sized bed, huge bathroom with double sinks, loo and bidet and lovely toiletries. (See my daughter's Tripadvisor review here  for more information about the hotel). 

The Trevi Fountain

We ventured out to get something to eat, and just a few minutes later found ourselves next to the Trevi Fountain.  Tick one off the bucket list! Despite the fact that it was January, the fountain area was very very busy, so I dread to think what it is like in high season.  We visited both during the day and on our first evening, and I think it is probably my favourite place in Rome - it did not fail to inspire with its beauty and stunning turquoise waters.

After a good night's sleep, we went down to reception, which doubled as the breakfast area.  Again, we had a fabulous surprise.  Although small, there was plenty of continental fayre to eat, and they had catered especially for my daughter who is gluten intolerant.  The two reception staff, friendly Speranza and handsome Lorenzo, were absolutely lovely and totally made our stay enjoyable with their help, constant smiles and helpful suggestions.

The Colosseum and Roman Forum

A short 15 minute stroll took us straight to the Colosseum, which of course is stunning.  We had booked a full tour which wasn't cheap (there are several from which to choose), but our tour guide, Tiziana, spoke excellent English and had the most wonderful sense of humour (apparently ancient Romans were short and women were not allowed in the Colosseum, she told us - so imagine 6,000 Hobbit men in here....)

You will notice that only part of the Colosseum outer walls exist due to the great earthquake of 1349 - half of the structure was built on sandy terrain and the rest on more stable ground.  The damaged stones were later used to build palaces and churches throughout Rome - hence why there are many holes in the walls where the metal rods holding the stones were also removed.

Unfortunately because it was January, we were not able to go underneath the ground floor during winter months, but we could see into the Hypogeum (the underground), which was a disappointment. Currently the area is a building site, undergoing a $20million renovation to construct a new arena on the site, which will eventually be used to hold events and re-enactments.

The tour also included the adjoining Roman Forum - known as the heartbeat of ancient Rome and its Empire.  Historians believe the first meeting there was 500BC.  We saw where the funeral pyre of Julius Caesar took place, and the following day just happened along the Largo di Torre Argentina in the middle of a shopping district, which was where Brutus inflicted the fatal wound that killed him.  

This area was close to shops and our favourite gluten free restaurant, and was actually in part a cat sanctuary where you could "adopt" a kitty.  (It's a wonder we didn't come home with another one since we wanted to smuggle one home, they were so cute). We had found the restaurant, incidentally, when Lorenzo rang round on our behalf to local establishments near to the hotel to find one which served gluten free food.  Obviously when you're in Italy, you have to eat the most delicious pizza and pasta!

Vatican City

Our next tour was of the Vatican City, again, one which we pre-booked.  Our guide was an art historian so we certainly got chapter and verse about every painting, fresco and map,  since she was extremely knowledgeable about all the famous artists and sculptors.  

MichaelAngelo, famous for painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling was in fact a celebrated sculptor before he began one of the most famous tasks in the Western world!  Of course all were completely awe-inspiring and such stunningly beautiful works of art from the ceiling to even the floors - one of which was decorated in the luminous blue, ground from lapiz lazuli stone and which was used by many of the Renaissance artists - often for the Virgin's Mary's startling blue robes.

The Vatican is the smallest country in the world, and the Pope is the King.  It is easy to be confused by the number of popes and kings unless you have studied them, but each has left something of themselves behind in the Vatican, even including the scandalous Borgia family (Pope Alexander V1 was born Rodrigo de Borja and fathered several children by his mistresses).

Photographs are not allowed to be taken in the Sistine Chapel (so I've used this photo below which I found online), and in certain parts of the Chapel and St Peter's Basilica, there are signs requesting silence.  I was horrified, particularly at the gate of St Peter's tomb to hear a family loudly shouting and laughing at their young children who were running riot at the tomb.  While I am not particularly religious, it is a holy place and not an amusement park.  The kids were obviously bored - maybe they should have taken them to a playground.

St Peter's Basilica

Staying with the Basilica, we saw the world-famous statue, Pieta by Michaelangelo, depicting Mary holding the body of Jesus after his Crucifixion.  This sits behind gates and bullet-proof glass, since a  vandal attacked the priceless artifact, chopping off Mary's nose, arm and fingers with an axe.  He was never charged with an offence, but spent two years in an Italian sanatorium and then deported. The statue is one of the few ever to be repaired, since this can negate its authenticity, but it was felt this piece was too important to leave so severely damaged.

You can climb to the top of the dome, but there are more than 400 steps, and a lift which only goes part-way, so I knew I would never make it to the top.  Besides, I hate heights, and this is one scary drop!

If you do every venture to Rome, visit the Vatican on Wednesdays.  Unfortunately we did not know when we booked that Wednesday is the day the Pope appears on the balcony when he is in residence.  We went on Tuesday!

Rome by Night

We later returned to the Colliseum that evening to see the fabulous building at night - and it is just as stunning as during the daytime, although we couldn't actually go inside the walls.

In fact Rome is just as stunning at night as it is during the day.  Many of the old ancient stones are lit up and are even more impressive by moonlight.

Hop-on, Hop-off Bus

As always when we do a city tour, we do the hop-on hop-off bus tour.  However, because the streets are so narrow, the bus cannot drive through the centre - so it did a loop around the city, pointing out yet more fountain monuments (250 of them) and water drinking fountains (several hundred) but you couldn't actually see the main attractions because many are down side alleys and in pedestrian areas.

The Pantheon

We had seen the Pantheon on the first day - the circular church in the  Piazza della Rotunda (where we had the most delicious pasta lunch, though also the most expensive!) Originally a Roman Temple, it is now a Roman Catholic Church ( the Basilica de Santa Maria ad Martyres, or Church of St Mary and the Martyrs).  Despite its age - it was dedicated around 126 AD, it is still the world's largest unenforced concrete dome, despite being in constant use.

Our final day there was spent revisiting those places we loved the most - including the Trevi Fountain by day, which is stunning - and eating the most delicious ice creams.  The gelato shops sell so many delicious flavours that you just have to try as many as you can while you're there! We also paid a second visit to the Spanish Steps - again another place which was very busy so it was difficult to get good shot without hordes of tourists in the picture. It's also very close to all the designer shops -  a good place to go window shopping only!

The Spanish Steps

I hope I haven't bored you with the history - there is so much of it and so many churches. ruins, museums and fabulous buildings of such historic significance, that it was impossible to see in just a few days.

I have to admit there was a lot of walking - something which I find difficult after a while since a bad accident a couple of years ago fractured my spine.  I had to have frequent stops with either cappuccino or gelato to fortify me, but a tip for those not used to walking is to wear very thick rubber soled shoes, trainers or boots - there are lots of cobbled streets and after a while I could feel every piece of grit in my normal-soled patent leather boots!

It is one of the few places to which I hope to return - we had such a magical time.  The weather was kind to us, the people were friendly, the food was incredible and the place is just stunning.  It is also hard to imagine how far advanced a civilisation Rome was more than 2000 years ago, and how well it has stood the test of time.

Caio Rome - I'll be back!