Rome

[anshjain97]

The Forum is among my favourite places in Rome too, you can really feel the history. Unfortunately I didn't have a look at Trajan's Market from the inside but from the outside they are great.

Continuing on, in the Forum.






Moving on to the Palatino, where Rome was originally founded.









View over the Forum... this is from the Botanical Gardens of the Palatino, which are among Europe's oldest.















Ruins of a hut village, where Rome's founder Romulus is said to have lived.









This used to be a vineyard, Vigna Barberini.



Opposite to the Roman Forum are the Imperial Forums, which were important public buildings built by different emperors. Below is the Forum of Nerva.



Trajan's Market.



Trajan's Column, a victory column commemorating Trajan's victory in the conquest of Dacia.



Near my hotel, the area of Prati.






I took the metro to this area well out of the center.



It was interesting to see a different side of Rome.



My purpose in coming here was to visit the Aqueduct Park, which contains ruins of some Roman aqueducts. Since ancient times, Rome has heavily relied on aqueducts to bring in potable water for a large population.















The park was popular with locals jogging/running.



And back to the center.

[htmb]

Truly wonderful to see Rome through the lens of your camera, Ansh. Your photo coverage is excellent.

[anshjain97]

Thank, htmb!

Continuing,



Arriving at the Trevi Fountain.









Coins tossed in by tourists - a wish to guarantee a return to Rome. It is said that nearly 3000 euros are collected on an average day.












St Peter's lit up at night









And the same St Peter's view by day.



In the same general area as the Forums, next to Piazza Venezia, is the Basilica di Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which is the summit of the Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill). It originally dates from the 6th century.









View from the top of the staircase...looking out to Teatro di Marcello.









And this is the adjacent staircase, which leads to Michelangelo's beautiful Piazza del Campidoglio.



This is the square, with the replica of s statue of Marcus Aurelius on a horse- the original is kept in the Capitoline Museums, which cover two of the three buildings on the square.






The square overlooks the Forum.

[questa]

Ansh, I have not been to Rome and had no mental picture except the bits from films. Your pictures have made me feel I was there. They are stunning! The way you have set them out, the angles and variety are marvellous. The Forum ones, specially the big wide one, are beautiful, so different from my vague imagining. I liked the last one with the people moving off through the arch, as if saying good bye.
Thank you for showing me this city, your Rome will be my Rome.

[lagatta]

I tend to be an early riser - I "slept in" until 6:30 this morning, with the rain - and find that is a big help in avoiding crowds, though of course some places have opening hours.

It is a problem if I want to eat out in the evening, as of course Roman dining hours are late. When I was staying in Rome I was in a little studio that was more terrasse than apartment, so I "ate in" in the evening unless I was out with friends or colleagues. I do want to point out that Rome is really Mediterranean, and a nasty fact of life is a specific type of Roman man, the pappagallo, who loves to harass women and in particular tourists. They must be able to pick out tourists just by the way we look at things - I'm not tall or blonde, and didn't dress in shorts or baseball caps (I don't here either ... nowadays Italian dress has changed quite a bit and you could certainly find Italians doing that as well, but not 30 years ago). Usually those men are not dangerous, just annoying. Most Italians think they are stupid. Of course I'm too old for that problem now; there must be some benefits to going grey...

There is a beautiful lookout in Gianicolo, and it can be an escape from the dust and heat of the city. A longer escape is to do as the patricians and Popes did and visit the Castelli Romani (Frascati is the largest town).

content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1850368_1850304_1850287,00.html view from Gianicolo
www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/rome/sights/natural-landmarks/gianicolo

[mossie]

A really comprehensive tour of an historic city. I had no idea so much of the ancient ruins were so visible.

[lagatta]

Not only are many visible, but many are visible a long way out of the historic centre. And then there are the Roman roads. Some friends drove me to a spot along the Appian way, if I recall, with ancient tombs.

And of course there are vestiges of the roads a very long way from Rome: www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ancient-rome/roman-roads/

[anshjain97]

Now in the Capitoline Museums, which are the oldest public museums in the world, dating from the 15th century.






In this room, the frescoes depict the origins of Rome.



This panel depicts the founding of the she-wolf.



One of the museum's highlights is this Etruscan statue called Capitoline Wolf, depicting two infants suckling on a she-wolf - the legend of the origins of Rome.



The original statue of Marcus Aurelius on his horse.



Some views from the museum terrace.



And looking towards the Pantheon's dome.



The underground corridor connecting the two buildings belonging to the museum is called the Tabularium, which served as the archives for ancient Rome.



It has some nice views over the Forum.



Now, in the other building of the museum - the statue of Neptune.



The museum is known for its statuary collection.






Back outside now- some Byzantine frescoes on the ruins underneath somewhere on Piazza Venezia.









Going in the neighbourhood of Monti, which leds off from just north of the Colosseum.

[questa]

Lovely, lovely again. I am devastated that there are no swarms of Vespas and Lambrettas weaving around traffic snarls and crazy drivers. Another imagining of mine now gone.

[anshjain97]

Now moving on to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.





















I had not visited this part of town on my first visit and I'm glad I finally did - not only is it beautiful with great sights, there do seem to be fewer tourists (well, by Rome's standards) here, espite it being central and very close to the Colosseum.



Of course, by the time you're at Termini station (Rome's main railway station), the area is't quite as lovely. This is right opposite the station.






Here is an amazing museum, which sees few crowds, showcasing among other things mosaics, frescoes and other ornamentation wealthy ancient Roman households used.






One of the highlights is this full-room decoration from the house of Livia, one of emperor Augustus's wives.

[lagatta]

Yes, most of the tourists are concentrated in a relatively small portion of Rome. And there is a suprising number of worthwhile sites, whether Roman or Renaissance, at quite a remove from the microcentre.

You might enjoy exploring San Lorenzo, where the largest university is located (thus, student ambiance) or the old working-class neighbourhood of Testaccio - where the slaughterhouses were once located, but no longer are - known for its good and often reasonably-priced food. Le Devoir, a Montréal daily, recommended this tavola calda there: www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/rome/restaurants/cafe/volpetti-piu Those are handy places to eat for lone travellers, but they vary in quality: some have reheated, poor-quality food, others are quite good.

San Lorenzo is just past Termini, in the other direction from the historic microcentre. Testaccio is easy to access via tram. The FAO headquarters is nearby.

[bixaorellana]

Dear Ansh, I am finally home and able to give this remarkable feat of reportage its due. Really, it bears going through more than once and is a big impetus to visit Rome. I don't know how anyone is able to make such coherent and entertaining account of a city as you did here and also in your Istanbul thread, but you certainly do it with wit, economy, and intelligence.

I love all your pictures and how they make the city come together in my mind -- not only the informative ones, but the ones that capture your own feeling of the place, as in the 5th one down on this page and the delicately perfect ones of the light coming up over St. Peter's.

One thing that sank in from looking at your pictures is how the city seems to have a subtle golden glow, but the ruins are a more sedate brickish brown, reflecting the character of pre-decadence Rome.

You wrote: I spent about five nights there which is really inadequate but I think I used my time well.
You definitely did use it well! Still, I'd like to know what amount of time you'd recommend for a first visit to Rome and how best to use that time.

And speaking of time, huge thanks for taking the time to make this excellent report and to share it with us.

[breeze]

Ansh, I just came across this thread too and lapped it up. You must have planned well beforehand, since you managed to get around quite a bit of the city.

[anshjain97]

Hi all, I unfortunately couldn't post everything as my imageshack subscription ran out! Oh well- but thanks so much for your comments!

I honestly think it's incredibly hard to suggest an amount of time to get a glimpse of Rome, more so than most other cities, but I think 3-4 days will allow one to see some of the most iconic sights and enjoy just being in Rome= walking around, trying some great food. However, I guess it's possible to spend weeks without running out of things to see. And if you add daytrips, well, Rome has so much to offer.

[gabriele]

I was looking on Any Port for something to recommend on a thread on TT....(people visiting Italy, including Rome) and what a pleasure and joy to find this! While I'm happy to see your name show up on TT occasionally I'm much happier to see your posts here. What a glorious exploration, thank you so much.
I had come across an article on the Pantheon earlier this December and bookmarked it in case anyone asked about lesser-known places to visit in Rome. Here's the article. Since it's from an architecture website, there are more details about its construction and such, hope you enjoy it.
www.archdaily.com/802201/ad-classics-roman-pantheon-emperor-hadrian

[bjd]

I don't know how I missed this the first time, but it's indeed a great thread about Rome. And it is perfect timing for me, since I just started reading Mary Beard's latest book about Roman history, "SPQR" and the photos of the forum, the mosaics, etc all fit it with what I am reading.