Day 38 – Rome – Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Victor Emmanuel II Monument, Roman Forum, Colosseum

We got up reasonably early this morning and had a great breakfast!

As it was supposed to be a beautiful sunny day we decided to go to as many outdoor attractions as possible.

Our hotel is near the main train station, Roma Termini, so we are actually quite central and can walk to most things.

Today we started off walking to the Trevi Fountain. Along the way we discovered San Carlo Quattro Fontaine or Saint Charles at the Four Fountains is a small church (it wasn’t open to go inside) dedicated to San Carlo that sits on a south-west corner of the “Quattro Fontane” which refers to the four corner fountains set on the oblique at the intersection of two roads.

I have seen the Trevi Fountain before in spring and it was crowded, you could barely get to the edge of the fountain. But this morning there was barely anyone there and Peter & I got to enjoy the architecture of the fountain and the sheer size of the statues. As I had thrown a coin in the fountain last time I was in Rome I got Peter to toss a coin in a make a wish.

Following a map of Rome (and they are not easy to read!) we started walking to the Pantheon. As is the way in Rome we stumbled upon the Templo Adriano or Temple of Hadrian. The temple was erected in honor of Emperor Hadrian. These were just random columns sitting in a Piazza or square.

We got to the Pantheon and Peter was suitably impressed with the basilica and the dome. This temple was dedicated to the worship of all gods (Pan Theon- all gods) and was built by Emperor Hadrian between 118 and 125 AD on the remains of an earlier temple of 27 a.d. which still bears the inscription and consecrated as Christian church in 609 with the name of Santa Maria the Martyrs.

Around the corner from the Pantheon is the Piazza della Minerva which has a pretty little church and a statue with an elephant. The name of the Piazza derives from the existence of a temple built on the site by Pompey dedicated to Minerva Calcidica, whose statue is now in the Vatican Museums. The Elephant and Obelisk sculpture was designed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The elephant was probably executed by his assistant Ercole Ferrata; the Egyptian obelisk was uncovered during nearby excavations.

We then walked to the Victor Emmanuel II Monument, the big white monument with the winged statues you can see from pretty much anywhere in central Rome! This monument symbolizes Victor Emmanuel and the movement for a united Italy. It has a huge statue of Victor sitting on a horse, which weighs 50 tons! At the base of the statue is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and there are always soldiers standing there. You can go to the roof of the monument in a glass elevator on the outside of the building. The views from the roof over Rome are spectacular!

From here we walked to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We purchased an audio guide so we would know what we were looking at but I didn’t find it very helpful! We wondered around for a couple of hours looking at everything and taking photos.

Across the road from the Roman Forum is the Colosseum. It was very busy but we got in pretty much straight away. I have seen the Colosseum before but Peter hadn’t.

Here are a collection of video clips taken by Peter highlighting the many wonders of Rome: