Ciao Bella!
Indeed, Rome is one of the beautiful places to see!
No other city comes close. It may no longer be caput mundi (capital of the world), but Rome is an epic, bubbling-over metropolis harbouring lost empires. One visit and you’ll be hooked. Rome has a glorious monumentality that it wears without reverence. Its architectural heirlooms are buzzed around by car and Vespa as if they were no more than traffic islands. – by Lonely Planet
I had the opportunity to visit Rome after the World Youth Day 2005. If you read my Travel Times these past few weeks, they are all related to our Euro Trip after the WYD celebration. So I apologize if I can’t remember all the details, I just want to take note of these milestones in my life.
To start off, we stayed in the Hotel Palace – President that is located in Pomezia, Italy.
As much as I want to this entry to be as detailed as possible, I really can’t recall everything. I’ll try my best to show you the beautiful sites I’ve seen when we visited Roma Italia!
Famous Landmarks in Rome besides the Basilicas:
The Colosseum is the most extraordinary of all Rome’s monuments. It’s not just the amazing completeness of the place, or its size, but the sense of its gory history that resonates: it was here that gladiators met in mortal combat and condemned prisoners fought off hungry lions. – the Lonely Planet review for Colosseum
We had the chance to go inside and see the ruins of the Colosseum. I think this lights up at night and a different view can be seen by then. However, due to limited time, we only went there during the day.
Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means “People’s Square”, but historically it derives from the poplars (populus in Latin, pioppo in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name. – by Wikipedia
If the Philippines has People’s Park or Luneta and China has Tianan Men Square, well Rome has Piazza del Popolo that means “People Square“. We had our time to take some photos while we were resting since it was a hot sunny day that time.
Competition is fierce, but the Pantheon is surely ancient Rome’s most astonishing building. This Roman temple has been standing for almost 2000 years, and it’s a unique, unparalleled experience to enter its great doors and have your vision directed upwards, just as it would have been for the ancient Romans. – the Lonely Planet review for Pantheon
Truly, a remarkable one! The architecture is pretty amazing as it has a hole at the center of the ceiling which they call the Patheon Dome.
Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps
Piazza di Spagna and the famous Spanish Steps (Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) have been a magnet for foreigners since the 18th century. In the late 1700s the area was much loved by English visitors on the Grand Tour and was known to locals as er ghetto de l’inglesi (the English ghetto). – the Lonely Planet review for Spanish Steps
A two in one spot in Rome. This is the famous place seen in different movies like Lizzie Mcguire Movie. When you go there, you’ll see a lot of tourists too!
Immortalised by Anita Ekberg’s dip in La Dolce Vita, the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) is Rome’s largest and most famous fountain. The flamboyant baroque ensemble was designed by Nicola Salvi in 1732 and depicts Neptune’s chariot being led by Tritons with sea horses – one wild, one docile – representing the moods of the sea. – the Lonely Planet review for Trevi Fountain
Similar to the Spanish Steps, this fountain can be seen in a lot of movies too like When in Rome. As tradition says, when you toss a coin to the fountain and make a wish , it’ll come true. Well, I did toss a coin for me and my friends and they told me their wish actually came true. As for me, I really can’t remember what my wish was. I always ask for a general wish though. :p
Basilicas in Rome: (these are only few of the many Basilicas you can see and visit in Rome)
There are quite a number of Basilicas we entered in Rome and I’m not quite sure what is what base from my pictures. If ever you noticed that my labels are wrong, kindly inform me. Haha! I won’t go into details though, I’ll just enumerate some of them.
As far as I can remember, we visited the following:
St. Mary of the Angeles, St. Paul Basilica, San Giovanni in Laterano, Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Chiara.
Of course, our pilgrimage is not complete without visiting the Vatican City. The St. Peter’s Square and Basilica is a must!
We also visited the late Pope John Paul II’s tomb.
Another interesting site we saw in Rome is the Bocca della Verità or commonly known as the “mouth of truth“. This served as a lie detector in the Ancient times. It was said that when someone puts their hand inside the mouth and told a lie, their hand will be bitten off!
Lastly, we visited one of the catacombs in Rome called “Catacomb of St. Calixtus“.
These are the largest, most famous and busiest of Rome’s catacombs. Founded at the end of the 2nd century and named after Pope Calixtus I, they became the official cemetery of the newly established Roman Church. – the Lonely Planet review for Catacombe di San Callisto
We went inside and our priests even con-celebrated mass there. Photos are not allowed inside so we only have pictures during the mass and some of its surroundings.
As you can see, we only went to a number of sites in Rome but those are included in the Top 10 things to do in Rome. I regret that we didn’t even get inside the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum. Since it was a peak season, there was a long queue of tourists wanted to go inside. We can’t afford to fall in line since we’re in a schedule. I hope I can visit the country again and re-visit these places and check out those we haven’t been to.
To know more about Rome, you can visit The Lonely Planet’s Rome Overview.
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