Some rain, more rain and some more more rain and the hail one afternoon in Siena. O sole mio, dov’e sei? Otherwise, lots of fun, good food, chianti, lots of art and medieval history 🙂 So besides the sun that I haven’t found, Tuscany is best known for its rolling hills, which are populated by […]
Some large city in a hilly region in North Rhine-Westphalia, Wuppertal is a constellation of smaller towns on the high banks of the Wupper River. In the early days of industrialisation the Wupper Valley was a hotbed of nascent industry in a landscape of textile mills and coal mines. The wealth that these businesses brought […]
What’s the first image that springs to mind when you think of Switzerland? If it’s cheese, chocolate, banking, or mountains, then you have the same impression of the country as most people. To the reality of these stereotypes, I am adding some more. Stereotype number 1: You know how they say that Switzerland is super […]
Regensburg Best visiting is the golden hour visiting – every corner seems enlightened, every rooftop has its moment, every facade shows its magic pulled out from the history of being. And indeed, when strolling through Regensburg, you encounter evidence of the city’s magnificent history every step of the way. Regensburg is a city in eastern Bavaria, […]
A girl who spent most of her life next to the border with Slovenia, it is hard to explain what this country is about. To me, the country of Slovenia was a place to do the shopping, the place where people speak my dialect but not my official language, a country that always complicates the […]
It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine. Following its rise to prominence in the Age of Enlightenment, it was nicknamed the “capital of Eastern France” in the late 19th century. The motto of the city is Non inultus premor, latin for ‘”I am not injured unavenged”, a reference to the thistle, which is a symbol of Lorraine. The exiled […]
There is a post on my blog already dedicated to Flemish cities of Belgium . But I have decided that this city deserves one single post for itself. Even more, as I have been to Brugge many times, and as always, there is a place to discover something new. With its cobbled streets, crooked bridges, […]
The two cousins that like to compete. Prague is obviously the capital, and Brno a second biggest city in Czech Republic. It is quite clear that Prague is beautiful, great historical city and a capital which means way more opportunities, foreigners, tourists, businesses.On the other hand, Brno is a very compact city, with great atmosphere, […]
If you are not familiar with Madeira, it is a Portuguese island sitting in the Atlantic Ocean between Portugal and Morocco. It is an archipelago in region known as Macaronesia (group of volcanic islands: Azores, Madeira, Canary Island and Tenerife and Cabo Verde). History by Greeks claims this might be Atlantida. Plutarch writes the impressions of founding […]
Visiting the Burg Eltz it was inevitable to stroll down the hills of Rhineland-Palatinate and explore. To be honest, the navigation was not up to date as bringing us to the closed local roads or reserved only for the local agricultural vehicles. But there is a beauty in getting lost like that! 🙂 Koblenz is […]
Eltz Castle (German: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. Hidden in the western Germany, in the hills above river Mosel, deep deep in the Rhineland […]
Guess what’s new? – Corona. Guess how long it will last? – China. Never mind. The travel ban is still on for Belgium, so explorations within the country continues. This weekend was reserved for Tournai. A beautiful city on the west of Belgium. Kinda looks like Lille at the first sight. Although, being part of […]
Once upon a time, there was the Red Riding Hood dreaming about visiting the city of Rome. She dreamed and dreamed and kept dreaming but somehow this city kept avoiding her. Until March 2016! So much history from different time periods, so much good coffee and vines and food and nice little charming restaurants and […]
Once upon a time, there was the Red Riding Hood dreaming about visiting the city of Rome. She dreamed and dreamed and kept dreaming but somehow this city kept avoiding her. Until March 2016!
So much history from different time periods, so much good coffee and vines and food and nice little charming restaurants and of course: the sunshine! 🙂
When I arrived there I notices the chaotic city and how noone respects the traffic rules, but I was not discouraged. Like in Paris, I put my pink sunglasses on and started to explore.
The first thing that came on my way was Santa Maria Maggiore, a 19 century basilica, the largest church in Rome that is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Not famous at all, but standing glorious in front of me I thought: if this uknown building is so big and impressive, what are the mos famous one like? Inner part of the church is entirely shiny in gold and marble. Under the high altar of the basilica is the Crypt of the Nativity or Bethlehem Crypt, with a crystal reliquary said to contain wood from the Holy Crib of the nativity of Jesus Christ.
Front side of Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore
Fronstide of the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore
Innerside of basilica
Altar
Reliquary of the Holy Crib
Backside with the apse are
But I wanted to start from the beginning, as the history lover and discoverer. So I went down to Foro Romano where the history of the Western civilisation started.
Rome’s history spreads for more than two and a half thousand years. There are signs of Roman mythology and culture everywhere you look around… So the Roman Forum was a city square today surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of antique Rome.
Foro Romano a
Remains of the old Roman Metropola
Remains of Temple of Saturn
A bit outside of the Palatine Hill is the famous Colosseum – the largest amphitheater ever built, around 1 century built by emperor Vespasian. It could hold around 80 000 spectators coming to watc gladiatorial contests and public spectacles.
The Collosseum
The Colosseum arena
Opposite of the Colosseum is the Temple of Venus: the largest temple in Ancient Rome. Located on the Velian Hill, it was dedicated to the goddesses Venus Felix (lat Venus the Bringer of Good Fortune). The architect was the emperor Hadrian and construction began in 2 century.
Temple of Venus
Left of the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, a triumphal arch erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine I’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 4 century.
Arch of Constantine and Colosseum
The last thing from the ancient Roman states I visited was the Pantheon whic literally translated from latin language is temple. A former Roman temple, now a church, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus around 1 century and completed by the emperor Hadrian. It is famous by its central opening (oculus) to the sky and the grave of grande Rafaello – the famous painter and architect.
Pantheon
Inside of temple with oculus
In Rome, classical ruins and early Christian places of worship stand next to each other. The examples are the Foro Romano where you can find the worship of the Venus and Virgin Mary, or the Pantheon that was built by the Romans as a sacred place but later turned into a church as the christian religion was recognized as one of the officials religions in ancient Rome.
Temple of Romulos – ancient worshiping and christian icons
Christian symbols in the Pantheon
I didn’t have much time to discover Rome in Middle Ages or Renaissance and Baroque Rome, and trust me, there is so much work to do, but I did photograph Ponte Sisto. It is the bridge over the river Tiber from 15 century, made by reusig the foundations of a prior Roman bridge, the Pons Aurelius, which had been destroyed during the early Middle Ages.
Rome is much about fountains like the one in Piazza Navona originally the Stadium od Domitian built in 1 century.The ancient Romans went there to watch the agones (lat game), hence nowadays name ”navona.” It is where I decided to sit down and enjoy my café and gelatto (ita ice cream).
One of the most popular places in Rome is Fontana di Trevi – a standing fountain and the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. The fountain has appeared in several notable films, including the movie of Federico Fellini: La Dolce Vita. Legend says that in 19 BC, some thirsty Roman soldiers were guided by a young girl to a source of pure water outside of the city of Rome. The discovery of the source led emperor Augustus to start the construction of an aqueduct that will go into the city, named Aqua Virgo, (lat Virgin Waters), in honour of the legendary young girl. The aqueduct served the hot Baths.
Fontana di Trevi
From there I went directly to Piazza di Spagna to sit on famous spanish steps but they were under construction so I hide myself in nearby Cafe Greco Antico – historic landmark café which opened in 1760 in Via dei Condotti. It is the oldest bar in Rome and within Italy only Caffè Florian in Venice (established in 1720) is older. Historic figures including Stendhal, Goethe, Byron, Franz Liszt, Henrik Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, Wagner and even Casanova have had coffee there. Today Caffe Greco remains a heaven for writers, politicians, artists and notable people in Rome… me, I got even three roses from a cavalier. 🙂
The Altar of the Patria also known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II built in honor of the first king of a unified Italy is one of the grandiose places in the city.
In the end, together with some of the friends I have in Rome, I visited La Sapienza University – one of my favorites and one of the oldest in history, founded in 14 century.
In front of the main entrance to the building, there is a faountain and great statue of the greek goddess Minerva (gre knowledge).
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