Spent our first day in Rome shoe and keychain shopping and our second recreating Roman Holiday (post coming soon). We changed our plans, cancelled Tivoli to give ourselves another day in Rome, and spent our third day visiting the forum and colosseum. I’m still uploading the photos.
We also spent a great deal of time wandering (Rachel had Maps open on her phone, so it probably wasn’t aimless). Here’s a Renaissance building from the side of the Caelian Hill (one of the Seven Hills of Rome):
Here’s something else, probably also from the side of the Caelian Hill, with the remains of an ancient Roman gate at the bottom:
Here’s the river Tiber. It’s milky green and much swifter-flowing than I pictured. It must have been much higher in ancient Roman times, or more likely, the city was much lower:
This is near the French Embassy, a lovely early 18th-century palazzo:
This is a piazza. Rachel could tell you which one it was. She’s the one with the map. All I know is that this was near the Gladiator Museum (which we didn’t visit—it’s on my bucket list for next time).
This is Castel Sant’Angelo (and yes, that is the official spelling, though to a grammar nut, Sant’Angelo kind of looks like a rear-end accident).
The ‘castle’ was originally built as a mausoleum for Hadrian and his family, but after several sieges and sackings of Rome, almost all of its original contents were destroyed (memorably, some of the bronze decorations were used as projectiles against the attacking Goths in 537 A.D.).
Beginning in the 14th century, the popes converted it into a fortress.
Here’s some residential architecture for you:
