We got up the nerve to pedal our way around the city today and saw way too many incredible sites to put everything here, but here are a few. By the end of the day, we came to the conclusion, for brave souls, a bike is THE ONLY way to see the city. It was odd though that we were just about the only people on bikes we saw the entire day. So, maybe it is a little dangerous, or maybe we were risking getting them stolen or vandalized, but for this one day at least, the bike gods were looking down on us.
The Tempio di Minerva Medica (Temple of Minerva).
This is ruin is wedged between the railroad tracks and busy streets. Nobody seems to know exactly what the purpose or construction date was for this structure, but it most historians seem to agree that it was built in the Republic period (between 500 BC and 27 AD). The dome was intact until 1828 and was probably the inspiration for the large number of domes that were built throughout the Roman Empire (and follows through to modern times in all of our state and national capital buildings).
We decided to take a break from the traffic and make a loop through a large park (Parco Traiano). This is a large area with ruins scattered throughout. This was part of Domus Aurea, or Nero's House. Nero became emporor in 54 when his mother poisoned his stepfather Claudius (Nero later killed his mother) and was forced to commit suicide in 68 after years of goofing off. The final straw was his building the Domus Aurea, a vast array of nyphaeums, banquette rooms, bath houses, gardens and fountains. Nero is noted for the Emperor who stood by while Rome burned in 64 AD. He blamed the fire on the Christians thus setting into motion centuries of persecution of the Christians. From the edge of the park, you can look down on the Colosseum. In Nero's day, the ground that the Colosseum now stands on, was filled with water as a man-made lake
This is Santa Maria Maggiori basilica. It's the fourth of the great churches of Rome and the largest dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This is one of the few basilicas that has maintained its original form and characteristics. It was founded by Pope Liberius in the fourth century. This is where we bought (Matt's) Mom's Rosary.
This is one of the many beautiful ceiling panels found in St. Maria's. These paintings are not just on the ceiling but on just about every wall and ceiling on all the churches we went in. Incredible is an understatement. Your jaw literally drops again and again as you walk around this place.
We couldn't miss the Pantheon. First builty in 27 BC it was damaged in a fire and rebuilt in 117-138. This monument contains the tombs of Italian Kings including the first under the Unified Italy and renaissance painters including Raphael. It was built to commemorate the Roman Gods but rededicated in 609 as a Christian church. This is where we had (Matt's) Mom's rosary blessed (by a priest that looked and sounded like Benny Hill).
We ran into a little trouble with the Roman Soldiers here. They were suspicious of us from the get-go having never seen bicycles before (although Leonardo da Vinci gets credit for sketching the first primitive bicycle in 1493, the first one with pedals wasn't invented until 1863).
After a long and bloody battle, the victorious soldiers made off with their spoils.
Piazza Navona is a long narrow plaza filled with tour groups, street vendors and mimes. The piazza sits on the location of an ancient circus where chariot races, jousting and of course, circuses once took place. The statue behind Lynette is one of three fountain/statues that was completed around 1651 by Bernini.
Sitting in traffic for a photo of Palazzo di Giustizia. This is actually a new building built between 1888 and 1910 and is the home of today's Supreme Court of Appeals.
Statues on Ponte S. Angelo (a bridge over the Tiber river) leading to Castle S. Angelo. Not sure when the bridge was built but the statues were added in 1670. Here's a link that describes each statue.
Ponte S. Angelo delivers pedestrians right to Castle S. Angelo. This huge building was built in 130-139 by emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum to himself. Over the years, five popes have been killed, mostly by strangulation and poisoning, within the walls of the castle. The statue at the top is of Archangel Michael sheathing his sword. This was a vision that St. Gregory the Great had in 590 while praying on the bridge for the end of the plague. As it turns out, the vision did indeed coincided with the end of the plague.
We rode our bikes into Saint Peters Plaza in the Vatican and through the pillars around one side before the police told us we had to walk them. When we tried to lock them up they said we couldn't lock them inside the square (hey dude, this place is round). So we walked them out and tried locking them up there but a couple of Vatican cops stopped us again and said we had to move them even farther... so we did.
The Pope's apartment.
Never mind the gay guys making out in the lower left.
After walking around for a while, we went back to the bikes and were unlocking them when a nun walked by and chewed us out in Italian telling us the police would get us if we left them there. We nodded and rode off.
On the Vittorior Emarruele bridge over the Tevere (Tiber) river with Castle S. Angelo behind.
The Roman Forum was the most celebrated place in ancient Rome. The columns in the foreground are what is left of the Temple of Saturn, the oldest sacred place in Rome. The temple was dedicated in 498 BC. The three columns on the right side of the picture are what is left of the Temple of Castor. Built in 484 BC, it was the meeting place for the senate. The forum was rebuilt by Octavian, Caesar's adopted son, after the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC. By the 4th century AD the place began to fall into ruins.
We decided (once again) to take a path through a park to get away from the traffic, not knowing that we would get a beautiful view of the Palatino Ruins. These are at the edge of the area known as Palatino Hill where (by tradition) the first Roman settlers built their huts under the direction of Romulus.
It was getting late, so we picked up the pace so we'd get back to the hotel by dark. Along the way we decided to get a shot of today's Rome. It's awe inspiring to look at all the ancient artifacts but today's Rome seems to be all about graffiti... It covers most everything outside the ancient city walls... even trucks weren't immune if they were left sitting in one place too long. We talked to some locals and they said it was a daily (loosing) battle covering up what the taggers do every night.
It was getting dark and we didn't want to spend too much time waiting for a sit down dinner. So what the heck... why not eat McDonalds while in Rome.