Rome: fountains and more!
Jul 2nd, 2009, 02:01 AM
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Rome: fountains and more!
As promised, the trip report about our Italian family adventure, second part - Rome.
The speed train eventually took us from La Serenissima (Venezia) to La Città Eterna (Rome). The tickets were purchase before on Trenitalia (!!!).
It is hardly revelatory to state that Rome has untold treasures to offer to a willing visitor. There are thousands of years of history, although more is left to imagination than to actual seeing with your eyes when you view the ruins. (Pantheon is a notable and altogether remarkable exception – a well-preserved magnificent building that is almost two thousand years old.) There are dozens of arresting churches. There are unmissable attractions such as Castel Sant’Angelo. There is Vatican, with St Peter’s Cathedral and the most awesome square in front of it, as well as one of the top art museums in the world. There is quite a number of other museums and galleries.
And yet, what we adore most about this city is its squares and fountains. Spacious Piazza del Popolo; noisy Piazza di Spagna at the foot of eponymous stairway crowned by a requisite obelisk and a little church; splendid Piazza Navona with three fountains marking its elongated shape; crowded Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pantheon; bustling Campo de’ Fiori; perpetually bursting at the seams piazza in front of the incomparable Fontana di Trevi; pompous Piazza Venezia with incongruous yet impressive “wedding cake” monument to the first king of the unified Italy; even not that impressive by itself Piazza Barberini with a beautiful Triton Fountain… Those are just the most famous ones. It would take too much time and space to account for all of the smaller ones that make me want to linger and enjoy.
Conversely, the streets that connect the squares are not overly attractive. Too many cars parked every which way, too few buildings of architectural note that are not looking out to squares of their own. But, since many of the squares and sights are in reasonable proximity to each other, Rome is an eminently walkable city as long as you are willing to keep your expectations in check while strolling the few blocks from one astonishing spot to another.
As in Venice, we tried to combine the need to show all of the must-see locations to our children with our desire to explore places that we left aside on our previous in-depth visit to the Italian capital. To achieve the former, we resorted to such heroic deeds as getting up really early to join the queue for the Vatican Museums an hour and half before its opening (by the time it opens, the line often stretches for several kilometers around Vatican walls and the wait time reaches three-four hours). But we managed enough of the not-seen-before sights to feel that we covered practically every major point of interest over the course of our overall stays there.
Here is the summary of what we did, where we stayed, and WHERE WE ATE!
http://burlaki.com/travelog/rome/
Thanks for reading!
Happy travels!
The speed train eventually took us from La Serenissima (Venezia) to La Città Eterna (Rome). The tickets were purchase before on Trenitalia (!!!).
It is hardly revelatory to state that Rome has untold treasures to offer to a willing visitor. There are thousands of years of history, although more is left to imagination than to actual seeing with your eyes when you view the ruins. (Pantheon is a notable and altogether remarkable exception – a well-preserved magnificent building that is almost two thousand years old.) There are dozens of arresting churches. There are unmissable attractions such as Castel Sant’Angelo. There is Vatican, with St Peter’s Cathedral and the most awesome square in front of it, as well as one of the top art museums in the world. There is quite a number of other museums and galleries.
And yet, what we adore most about this city is its squares and fountains. Spacious Piazza del Popolo; noisy Piazza di Spagna at the foot of eponymous stairway crowned by a requisite obelisk and a little church; splendid Piazza Navona with three fountains marking its elongated shape; crowded Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pantheon; bustling Campo de’ Fiori; perpetually bursting at the seams piazza in front of the incomparable Fontana di Trevi; pompous Piazza Venezia with incongruous yet impressive “wedding cake” monument to the first king of the unified Italy; even not that impressive by itself Piazza Barberini with a beautiful Triton Fountain… Those are just the most famous ones. It would take too much time and space to account for all of the smaller ones that make me want to linger and enjoy.
Conversely, the streets that connect the squares are not overly attractive. Too many cars parked every which way, too few buildings of architectural note that are not looking out to squares of their own. But, since many of the squares and sights are in reasonable proximity to each other, Rome is an eminently walkable city as long as you are willing to keep your expectations in check while strolling the few blocks from one astonishing spot to another.
As in Venice, we tried to combine the need to show all of the must-see locations to our children with our desire to explore places that we left aside on our previous in-depth visit to the Italian capital. To achieve the former, we resorted to such heroic deeds as getting up really early to join the queue for the Vatican Museums an hour and half before its opening (by the time it opens, the line often stretches for several kilometers around Vatican walls and the wait time reaches three-four hours). But we managed enough of the not-seen-before sights to feel that we covered practically every major point of interest over the course of our overall stays there.
Here is the summary of what we did, where we stayed, and WHERE WE ATE!
http://burlaki.com/travelog/rome/
Thanks for reading!
Happy travels!
Jul 2nd, 2009, 11:13 AM
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Sounds like an incredible trip. How many days were you there for? Do you feel we should go for five or six days? We will be going in May of 2010. Combining Rome with Venice, Florence and Sorrento. This is our first trip to Italy.
Thank you,
Jo
Thank you,
Jo
Jul 2nd, 2009, 01:33 PM
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We were 4 days in Venice (although it was not our first trip) and 3 days in Rome (again, were here before).
I think we've spend 5 days on our first trip and felt that was enough. We even managed to go to Tivoli gardens for half-day.
This time, in addition to wondering around our favorite fountains, we went to Castel Sant’Angelo, Villa Borghese, and spent an afternoon at Jewish Ghetto.
Just remember - you do not have to see it all! Do not rush! Enjoy an afternoon with a bottle of Rose in front of the Pantheon!
If you are interested, check out with our notes from Italy travels http://burlaki.com/travelog/category/by-country/italy/
Do not forget to send yourself a postcard from Vatican and any Rome post office (see which one comes first!)
I think we've spend 5 days on our first trip and felt that was enough. We even managed to go to Tivoli gardens for half-day.
This time, in addition to wondering around our favorite fountains, we went to Castel Sant’Angelo, Villa Borghese, and spent an afternoon at Jewish Ghetto.
Just remember - you do not have to see it all! Do not rush! Enjoy an afternoon with a bottle of Rose in front of the Pantheon!
If you are interested, check out with our notes from Italy travels http://burlaki.com/travelog/category/by-country/italy/
Do not forget to send yourself a postcard from Vatican and any Rome post office (see which one comes first!)
Jul 3rd, 2009, 02:02 PM
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We're taking our family (36 yr old daughter, grandsons 15 and 13) in December. It will be their first time in Italy. Doing 3 nights in Venice, 5 nights in Rome. This will help me make decisions, so thanks!
Jul 4th, 2009, 04:54 AM
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I enjoyed your trip report and agree that the piazzas and fountains (and I would add obelisks) throughout Rome are wonderful. Another great piazza to visit is the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere.
One of the magical times we experienced on our last trip to Rome was about a half hour spent at twilight in the Piazza San Petro. We had some time to kill after leaving the basilica and before joining our friends for dinner so we sat quietly by the obelisk and watched the lights come on and admired Bernini's colonnade.
As for the amount of time to spend in Rome, I think the city is best appreciated if you can schedule at least five full days--more is better. We had enjoyed Rome on previous shorter trips but really fell in love with the city when we were able to spend a whole week (7 1/2 days) there.
Our apartment in the Jewish Ghetto neighborhood was just down the street from the Piazza Mattei with its charming tortoise fountain
One of the magical times we experienced on our last trip to Rome was about a half hour spent at twilight in the Piazza San Petro. We had some time to kill after leaving the basilica and before joining our friends for dinner so we sat quietly by the obelisk and watched the lights come on and admired Bernini's colonnade.
As for the amount of time to spend in Rome, I think the city is best appreciated if you can schedule at least five full days--more is better. We had enjoyed Rome on previous shorter trips but really fell in love with the city when we were able to spend a whole week (7 1/2 days) there.
Our apartment in the Jewish Ghetto neighborhood was just down the street from the Piazza Mattei with its charming tortoise fountain
Jul 4th, 2009, 02:02 PM
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We enjoyed Trastevere this time as well! Many, many, many places to eat and sink-in Roman life.
Vttraveler: did you try the cakes form all women bakery? Don't they remain you episode with soup from "Sienfeld"?
Vttraveler: did you try the cakes form all women bakery? Don't they remain you episode with soup from "Sienfeld"?
