You will never be alone at the Trevi Fountain. No matter what time of day, there will always be at least a couple of other people mulling around, enjoying the view. Rome’s most famous, most enormous baroque fountain (26 meters high x 20 meters wide) was built in the 18th century at the junction of […]
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Da Francesco
We were told a queue forms quickly at this tiny restaurant, so we got there at 8.00 p.m. Already, the outside tables were occupied. No worries – there was an available spot inside at one of the cramped tables in the small dining room. The waiter was friendly, though he didn’t speak that much English. […]
Arco di Costantino
Arco di Costantino, or Arch of Constantine, looks pretty good for having been around since A.D. 312. It was built to commemorate Constantine I’s victory over Maxentius. The arch contains sections from other sculptures: the lower stonework dates from Domitian’s reign (A.D. 81-96) and the eight large medallions depicting hunting scenes are Hadrianic (A.D. 117-138). […]
Fontana del Pantheon
One of my favorite things about Rome is the fountains. Every square is adorned with the lavish sculptures, and they oftentimes have as much history as the surrounding buildings. If you feel like you see a fountain at every turn, you do. Altogether, there are 280 fountains in Rome. The original Fontana del Pantheon was […]
Colosseum
A lot of blood has been shed here, in this house that Vespasian built. Too bad he never got to see the end product. It was completed a year after his death, in A.D. 80. Titus, Vespasian’s son, welcomed the completed arena in style and held games that lasted 100 days and nights. During the […]
Chiesa del Gesù
Get your sunglasses out! Entering Rome’s most important Jesuit church, Chiesa del Gesù, is like looking directly at the sun. This overwhelming, stunning gold and marble interior was designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, a pupil of Michelangelo’s. The centerpiece is the ceiling fresco, designed by Giovanni Battista Gauli, who also frescoed the cupola, including […]
Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti, or Spanish Steps
This could be the most famous set of steps in the world. Well, this and the Rocky steps. And the Exorcist steps. Okay, you get the point: this is a really, really well-known staircase. To continue with superlatives (this one real), this is the widest staircase in Europe. It’s heralded as one of the most […]
Bar del Fico
We eyed this appealing restaurant twice, once on either side of the block, without realizing it was the same place, so schitzo is its décor. While the front is a cozy, eclectic bar/café, the back is an unusually modern, cavernous (for Rome) restaurant. The small menu of traditional, regional dishes contained the supposedly ubiquitous but […]
Pulcino della Minerva, or Elefantino
Bernini designed this elephant-with-obelisk sculpture, though it was actually executed by his pupil Ferrata. The Egyptian obelisk was found in the adjacent Dominican church, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva’s, garden. The obelisk is one of two moved from Sais, where it was built in 500 B.C. It was brought to Rome by the emperor Diocletian. Lucky […]
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
This 13th century structure is the only Gothic church in Rome that was spared a total Baroque makeover. I say “total”, because the façade and part of its nave did not quite escape the 16th century Baroque chisel. The big draw is Michelangelo’s sculpture, Cristo della Minerva, or Christ Bearing the Cross. The church was […]
