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. […]
Tag Archives | Rome
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Pantheon
Romans love their domes, and this is the mother of them all. This was the largest dome in the world until the 15th century. Don’t feel too bad, though, since it’s still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. The Pantheon originated in 27 B.C., when a temple was ordered by Marcus Agrippa. In […]
Madonnelle
You can’t walk five blocks in Rome without seeing a madonnelle, or small madonna, staring out at you. Really. There are over 700 of them on street corners in the historic center. The original concept dates back to pagan times when votive wall shrines were set up to honor the Lares, spirits believed to protect […]
