rome

We went through the Piazza del Popolo on the way to the Villa Borghese this was yet another impressive location with an Egyptian Monolith in the centre (which was covered for restoration unfortunately).  I liked the fountain of Neptune and two Tritons riding dolphins.

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo

Once we'd finished at the St Peter's Basilica we walked down the Via della Conciliazione to the Castel Sant'Angelo, originally built as a Mausoleum to house Hadrian's ashes it was converted into a fortress 300 years later. Since then it's been a castle for the Popes (connected to the Vatican City by a fortified walkway called the Passetto di Borgo), a prison and now a museum.

Castel Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant'Angelo

Castel Sant'Angelo

This panorama consists of six images shot from the top of the Castel Sant'Angelo and stitched together using a combination of Panorama Factory and Photoshop.

To view the image you'll need the QuickTime Plugin from Apple.

On the second day, Saturday, we had intended to visit Vatican City to see the Cistine Chapel, the Vatican Museum and St Peter's Basilica. However, although we were there by 9:00am the queues for the Cistine Chapel and Vatican Museum were several hours long, this may have been because they close at Saturday lunchtime and don't reopen until Monday so it perhaps wouldn't be as busy at other times.

Not fancying spending half of our day queueing by a busy road in the baking heat only to be kicked out when they closed the attractions we decided to go straight to St Peter's.

St Peter's Basilica

St Peter's Basilica

St Peter's Basilica

St Peter's Basilica

Following on from the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill we carried on walking through the Forum and came to the Capitoline Hill, this was all in the first morning and we were ready for a break so we stopped for lunch at a small cafe before returning to have a proper look.

The statue of Marcus Aurelius in the Piazza del Campidoglio survived destruction by the Christian Church in the middle ages because they mistakenly believed it to be of Emperor Constantine who was baptised a Christian and proclaimed Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Capitoline Hill

Capitoline Hill

Capitoline Hill

Capitoline Hill

The Palatine Hill is where, according to legend Romulus and Remus were found by a she-wolf who ket them alive, Romulus later returned and founded Rome here.  Certainly this are is one of the oldest inhabited areas with people living there as early as 1000 BC. 

Palatine Hill and Roman Forum

Palatine Hill and Roman Forum

Palatine Hill and Roman Forum

Palatine Hill and Roman Forum

After visiting the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore we continued through the Parco di Traiano to the Colosseum.  Coming this way you approach from a hill overlooking the ruins, catching glimpes of the building from between the trees.  It was strange to see something for the first time which was so familiar from the media, of course nothing really prepares you for seeing something like this first hand.

Colosseum

Colosseum

Colosseum

Colosseum