Today we hit a lot of cool places!! Sadly though it was drizzling most of the day so we cut some of our free time short in order to avoid the cold. It has been cold the last few days but good news is that the weather man said the temperatures should be rising tomorrow!
After breakfast we made our way down towards the Roman Forum and stopped by the Nerva Forum for some pictures (Nerva was an emperor), then to the Imperial Forum (of Caesar Augustus, which was created around the time of Jesus' birth). From there we walked over the Forum of Trajan and saw the remains of a temple and the column of Trajan which has a gigantic frieze going spirally up the entire length of the column. Inside is a spiral staircase which goes to the top. The base of the column was once called a church because the remains of Trajan are in the base (however, it is the size of a closet and the title was later removed).
Across the street from Trajan's forum was a museum that has the original markets of Trajan which was a 6 story shopping complex. (Not as big as the Mall of America but taller at least!) This place was incredibly preserved! I could just imagine walking down the hallway and seeing the shops in the rooms. The markets were later converted into a convent.
From there we walked by a prison that most likely held Peter and Paul when they were incarcerated. (Not at the same time of course… and Paul's second incarceration, not the first when he was under house arrest). Sadly it was closed so we were unable to go inside.
So we walked up a long flight of stairs to the Capitoline Hill Museum. Inside the museum we saw the original statue of the She-Wolf. The story goes that the original inhabitants of Rome (before it was a city) Romulus and Remus were raised by wolves. The statue at the museum (and lots of other paintings there) depicts the babies nursing on the she-wolf. We also saw the Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, some walls from the Temple of Jupiter, lots of ancient jewlery, and a view of the Roman Forum (see Day 2's blog) from the Tabularium.
After the museum we walked to the base of the Capitoline Hill and saw the remains of an ancient Roman apartment building. From there we walked by the Largo Argentina. This archeological site has the remains of 4 pagan temples; although no one knows to which god they were dedicated (therefore someone creatively re-named them "A", "B", "C", and "D"). Behind one of the 4 temples (most likely the one called "B") Julius Caesar was assassinated.
After the Largo Argentina we walked towards Piazza Navona, which is one of the more popular places to film movie scenes in Rome. The Piazza Navona was originally the Circus of Domitian. It is shaped like a horse race track and was the site of many Christian martyrdoms. Today most of the original circus is gone, however, the base of the stands at the north end of the circus are visible underneath an office building. The Piazza houses the Fountain of Four Rivers which is a Michelangelo statue.
Since it was rainy we did not spend much time walking around (plus we had passed the area before). However, lunch was "on Papa" (for those of you who understand the reference it was funny) at a place that supposedly has the "Best Lasagna in the World." I did taste a bite, which was good, but I went for Rigatoni with Cheese, Tomato Sauce and Bacon (aka Prosciutto). It was delicious!!
After lunch we walked to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was originally built by Agrippa as a temple to all of the gods. It is a large cement building that had a domed roof (with a 9 meter hole in the top that acts as a calendar and a sun dial). The building burnt twice and so the current building was rebuilt in 126 C.E. by Hadrien (who was the emperor after Trajan). Some of the columns in front of the Pantheon were taken from Nero's baths. Inside the Pantheon are the tombs of some of the first kings of Italy. In 609 C.E. the statues to the gods were removed and it was converted into a Roman Catholic church. (Upon personal reflection I realized that it did not feel like a holy site or sacred place, nor did it feel like a church. It was just a mad house!)
After exploring the Pantheon and taking some cool pictures we were able to wander around the piazza. We stopped at the Tozza D'oro (spelling?) or the "Golden Cup" and had the proclaimed "Best Coffee in Rome." Ironically it is Brazilian coffee and it was still delicious!
After the wandering around we walked to the Church of Saint Augustine. Inside was the tomb of Saint Monica (Augustine's mother) who is the patron saint of motherhood (and mothers who pray for their children). We also saw our first Caravaggio painting which was "Mary and the Pilgrims". Above the alar of this church is an icon that was stolen/smuggled/removed (no one knows which) from Haggia Sophia in Constantinople before it was taken over by the Turks and turned into a Mosque.
Our last stop on the way back was to Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This church (which was originally not on our agenda) has the Bernini (I think) elephant statue out front. The name means the Chruch of Saint Mary over Minera and was named because the church was built over a temple that was probably to Minerva. Inside the church is a Michelangelo statue of Jesus. Funny story: Jesus was originally nude, but that was found offensive so someone placed a gold loincloth over his genitalia. Below the altar of the church is also the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena and around the church were a lot of Bernini pieces of art.
From there we went back to the hotel, picked up some Panini for dinner and relaxed for the evening.
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