ITALY: ROME (IV) ~ Beautiful places of Barcelona and Catalonia

viernes, 1 de octubre de 2010

ITALY: ROME (IV)

For five days we enjoyed the fantastic sightseeings of Rome and we walked for hours through the streets of this wonderful city.

During the fourth day in Rome we walked through the Via Appia and visited the Catacombe di San Sebastiano and the impressive Caracalla Thermal Baths. We also spent a lovely afternoon in Villa Borghese and finally, in the evening, we walked along Via Veneto, the most exclusive street in Rome.

Via Appia Antica

Day 4 - 22th september 2010

Visits of the day

- Catacombe di San Sebastiano
- Via Appia Antica
- Terme di Caracalla
- Santa Maria della Vittoria (The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa)*
- Santa Maria del Popolo (Two fabulous Caravaggios) *
- Pincio (Fantastic views of Rome) *
- Villa Borghese *
- Via Veneto (Exclusive Shopping) *
- Quattro Fontane
- Piazza Colonna

* Strongly recommendedCatacombe di San Sebastiano

Entrance to the Catacombe di San Sebastiano

Unfortunately it's not allowed to take pictures inside the Catacombe. However it's allowed inside the church, where I saw this sculpture of St. Sebastian, a popular Roman martyr of the 3rd century who the basilica is dedicated to

Via Appia Antica

Beautiful landscape of Roman remains seen from the Via Appia Antica

The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic

Walking along the Via Appia Antica under a lovely day

Terme di Caracalla

Terme di Caracalla, is one of the largest and best preserved examples of an ancient spa complex. It was constructed under the Emperor Caracalla and exhibits the rectangular plan typical of Imperial spa centres. The spa itself was not simply a place for bathing, sport and health, it was also a place of leisure, study and for relaxing

You only can realize the colossal dimensions of this building when you visit it

Mosaic floor

The baths consisted of a central frigidarium (cold room) under three high groin vaults, a double pool tepidarium (medium), and a caldarium (hot room), as well as two palaestras (gyms where wrestling and boxing was practiced). The north end of the bath building contained a natatio or swimming pool

Palatino

Remains of the imperial building complex on the Pallatine Hill, one of seven hills of Rome, near Circus Maximus

Piazza della Reppublica

The Fountain of the Naiads with the Terme di Diocleziano in the background, which were the largest and most sumptuous of the imperial baths. On the left, the cross indicates The basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, built in the tepidarium of the baths

Santa Maria della Vittoria

Inside the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria I could admire another fabulous sculpture of Bernini, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

Santa Maria del Popolo

The conversion on the way to Damascus, by Caravaggio

Crucifixion of Saint Peter, by Caravaggio

Piazza del Popolo

The entrance of the Tridente from Piazza del Popolo, defined by the "twin" churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto, on the left, and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, on the right. The Via del Corso exits between the two churches

Overview of Piazza del Popolo, with an Egyptian obelisk of Ramesses II from Heliopolis in the centre of the Piazza

Il Pincio

Steps lead from the Piazza del Popolo to the Pincian Hill to the east

From the Pincian Hill you can see an overview of the square as well as the impressive St. Peter's Dome

Overview of the viewpoint of Pincian hill, a perfect place to spend a lovely afternoon. The trees in the background belongs to Villa Borghese, a peaceful and beautiful park in the northern part of Rome

Although It can't be clearly seen, in the background between the trees appears the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Piazza Venezia

Villa Borghese

A fountain of Villa Borghese

The 19th century "Temple of Aesculapius" built purely as a landscape feature, influenced by the lake

Via Veneto

Via Veneto is one of the most famous and expensive streets in Rome, perfect for exclusive shopping

Besides, some of Rome's best hotels are located there, like this one in the background of this picture

Quattro Fontane

One of the four fountains, one in each corner, of this curious crossing in Rome

Piazza Colonna

Piazza Colonna at night. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius which has stood there since 193 CE. Its north side is taken up by Palazzo Chigi and the east side is taken up by the Palazzo Colonna

Clicking on the next link, our last two days in Rome. Besides, clicking on the next link, you will find more links to the other interesting places in Rome we visited during this trip.

You can see more pictures of the days I spent in Rome last year clicking on the next links: