Gaylene's Ramblings: Rome

Rome – Day 3

Today we are off on a tour chosen by the teenager based on the book & movie ‘Angels and Demons’, The Path of the Illumination. I would have to say this was the best tour of our trip! Our guide was entertaining and full of interesting snippets of information, imparted with humour which made it an enjoyable day.

We started off by catching the metro to the appointed church, Santa Maria del Popolo where we met our guide and group. Most had read the book or seen the movie but I hadn’t done either. Once inside we looked at the opening of the devils mouth, a tomb deep down under the floor. The side chapel we had come to see was undergoing restoration so we only had glimpses of it. Death was an accepted part of life, one of two certainties in this life.

Outside we looked at the obelisk and considered the purpose of it while admiring the construction adorned with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. We learnt that there are only 13 obelisks left in the world with 7 in Rome. We admired the huge entranceway and remains of the old town wall and found out that this was once the first view of Rome and the entry point to the city for visitors coming from the North.

We had a puzzle to solve based on the book so off we set to catch a bus to take us over to the West side of Rome to the Vatican. We were dropped off and given a set time to find out what was different with the West wind in St Peter’s square. Of course, no-one managed to solve this as it was too obvious. Once again we admired another obelisk before resuming our bus trip to the next stop.

We headed East right across town to the Santa Maria della Vittoria. This church looked droll outside and like many others in Rome was undergoing restoration. A beggar woman met us at the door, hand outstretched for coins but I don’t think she got any from us. The inside of this church was mind-blowing. Built in the Baroque period with Bellini as the architect it was dripping with gold and treasures. We found our next clue along with hidden windows shining sun on statues and left this magnificent building. Not before saying a prayer though!

Next stop is the Piazza Navona but before we head into the scorching heat on foot we stop for a cold drink and gelato. The Piazza Navona is a lovely area full of fountains, statues, eating places, stalls and lots of tourists. Here we stop by a fountain to hear the tales from the book while nearby is another obelisk. There seems to be a pattern here with the obelisk showing the way to go before most were literate.

We walk a long way in the heat up and down back alleys to the final stop. The Castel Sant’ Angelo is a castle close to the Vatican. In fact, it has secret passageways that the Pope and Cardinals would use to escape the Vatican if it was under siege and move to the Castle for protection. We were glad to get out of the heat into the underground passages in the Castle. Here we traipsed tunnels and stairs while the story unfolded until, finally, it reached the end.

We wandered up another few flights of steps to the top of the Castel to be rewarded with a magnificent view of the city.

A quick walk to the bus stop and a local bus back to the hotel brought us to the end of another day’s sightseeing in Rome. But I still had two places to see before I left and I was determined to get there. So off I set again to the metro and head to the Spanish Steps. While here I viewed an obelisk so was able to get my bearings and realise how close I was to the entrance to Rome! The Spanish Steps were full of tourists, filling water bottles from the fountains, taking photos on the steps and just generally milling about. The Polizia were everywhere. Expensive boutiques lined the roadside, obviously this is a good place for the ‘names’ to have their stores. Not so good for the photography!

Orientating myself with my well-thumbed map, I decided to walk down to the Trevi Fountain. This was even busier than the steps and you could hardly get close enough to throw your coin in. Which I did making a wish…