Victor Emmanuel Monument

Near the Forum, you'll find the Victor Emmanuel Monument.

Victor Emmanuel was Italy's first king and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the unification of Italy in 1861, this monstrosity was built. 

The statue of the king on his horse is one of the largest equestrian statues in the world. His mustache alone is 5 feet wide.

At the base of the statue is Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Two chariots crown the monument.

To get a bird's-eye view of Rome, you can climb to the base of the colonnade for free or pay €7 to ride the Rome from the Sky elevator to the rooftop. 

From the base of the colonnade, you can get a good enough view--St. Peter's dome is visible in the distance on a clear day.

In the opposite direction, you can see the Colosseum.

Trajan's Forum 

Climbing down from the Victor Emmanuel Monument, you'll pass the Temple of Venus Genetrix.

Walking further, you'll see the Roman Forum

before arriving at a replica of the She-Wolf statue next to the mayoral palace.

Designed by Michelangelo, the Piazza del Campidoglio was once the religious and political center of ancient Rome. The Capitoline museums occupy both sides of the piazza.

Statue of Minerva in the piazza.

Next door is the Santa Maria in Aracoeli Church. Roman women who wished for a child used to climb these 125 steps on their knees.

Inside, the columns and marble floor are plundered from different monuments.

Explains the mismatch.

Beautiful frescoes by Pinturicchio.

Gravestones on the floor are elaborate.

Wooden statue of the Baby Jesus. This is a replica--the original was stolen in 1994.

2019 04 10

Colosseum & the Imperial Forums

From the Basilica di San Giovanni, it's a straight shot up to the Colosseum.

My first impression when I saw it again (my last trip was in 2010) was that it was clean! The Colosseum had been cleaned from top to bottom and it was beautiful. I didn't go inside this time but I definitely recommend reading Rick Steves' recommendations on how to get tickets and when to tour. The lines are ridiculously long.

Next to the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine. It's decorated with recycled carvings from other buildings. 

The Roman Forum is nearby. It was the political, religious and commercial center of Rome and included temples and halls of justice. There's also a long wait to get into the Forum.

Instead, we crossed Via dei Fori Imperiali to reach the Temple of Augustus. The four white columns were part of the Temple of Mars. This is visible from the street and there is no waiting and no tickets to purchase. 

Continuing further down the road, you'll find Trajan's Column. The 140-foot column tells the story of  Trajan's defeat of Dacia (modern-day Romania). The column is hollow with a spiral staircase inside. If unwound, it would cover the length of 2 football fields. Originally, the column was painted in bright colors. 

Toppin the Trajan Column is St. Peter, with his emblematic keys. He was installed in the 1500s.

2019 04 10

Pilgrim's Rome

After lunch, the sun came out and we decided to walk back and hit some of the sights along the way. We followed Rick Steves' Pilgrim's Rome tour.

The Porta San Giovanni was inaugurated in 1574 and provides entry from routes south of the city.

The Porta San Giovanni replaced the nearby Porta Asinaria that was built between 270-273. 

Next to it is the Church of San Giovanni in Laterano--the first Christian church in the city of Rome. It was opened in AD 318 and all popes were crowned here until 1870. It still serves as the home church of the Bishop of Rome--the Pope. It's considered Vatican property.

Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and a statue of him stands in the portico. The holes in his head once held a crown. 

The green doors in the portico are the original doors from ancient Rome's Senate House in the Forum.  Rick says the doors were moved here in 1650 to remind people that the Church was now the lawmaker for Europe.

After 1600, Barromini redesigned the interior in the Baroque style but left the ceiling from the Renaissance period.

The nave is lined with statues of apostles.

The baldacchino (ceremonial canopy) in the main altar.

The upper cage of the baldocchino contains silver statues of St. Peter & St. Paul. The statues are supposed to contain pieces of their heads but apparently the DNA from St. Peter's head doesn't match the DNA of his body in St. Peter's. Morbid.

The Bishop's Chair--once elected, the pope has to actually sit here before officially becoming the Pope.

Semicircular dome of the apse with mosaics designed in 450 but restored in the 19th center.

Mosaic of the head of Christ--this was one of the first legal images of Christ ever seen in Rome.

Across the street is a building that houses the Scala Santa (Holy Stairs).

You can't take a photo of the actual stairs but this staircase right next door is similar. The Holy Stairs are 28 marble steps from Pontius Pilate's residence in Jerusalem which Jesus climbed on the day he was sentenced to death. The faithful climb these Scala Santa on their knees while reciting prayers. Don't worry, if you don't know them, the gift shop sells a copy. There is no fee to climb the steps.

Once you exit the chapel at the top of the stairs, look closely to see graffiti. This one dates from 1773.

At most tourist sights in Rome, you'll see heavily armored guards in patrol.

The world's tallest obelisk is in Rome, near the Scala Santa. This dates from the 15th century.

Rome has 13 obelisks, the most of any city in the world. The Romans brought the obelisks from Egypt to display in prominent places in Rome to celebrate their occupation of Egypt.

2019 04 10

Santo Palato

Santa Palato was written up in the New York Times in 12/2017. It's run by a young female chef who trained at the Michelin-starred Metamorfosi in Rome. The restaurant is known for quinto quarto or organ meats.

You can easily pass by Santo Palato without realizing it was there. It's not well signed. The restaurant is located at Piazza Tarquinia, 4a in the San Giovanni neighborhood. We took a bus from central Rome.

We arrived on a Wednesday for lunch and it was not crowded at all. I had made reservations but I could have easily gotten a table. There was 1 other table of tourists. Otherwise, it was locals having their lunch. Dinner might be a different story.

Polpetta di Coda alla Vaccinara Levistico e Cacao--€9. The menu said peanut butter and cacao sauce but I didn't really pick up on the peanut butter. This was good but a little pricey for a small meatball.

Frittata di Regaje di Pollo (chicken liver)--€7. The egg was so fluffy and the chicken livers weren't overpowering.

Trippa alla Romana--€9. The tripe was tender but it had too much cheese on top.

Spaghettoni Aglio, Olio e Cardoncelli (a type of mushroom)--€13. This was one of the specials for lunch. It was flavorful but I liked the Amatriciana pasta better.

Rigatoni all'Amatriciana--€11. Amatriciana has guanciale (pork cheek), tomatoes, cheese and black pepper. This was quite good.

Another one of the specials was Coppa di Vitella, Cavolo e Senape--€9. This was shredded veal covered with cabbage (cavolo) and mustard (senape). This was pretty tasty.

Another special and one that I saw the locals order was Mixticanza di Campo--€6. This was mixed greens sautéed in oil and garlic.

Overall, if I was in the neighborhood, I would stop to eat but I wouldn't make a trip just for it. Next time, I might try Tuffoli con Pajata--pasta cooked with intestine that was outlawed until recently after the Mad Cow scare. The pajata refers to the intestine of unweaned calf. The insides of the intestines are not cleaned to allow the milk residues to remain. Doesn't sound appetizing but it apparently is quite good.



2019 04 10

Pizza In Centro

At the end of the day, we grabbed a pizza to go near our Airbnb.

Pizza In Centro is located at Via degli Acquasparta, 25

Pizza with Anchovies--€10, including a suppli and a beer. The pizza was surprisingly pretty good. The crust was crispy on the bottom but had a chewy edge.

2019 04 09