Wednesday we had no events scheduled. I walked with Tim to Trevi Fountain early (before 9am but it was packed…several “influencers” and lots of tourists getting there before the 9am fee to stand near the fountain is imposed). It’s more impressive now that I have seen so many other fountains in Rome. We walked past Piazza Colonna with a large pillar engraved with hieroglyphics, and the beautiful Supreme Court building.
We then took the short walk to the Pantheon where the painter Raphael and Kings Vittoria Emanuel II and Humberto I & Queen Margherita were buried. It is also the best preserved monument from Ancient Rome, known for its massive, 2,000-year-old unreinforced concrete dome and the oculus (a central opening). It transposed from a pagan temple to a Christian Church in 609. To get in you have to have a ticket (5 euros). It was easier to buy a paper ticket (cash only) than to go through the online booking system.
After leaving the Pantheon, we wandered over to the Castel Sant’Angelo, where Empire Hadrian had commissioned as a burial site for him and his family and was buried. It’s another round building, this one filled with Renaissance frescos and at the top great views of the city, especially of St Peter’s. The entry to the castle is along the Sant’Angelo Bridge, which is lined by Bernini’s beautiful Statues of Angels. There are dungeons in the castle, including the Papal dungeon Papale, and contains the Passetto di Borgo which connects the castle to the Vatican.
After lunch, Susan and I walked towards the apartment and wandered around, then walked back towards Piazza Navona, and along the narrow shopping streets, before returning back to the apartment. Tim and Tracey walked all the way to the Caracalla Baths, two miles away! They were a bit tired when they returned.
