Western European Cruise - 2004
An all too brief glimpse of ROME...
Travel with the Schulmans
Join us on our exploration of the world we live in...
With only one day to see all of Rome we did the best we could, spending the day seeing the highlights and the evening on an illuminated tour of Rome by night!
Our charming room at the Morgana Hotel...
...right down the street from the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.
... continuing down a narrow alley past the Santa Maria sopra Minerva - the only Gothic church in Rome (rebuilt in 1208 on the site of a temple dedicated to Minerva), with a curious obelisk held up by a small elephant that was designed by Bernini and built by Ferrara in the 17th century...
We start our search for ancient Rome at the incredible Piazza Vittorio Emanuele ...
Asking directions in very bad Italian from a friendly native,
we begin our search for the Pantheon...
Following half understood directions, we stumble onto the Argentina Largo - a sheltered square of apparently undisturbed ruins in the midst of the city, which turned out to be a totally unexpected CAT SANCTUARY filled with dozens of furry little Italian kitties!!!!
...we turned around to see in front of us the brown stone circular walls of the best preserved of Rome's ancient buildings -
THE PANTHEON - AD 118-125!
Seen from the back it seems unimpressive.
Then we walked around to the front...
Oh my!!! Classic, beautiful, in a piazza filled with people, it's like being transported to the midst of the Roman Empire - not in ruins, but as it was almost 2000 years ago....
And inside! The rotunda is astonishing - the only source of light coming from the 30 ft. oculus in a cupola that was formed from a single application of cement over a wooden dome - one of the largest masonry domes ever built. Now a church, the final resting place of Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I and Raphael, it remains a amazing work of art and craft.
Onward to The Coloseum!
We see it in the distance preceeded by the intricately carved ARCH OF CONSTANTINE...
Inaugurated in AD 80 with 100 days of celebration by the Emperor Titus, THE COLOSEUM remains the most beautiful of Roman ampitheatres. Huge, massive, made to hold over 55,000 spectators, it is built on three levels, and excavations have uncovered an impressive network of tunnels under the arena. Being able to walk the upper levels (now reached by an elevator) and imagine what it must have been like in its heyday was an experience that I'll never forget. I just wish we could have had more time.
Finally, across the Tiber over the Victor Emmanuel II Bridge to the Via Della Conciliazone. THE VATICAN. In front of us is the vast Piazza San Pietro and Saint Peter's Basilica, the "greatest church in Christendom". We planned to return the next day to spend the day discovering the treasures within, but unfortunately I ended up spending the day sick in bed with a sore throat and quick but nasty cold. Exploring The Vatican will have to wait until we return to Rome...
Now come with us as we board the M/S Noordam
and travel through the Mediterranean up the coast
of Spain, Portugal, France & Ireland ... click on Dick ==>
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A Tour of "Illuminated Rome" took us around Rome by night - from St. Peter's Basilica to the Piazza Navona with its fountains designed by Bernini to the fabled Trevi Fountain where I made sure to toss my coin to ensure that we will return to beautiful Roma!
St. Peter's Basilica
by night ==>
The Piazza Navona's
amazing fountains
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The legendary
<== Trevi Fountain
