All Roads Lead To .

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Roma!!!

Italy’s train system works on a “how fast do you need to get there” basis. If your in a hurry there’s the Eurostar, a little slower are the Intercity (or IC) trains, and then there’s the dawdle through the countryside option of the Regionale which stops at nearly every station on the way. There was two deciding factors in all my decisions to take the Regionale trains :

1) It lets you see more of the scenery and some of the towns you pass through are little more than a single road and a station. It shows you the true Italian lifestyle instead of just a blur, and

2) The price of the ticket is less then half of the Eurostar and still a lot cheaper than the IC,

So if you don’t mind a two hour trip taking four then my advise to anyone coming to Italy is to use the self serve Regionale machines at the station and not go to the ticket windows as they will just try and put you on the most expensive one.

So, four hours after leaving Florence, I arrive in Rome (or Roma to everyone from around here), and with a few hours of daylight left I thought I’d head out and try and catch some of the closer sights to the hostel. With three of the main churches within easy walking distance, I started at Santa Maria Maggiore, a church that was built because a pope had a vision of the Virgin Mary that told him to build a church dedicated to her where the first snowflake fell that winter. From there it was like playing a dot-to-dot as I marched on to Piazza Repubblica with the church of Santa Maria Degli Angeli, down Via Nazionale past San Carlo Quattro Fontane (a four way intersection with a fountain on each corner), and down to Piazza Quirinale where the military offices are.

Well… that took all of less than an hour. I never realised that Rome was so compact!! I started judging distances on the map according to where I’d already been and decided I could hit up a few more before relaxing for the evening.

Off again, this time down to Piazza Madonna Di Loreto with it’s Colonna Di Traiana and Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II where Italy’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is, before heading up Via Del Corso to the Fontana Di Trevi (or Trevi Fountain). This created my first “pinch myself” moment for Rome. Standing there (with the hordes of others) looking up at what can only be described as the most beautiful fountain in the world was a surreal experience and finally made me feel like I had arrived in Italy. The sheer volume of water cascading down the front is enormous and of the purest of blues. Elbows out, I fought my way to the front for a few photos before giving in to the throng and finding a nice seat to just sit and stare for a while. An amazing sight to behold!!

Just a few more corners from the Trevi Fountain is Piazza Di Spagna, more famously known as the Spanish Steps. Coming off this plaza is the most exclusive street in Rome, Via Condotti, with shops like Cartier and Louis Vuitton lining the sides. This street has always been the richest area of Rome and the Spanish Steps (so named because of the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See) were built to provide the more affluent folk living above the plaza easier access to the shopping district.

Cutting back across the city through Piazza Di Montecitorio with it’s buildings that look like it was riddled with bullets and a number of stalls all selling hand-made wooden toys of Pinocchio, I came out of the winding alleys with a full view of the best preserved building that exists from ancient Rome. The Pantheon was originally built in 27 BC as a church to the planetary gods and is marvel of architecture even to this day. The dome is bigger than the dome in the basilica of the Vatican and had a open top to let light in that has now been covered over by glass. The concrete used for the dome is of varying density so as it gets closer to the top it gets lighter allowing weight to be dispersed better. Some of Rome’s most important people are now buried here including kings and even Raphael, the artist.

A short walk further and I came to Piazza Navona where Bernini’s best fountain is surrounded by baroque palaces. The Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi (meaning Fountain of the Four Rivers) is right in the centre with another two fountains situated one at each end of the plaza.

Finally running out of steam, I turned back towards the hostel ( now maybe 5km away) and wound my way back through the city past Area Sacre, Roman ruins of a temple and some living quarters, where there was an extraordinary amount of cats basking in the fading daylight (they probably keep the mouse population under control).

Not a bad effort for just a few hours considering I covered about a third of the city without even trying. Tomorrow will bring with it a city that’s a country within a city.

”The past is certain, the future obscure." - Thales (640 AD - 546 AD)

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