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Published: July 18th 2016
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Our day continued.........Nothing to be done but it was a shame and as the mammoth set the pace we followed him towards lunch and the chance to see Bruce Springsteen! Woolly says – There was me thinking that the crowds had gathered for me! As we made our way through the eager fans I offered my autograph but apparently my fame hasn’t reached Rome yet...... my PA needs to sort this out! Before he could start making even more demands on my time I parked him down on a step and gave him a slice of pizza......well when in Rome! Woolly says – even Jo is eating pizza and she doesn’t like it! I sat happily watching the people of Rome passing through Piazza del Popolo and admiring the Egyptian obelisk of Sety I, three sides of the obelisk were carved during the reign of Sety I and the fourth side under Rameses II, it come a long way but does it fit with the neoclassical style of the fountains and buildings I pondered..... it’s Egyptian so who cares! The square was a lovely place to people watch except for the rose sellers who kept trying to put roses onto our pizza bearing arms so that we would have to buy them!
Woolly says – Full to bursting I set the pace and as we walked through the streets more and more buildings filled my mind, just as I thought it couldn’t get better then it did. Arriving in one square I truly didn’t know where to look first and given that it was by the river I thought to check that out, first disappointment so far! Onwards we went, I could hear Jo and Zoe begging me to slow down but with a Parthenon to look at they had no chance. Built by my hero Emperor Hadrian around 126 AD, the circular building with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings and it’s been on my bucket list for years....it was a joy to behold.
His face was a picture of joy and I left him sitting and admiring as I tried to encapsulate it for him on celluloid. Woolly says – I sighed in total happiness and as we passed though the huge doorways the marble work and design left me speechless. It’s a first! He actually said nothing for over ten minutes, I actually checked to make sure he was still breathing! Woolly says – I could barely prize my eyes away and giving one last lingering look I followed my companions outside to consider the map, next stop the Trevi Fountain.....well so I thought! I seemed to have my eyes on stalks most of the time and even though my paws were sore and near to bleeding I couldn’t stop being amazed by the sights that kept coming at me. Having just checked the map once again....well I can’t trust the women to get us anywhere! I almost feel over in shock at the wonderful vista of the Church of St. Ignatius.
One moment he was there and the next he’d vanished, glancing around I could only hazard a guess as to his whereabouts, Zoe and I went up the steps and into the church. Woolly says – Wow, what a sight, it was incredibly beautiful. Dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus it was built in a Baroque style between 1626 and 1650 and contains one of the biggest frescos in the world! It was simply stunning, as I wandered past alter after alter each seemed to be more intricate and finer than the last and I found my eyes kept drifting back to the wondrous ceiling. I found Zoe sitting and she seemed happy for me to sit and gaze with her. It was an amazing find and to think we could have easily missed it if we had gone another way. Woolly says – back on our planned route we strolled thorough more and more streets and going by the number of people moving in the same direction I guessed that our ultimate destination wasn’t far away. ‘It’s bigger than I thought’ Jo shouted, as I looked at the famous landmark I could only nod in agreement before taking my life into my paws and heading into the affray to get a closer look.
It was way bigger than I had expected and as I stood admiring the most famous fountain in the world, built in 1762 it had originally been a fountain that had marked the end of one of the many aqueducts used throughout the city it seemed so much better than I had imagined. Woolly says – it was wetter than I had imagined! As the crowds of people stood around the edge the three of us finally made it to the front and with coins in paws we launched our money into the water as legend dictates that if you throw a coin into the fountain you will defiantly come back to Rome...... I considered if it was worth me getting a wet suit, there must be a fortune in there!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
What?
I thought Woolly would be in the fountain.