Got into Rome late afternoon yesterday 50 years ago. Most comfortable train yet. Got a hotel on the second try and moved into the Pensione Esedra, located at the Piazza della Repubblica (lots of doubles there).
The circular piazza used to be called Piazza dell’Esedra and may have been known by that name 50 years ago. At its center is a fountain, known as the Fountain of the Naiads, constructed in 1888. In classical mythology, naiads were predominantly female water nymph spirits. The fountain is circled by statues of four naked naiads, which apparently caused quite a stir when they were added to the fountain in 1901.
We ate, that first night, at a place called Piccadilly, “a budget place” (duh), and then spent the rest of the evening on the Via Veneto — walking, sitting, drinking, people-watching. On our first two nights, Fritz, the hotel night manager, had to get up to let us in.
Rode the Metropolitano, Rome’s subway, next morning. Journal: “Not a whole lot better than NYC and only one line.” Rome’s metro is one of the smallest in Europe, with only three lines covering fewer than 40 miles overall.
We spent the afternoon visiting the Colosseum and roaming around the Forum. Below are galleries of photos from each.
We went other places nearby, too, only proved by photos I took, not memory.
One was Capitoline Hill, one of the “seven hills of Rome.” There we saw the Palazzo Senatorio, designed in large part by Michelangelo. It is fronted by a statue of Marcus Aurelius, a replica of one sculpted by Michaelangelo. The original is in a nearby museum.
Also visited the Pantheon, completed in the Second Century and one of the few buildings from ancient Rome that has stayed intact. It has been a Catholic church since 609 AD.
This is a gallery of other photos I took in Rome, but I can’t really assign them to a particular place, e.g., museum, etc. They’re interesting, though.
It was a very hot day, temps in the 80s. All the walking around in the heat tuckered us out. We went back to the hotel and took a nap. Then we repeated our first night — Piccadilly and Via Veneto. And Fritz had to let us in again.
The Vatican and Saint Peter’s Cathedral was the focus of the next day. Photos inside the cathedral and Sistine Chapel were not permitted. Journal: “Sistine Chapel wasn’t really as much as I expected. It seemed kind of small.” (Psst, it’s a chapel.) The photos I have are all exteriors, including views from the roof. Here’s a gallery.
At some point, we had also seen the Victor Emmanuel Monument, which commemorates the unification of Italy in 1861 and the first king of Italy. It was built 1888-1911. With its ornamentation, it’s also called the “wedding cake.”
From the Vatican, we returned to the hotel and I spent some time reading The Magus, a 1965 novel by British author John Fowles, that I think was in vogue at the time. We skipped the Piccadilly that night and went to another restaurant. Oops. Kevin ordered a steak and, when we got the bill, learned it cost L2400, which neither of us had expected. The total came to L5000-something! (The exchange rate at the time was US$1=583L so the steak was under $5 and total less than $10. We were used to cheaper.)
We went to the Forum to see it under lights and learned, to our disappointment, they didn’t do that in June at the time. So back again to Via Veneto. And Fritz had to let us in again.
Our last full day in Rome was marked by two significant events. I went to the Embassy and got my new passport. I gave them US$20 in traveler’s checks and got US$8 in change. Then, Kevin and I went to Wimpy’s. I had a Wimpyburger and a strawberry milkshake that came in an eight-ounce glass. I don’t believe I had ever before been to a Wimpy’s and have not gone to one since. And my one time was in Rome!
I read some more of The Magus that afternoon. We went back to the Piccadilly and Via Veneto and got back to the hotel before Fritz had gone to bed. I finished The Magus.