A Day in Rome

Today is All Saints Day, a holiday for many Romans with government offices and other businesses closed, which made it a crowded day of tourists.

Our first full day in Rome was spent on a private golf cart tour, seeing many of the highlights of Rome. Our guide, Lucas picked us up in the golf cart and off we went - joining the crazy drivers of Rome going through many of the roads that are the size of an alley and have pedestrians at the same time. Our first stop was the Pantheon. Built by the Emperor Hadrian (who also built the castel we saw yesterday). The structure itself is interesting, with a concrete dome built almost 2 thousand years ago and still not cracks! It is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It was built as a temple for all gods fairly plain but does have large granite Corinthian columns brought from Egypt.

Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain. It was designed by an Italian architect and finished in 1762. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous in the world. There was an earlier fountain located here in the early 1600s. There was no water in the fountain as they were in the process of cleaning and repairing many of the monuments around Rome in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee. It was at one time one of the many aqueducts in Rome.

On our way to the next stop, we rode by the president's house. It is huge! We were told that at least 20 of the White Houses can fit in it. Originally built for a Pope, it now has many of the national offices as well as the residence of the president. Each branch of military guards the doors in a 6-hour shift.

The next stop was the Spanish Steps. These were built by the Vatican as Spain gave the Vatican a lot of gold, and in return, Spain asked that these 135 steps be built so they would have access to the Spanish church. The steps are made from travertine - taken from the Coloseum! Spain is the first country to have an embassy here. The Steps have been featured in many movies and TV shows.Leia mais