Seven days, seven hills

My final excursion this year is a week in the Eternal City. Not having been here since the 1970s but having enjoyed it then, I'm keen to see how much has changed and how much hasn't. And I'm looking forward to immersion in its fantastic history. I'm staying in a smart, if somewhat isolated, quarter on the Gianicolo Hill (known to the Romans as the Janiculum and not actually one of the seven hills). The views are glorious and the statue of Garibaldi, the 19th century independence leader, gazes over it.

There's a fountain on every corner in Rome, from the grand to the humble and including the useful. Down the hill, Trastevere used to be very much the wrong side of the river but has spruced itself up, with all sorts of quiet corners and scenic river views. The colours of late autumn have not yet gone but Christmas is clearly on its way.

Finally the drain cover "Senatus Populusque Romanus" says it all. By the way. the small cobblestones are called sampietrini after they were first introduced around St. Peter's. They can be a hazard to pedestrians in wet weather and a nuisance to scooter riders (not that as a pedestrian I care too much about them) but are very much part of the scene in a small way.Read more