25th Wedding Anniversary Trip to Italy
We have been talking about going to Europe for years, and finally the time was right so we chose to visit Italy and spend a couple days in Amsterdam. (Selfie on the long flight to Rome)
Rome is Italy's capital with nearly 3,000 years of globally influential art, architecture and culture on display!
Out hotel was more like a Bed and Breakfast, in the middle of an apartment building. We would have never found it but Brad asked some guy who walked in large automatic doors, and then paged the hotel which was located on the third floor.
Inside our hotel room
View from our window
Eating our first Italian meal...
Spaghetti
and my first real Italian geltao - this was the moment I became a gelato addict!
Our awesome tour guide for every site in Vatican City
View of Rome from Saint Peter's Square
Our little tour group and flag
Saint Peter's Basilica
Saint Peter's Square
View of the Vatican Obelisk
Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico) and residence of the Pope
Catholic priest walking around the Vatican
Pope headquarters and Vatican City wall
Entrance to the Vatican and its museums
The Vatican
Main alter inside of the Vatican
Vatican library ceiling
A Confessional inside the Vatican
Beautiful interior of Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo
St. Stephen of the Abyssinians Catholic Church
Smaller church hidden away in Vatican city
The Priest of the little church
Church courtyard
The next several pictures were taken of the inside of various churches in Vatican City...
Our very enthusiastic tour guide explaining about the Sistine Chapel. He described each painting portrayed on the walls (replicas were on display outside since it was forbidden to talk or take pictures inside the Chapel)...
The next several pictures were taken of sculptures and artifacts inside the Vatican museums...
Our guide explained that this is how colorful many of the statues and sculptures were before being dimmed by weather and time.
Famous sculpture called Laocoon Group
Other famous sculptures...
Beautiful statues from the Chiaramonti Museum which connected the Palace of the Belvedere to the Vatican.
Greek statue of Cesar as a young boy
Ornate tapestries...
this one showing an optical illusion
Temple of Hadrian
Cortile della Pigna or public courtyard where
this interesting work of art was located called 'Sphere Within Sphere'
Our guide is demonstrating how the sphere rotates
The Pigna (Pinecone) is also located in the Cortile della Pigna
Other artwork on the Vatican grounds
The Vatican gardens
Back view of the Piazza del Popolo
Castel Sant'Angelo
viewo of Castel Sant'Angelo from the Tiber River or Fiume Tevere
Monument Victor Emmanuel II
Sant'Agnese in Agone, Piazza Navona
Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune Fountain) in Piazza Navona
Ancient Rome - The Palatine Hill
Foro di Cesare
Other pictures of Ancient Rome...
Roman Forum
Arch of Titus
The Piazza del Colosseo and Colosseum
Roman Pantheon
Other famous places...
Campo de'Fiori
Trastevere Neighborhood
Famous 'del triato' Gelato
I can't tell 'good' gelato from 'bad' gelato because in Italy it's all good!!
Cool road graffiti
and spray-paint art!
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