Saturday, July 30, 2016

Trip to Italy - Rome

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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