The weather still was not that good on the second day, but only cloudy instead of rainy (although there were some thunderstorms in the evening). The second day brought me to following historical places:
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Piazza Spagna / Spanish stairs
- Piazza del Popolo
- Piazza Colonna / Palazzo Chigi
- Pantheon
- Piazza Navona
- Castel Sant’Angelo
- Città del Vaticano
Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza della Repubblica is a semi-circular piazza in Rome, at the summit of the Viminal Hill, next to the Termini station. On it is to be found Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. In the middle is The Fountain of the Naiads.
Piazza Spagna / Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti
The Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The Scalinata is the widest staircase in Europe.
In the Piazza di Spagna at the base is the Early Baroque fountain called Fontana della Barcaccia (“Fountain of the ugly Boat”), built in 1627-29 and often credited to Pietro Bernini, father of a more famous son, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who is recently said to have collaborated on the decoration. The elder Bernini had been the pope’s architect for the Acqua Vergine, since 1623. According to a legend, Pope Urban VIII had the fountain installed after he had been impressed by a boat brought here by a flood of the Tiber river.
Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means “People’s Square”, but historically it derives from the poplars (populus in Latin, pioppo in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name.
Piazza Colonna / Palazzo Chigi
Piazza Colonna is a piazza at the center of the Rione of Colonna in the historic heart of Rome, Italy. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius which has stood there since 193 CE. The bronze statue of Saint Paul that crowns the column was placed in 1589, by order of Pope Sixtus V.
The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome and the official residence of the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic
Pantheon
The Pantheon is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome, and rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian about 126 AD. Now it is a Catholic church.
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones (“games”), and hence it was known as “Circus Agonalis” (“competition arena”). It is believed that over time the name changed to in avone to navone and eventually to navona.
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
In the middle of Piazza Navona stands the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), a masterpiece designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X.
Castel Sant’Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant’Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum
Città del Vaticano
Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state, ruled by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various national origins. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope’s official residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace. Vatican City is home to some of the most famous art in the world. St. Peter’s Basilica, whose successive architects include Bramante, Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta, Maderno and Bernini, is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescos, which include works by Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Botticelli as well as the ceiling and Last Judgment by Michelangelo. Artists who decorated the interiors of the Vatican include Raphael and Fra Angelico.
- Source: All the short descriptions above were taken from Wikipedia on May 10, 2014.
Pictures can be found in my gallery: gallery.flavioderoni.ch
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