From Rome with Love! (Day 1)

In the Spring of 2007, we spent two wonderful days in the heart of Italy, the multicolored Rome. I was always impressed by Italy’s historical heritage, but I had no idea it was so dominant until this day, even in the capital city (or especially in the capital city). I had always imagined capitals as being much more futuristic, with a lot of huge and intimidating buildings with thousands of glass windows and big advertisement boards. But Rome is something else, and I think that’s why I fell in love with it at the very beginning. I thought it was spectacular how they managed to keep all these edifices in such good shape for such a long time. And they really cherish their past, and try to preserve as much as they can for future generations-respect!

Our first stop was the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II (who was the first king of the unified Italy- according to Wikipedia). The whole building is made of white marble, and as you can see, it was under renovation when we were there. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to enter the building (I hear it hosts a museum), but still our first stop became memorable just by seeing the graciousness and grandness of the monument, the symbol of Italy’s fusion. Here’s a photo of it, although it was photo-bombed by a local, you can still see the point:

Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II

Our second stop was the Roman Forum. I can’t even tell you the mix of feelings I had once we were walking among 2-3000 year old ruins. I thought it was absolutely beautiful and very humbling at the same time. Thousands of years of history were spread around the Forum, an impressive collection of artifacts.

Roman Forum

We were so astonished and impressed by the surroundings, that we barely noticed that our path was leading towards one of the 7 wonders of the World. The Colosseum rose in front of our eyes, slowly but surely. The first wonder I had ever seen.

walking up to the Colosseum

I remember that we had to wait a while in order to get in, but that was okay. We were looking around while we were waiting, knowing that once we entered, thousands of stories would appear in front of our eyes, as we would imagine all the gladiator and animal fights that took place in one of the World’s biggest amphitheater.

inside the Colosseum

Luckily, I was able to share the experience with one of my best friends! You haven’t seen her before on the blog, but she’ll appear more and more in the future. So without further ado, I’d like to introduce to you my dear friend, Timi! 🙂

with Timi in the Colosseum

Back then, the central part wasn’t yet opened to the tourists, so we just walked around and admired this edifice we’ve all heard so much about. Also, if you get here, be sure to check out the view from the Colosseum too, because you can almost see the whole Forum.

me with a weird grim and the Forum at my back

Next, we went to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, to see Michelangelo’s renown Moses statue. The photos we took here came out awful, so I apologize for it (but you have to know that the statue is awesome-you can see it among the photos at the end). Also, we saw the chains with which St. Peter was tied up with.

reliquary with St. Peter’s chains

Our last stop was at the Scala Santa, the Saint Stairs on which Jesus stood during his passion in Jerusalem. The stairs were brought to Rome 400 years later, and represent one of the stopping points for Pilgrims around the World. Unfortunately, it looks like we didn’t take any photos of it which I could share with you. Instead, I decided to put up some more pictures of the places we visited, to see them in full size, click! 😀

with Timi in the Colosseum

What is this building?

walking up to the Colosseum

Roman Forum

Roman Forum

reliquary with St. Peter’s chains

Moses statue

Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II

Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II

me with a weird grim and the Forum at my back

inside the Colosseum

il Colosseo

il Colosseo

Colosseum

With this said, I have a question for you, my dear readers. I don’t remember and can’t find what this building is. I remember it was in the neighborhood of the Saint Stairs, but can’t remember what it is. Can any of you help out? 🙂

What is this building?

Related posts:

My Vatican adventures in retrospect From Rome with Love (Day 2) 5+1 Fun Facts – Rome Visit Florence