Fountains, Obelisks, Piazzas, Statues

Rome, Italy

November 7, 2022

Today! Oggi!

Another sunny, warm, blue sky day - perfect for exploring Rome. We spent four hours doing Rick Steves’ Heart of Rome walk. I forgot my headphones, but I held my phone up next to my ear and it worked almost as well. We started out in Campo de’ Fiori. There was a huge fruit and vegetable market in this piazza. There were also vendors selling spice mixes, pasta, and souvenir bottles of limoncello and other colorful beverages..

The columns embedded into the building in the rear were once pat of the Theater of Pompey.

There were vegetables I have never seen before. I loved the colors, especially all the purple fruits and vegetables.

Even the avocados were purple

These?

Finger-sized eggplants

And this is chestnut season . . .

It was really fun here. Lots of commotion and noise, lots of delicious smells. So much to see. 

Next up was Piazza Farnese. This piazza included a house designed by Michelangelo. There was some restoration going on, so it was partially covered with a clever trompe-l’oeil screen. 

In Piazza Navona, three delightful Baroque fountains drew crowds of tourists. A fountain at one end of the piazza featured a Moor wrestling with a dolphin.

At the other end, Poseidon is slaying an octopus.

In the center sits the famous Four Rivers Fountain, by Bernini, complete with an obelisk “borrowed” from Egypt.

Just looking at all these water-themed fountains will cool a person off on a hot day.

A blockfarther on we found the French national church in Rome, the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi.

It was sort of in an alley, and didn’t look like much from the outside, but oooh la la, the inside was magnifique, with over-the-top French decor, paintings by Caravaggio, and a sign pointing the way for confessions in French.

First Rule of Being a Tourist: Always look UP! (And down.)

We swung by the amazing Pantheon, with its fountain and obelisk in the piazza in front, its towering columns at the entrance, and its brilliantly engineered dome.

Soon we arrived at the massive Trajan’s Column. It has stood in this spot since the Second Century CE. It tells the story of Emperor Marcus Aurelius battling barbarians. Did you know Trajan was from Spain?

Continuing our forced march brought us to the Trevi Fountain. By this time, the crowds were starting to make it hard to go where you wanted to go. We did not get an early enough start today. Second Rule of Being a Tourist: Get an early start.

The light wasn’t right for a good photo of this beautiful tribute to water.

Whew! Shall we go back to the hotel and rest our feet?

Today’s color is plum.