One Day in Rome – Part II

December 15, 2015December 15, 2015 by Julia In Travel 2 Comments

Pantheon

The Pantheon was our first stopover after lunch. It is an impressive and massive building, that was completed by the emperor Hadrian and dedicated around 126 AD. The Pantheon is probably the best-preserved building from ancient Rome and although it doesn´t look like it, the Pantheon has been used as a church since the 7th century. In my opinion, it is not a beautiful building (too dark, too clunky) but definitely one of the most impressive sights in Rome.

One day I would like be there when it rains (or snows), to see the rain falling through the oculus into the building. But the weather was just too good…poor me.

 Trevi Fountain

Our visit to the Trevi Fountain was a bit disappointing because it was under renovation. Aside from the fact that there was a fence in front of it, there was also no water in it. And a fountain without water is not really a fountain, is it?!

Normally, you have to throw a coin into the basin. Be aware, it is important to throw it with your right hand over your left shoulder. If you do it right, you will come back to Rome one day. But we couldn´t even do that – thank you roman construction builder for ruining our revisit…

Colosseum

It is the town’s landmark like no other – with good reason. I mean, it was built between 72 and 80 AD and could hold between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators. Isn´t it ironic that until now, they needed 9 years for the Berlin airport (BER) and it isn´t even nearly finished…I don´t even know why I tell this story – it is embarrassing.

Okay, the airport is even bigger and they don´t have slaves anymore but on the other hand, they have the technology and machinery. Besides, the materials they use today are not as far as massive as the stones they used for the Colosseum. And to be honest, I doubt that the airport building will be still there in 2000 years…

To cut a long story short, it is an impressive building, which has to be on your places-to-see-before-I-die-list!

Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II

This big monument was built in honor of Victor Emmanuel, which was the first king of the unified Italy. I heard that the Romans don´t like this colossus because it is too big, too white and doesn´t fit into the historic townscape. To be honest, I know what they mean. In every other city I would have liked this monument – it is impressive after all. But in Rome it just looks too modern compared to the old ruins of Trajan’s Forum or Roman Forum next to it.

However, I strongly recommend taking the elevator to the roof. The view over the Roman Forum and the city is amazing. And it is even better to do that last, because you can backtrace the whole route of the day. We could see St. Peter’s Basilica, Castel Sant’Angelo, the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone at Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and of course the Colosseum and Roman Forum. What a perfect day…

Roman Forum

Unfortunately, there was not enough time to go into the forum. In my opinion, this is an unbelievable interesting sight and every time I stood in the middle of the Roman Forum, I imagined Julius Caesar strolling about the same streets, over 2000 years ago. That´s a moment where you feel very small…

However, even if I like this place very much, I wouldn´t recommend going there if you´re not interested in history. I mean there are more or less only ruins and piles of stones. You need to take some time, a clear map of the area and some good imagination. So, just running through the forum would be a waste of time…

Nevertheless, we had a nice view over the Roman Forum from the top of  Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II.