Rome is a beast of a city.
That's an understatement.
There's so much to see and do, and we did explore many things that are off the beaten tourist path (see my previous post), but one does not visit Rome for the first time and ignore her top attractions.
You can bet your sweet chariot that we visited all of them, too!
*Once again, you may notice we are dressed differently in photos within this one post. We didn't visit all of these sites within one day's time, but rather four days time. Also, a couple of the sites we happened to walk by more than once which explains different clothing at the same site. We aren't quick change magicians! Or maybe we are?
The Colosseum
This is a 'can't miss' for any first timer, imo.
I'm not sure why, but once we approached the Colosseum, I felt as if it seemed bigger in photos than it did when standing next to it.
Once inside of it's walls, it became a whole different story.
Note for future visitors:
Buy your advanced ticket online. Just trust me on this. I am very glad we did. The queue for non-ticket holders was ridiculous. With our advanced ticket, we were through security and inside within 15 minutes in mid-July (aka High Tourist Season).
Trevi Fountain
Roman Forum
The forum is quite stunning if you can put your imagination into a visual of what once was.
Think of it like this: Imagine a super huge city near you, like a state capitol, and picture all of the buildings surrounding one of the main squares within that capitol. Now imagine someone builds a new and 'improved' square, and everyone wants to hang out there instead; to eat, shop, and do business. It's the new, cool, hip place to be seen.
The old square becomes abandoned, lost in time; begins to deteriorate, and the city decides to use some of the rubble as building material for new projects.
Now picture whatever city that was in your mind, as if it fell to ruin and was picked apart throughout the years.
That's what happened here.
It's easy to say "But how can something that large just go to shit?"
But really, it is easy.
I've seen it before near my hometown. A new mall goes up across town, leaving the old mall to sit empty and decay for a decade.
And there are such things as ghost towns. I've seen those, too.
I enjoyed visiting the forum. I didn't have a tour guide, though I came prepared with a decent amount of knowledge (or one can just download the Rick Steve's audio guide to a cell phone). I recommend knowing a little about it before attempting to conquer it. You don't need to understand every detail, but maybe a few of the big details would help your imagination during a visit.
There are ways to escape the heat in the forum; by dipping into a semi-ruined church (or temple).
The Santa Maria Antiqua is a dark, cool church that sits within its grounds. It's odd, though. It's not something I would've known was there, nor had I read much about it before.
When we approached the 'ever-so-modern' door, I thought it would lead to an exit, or possibly Palentine Hill.
Instead, what I got was a really old Byzantine cathedral with mosaics and vivid wall paintings.
What I thought to be neat (and an answer as to why I didn't know much about it) is that this specific church within the forum opened to visitors spring of this year, after 36 years of being closed to the public for excavations! That's nuts.
Piazza Navona
Pantheon
And there you have it. Rome's most crowded tourist attractions!
I did say Rome.
Vatican City will be a post of its own!
We attempted to see just about everything within our first trip to Rome, but this is Europe and not every site can be visited for one major reason: Restoration.
The reason I put off Rome last summer is because I knew the Colosseum had a buttload of scaffolding on her outer shell and wouldn't be finished until late spring 2016.
I didn't want to see it for the first time covered by metal and junk; just preference I suppose.
However, there is always a give and take...this summer, the Spanish Steps were closed for repairs and restoration during our visit, which is why you won't find it in any of my posts. Bummer.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. Scaffolding happens.
My thoughts on Rome's top attractions:
They are quite something to behold.
I was a bit afraid that some of them wouldn't leave me impressed, in fear that Pinterest photos, movies, text books, and Google images had ruined them for me. Almost as if I had seen them so many times (other than in person) that I would feel 'meh' when I finally had the chance to visit.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Are they touristy? Oh, hell yes. But with good reason. If I were ever in the Eternal City again, I don't think I'd mind walking the beaten paths of Rome once more.
Next Post:
Randoms of Rome
There are quite a few nooks and crannies of the city I want to share that aren't exactly attractions or museums. I also toured the city by night, twice, so I have a little night photography to throw in the mix, too.
That's an understatement.
There's so much to see and do, and we did explore many things that are off the beaten tourist path (see my previous post), but one does not visit Rome for the first time and ignore her top attractions.
You can bet your sweet chariot that we visited all of them, too!
*Once again, you may notice we are dressed differently in photos within this one post. We didn't visit all of these sites within one day's time, but rather four days time. Also, a couple of the sites we happened to walk by more than once which explains different clothing at the same site. We aren't quick change magicians! Or maybe we are?
The Colosseum
This is a 'can't miss' for any first timer, imo.
I'm not sure why, but once we approached the Colosseum, I felt as if it seemed bigger in photos than it did when standing next to it.
Once inside of it's walls, it became a whole different story.
Note for future visitors:
Buy your advanced ticket online. Just trust me on this. I am very glad we did. The queue for non-ticket holders was ridiculous. With our advanced ticket, we were through security and inside within 15 minutes in mid-July (aka High Tourist Season).
It's kind of crazy to know that this place is almost 2,000 years old!
I think we all know what used to happen here (gladiator fights, anyone?), but that only lasted so long throughout its first few centuries.
What I find to be the most interesting is that it could seat 50,000 people (though shoulder to shoulder), and more so, they would sometimes flood the gladiator floor to provide mock naval shows. Yeah...
If you'd really like to impress your friends who have been to Rome, ask them if they happened to visit/see the Flavian Amphitheater while there. Why? That's the Colosseum's actual name.
Bet a lot of those friends will say "Uh, I don't think I did" while having no clue what you are talking about.
Btw, it wasn't named after the person who commissioned it, but rather the dynasty of the Roman emperor who commissioned it.
Need advanced tickets to the Colosseum?
Trevi Fountain
Unlike the Colosseum, this fountain at first glance was way bigger than I had imagined. Even with a full frame FX camera, capturing a picture of its magnitude was nearly impossible.
There is a tired and common story that if you toss a coin into this fountain, you will return to Rome. Honestly, I didn't toss one. This place was soooo jam packed with people that enjoying it was hard. I pushed my way through the crowds, snapped my photos, and was on my way. Seriously, that busy. My husband and kids waited around the corner for me to get the job done.
I thought if I went back at night maybe there wouldn't be so many people, mind you, on a week night. I was wrong. Same difference!
But the fact of the matter is that this fountain is gorgeous. It's definitely up there on my list of fountains! The Marriage-Go-Round in Nuremberg still wins my heart, though.
Sorry, not sorry.
An interesting Trevi fact:
Have you ever noticed the Colosseum's damage? That was mainly the cause of nature (earthquakes, lightening, etc,.), but during a period of time, the Colosseum sat unused and barren of activity. During that period, the pope allowed the Colosseum to become a quarry; providing rock and brick for new buildings and structures around Rome. One of those structures being the Trevi Fountain!
Roman Forum
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| Septimis Severis Arch |
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| Center of Roman Forum |
The forum is quite stunning if you can put your imagination into a visual of what once was.
Think of it like this: Imagine a super huge city near you, like a state capitol, and picture all of the buildings surrounding one of the main squares within that capitol. Now imagine someone builds a new and 'improved' square, and everyone wants to hang out there instead; to eat, shop, and do business. It's the new, cool, hip place to be seen.
The old square becomes abandoned, lost in time; begins to deteriorate, and the city decides to use some of the rubble as building material for new projects.
Now picture whatever city that was in your mind, as if it fell to ruin and was picked apart throughout the years.
That's what happened here.
It's easy to say "But how can something that large just go to shit?"
But really, it is easy.
I've seen it before near my hometown. A new mall goes up across town, leaving the old mall to sit empty and decay for a decade.
And there are such things as ghost towns. I've seen those, too.
I enjoyed visiting the forum. I didn't have a tour guide, though I came prepared with a decent amount of knowledge (or one can just download the Rick Steve's audio guide to a cell phone). I recommend knowing a little about it before attempting to conquer it. You don't need to understand every detail, but maybe a few of the big details would help your imagination during a visit.
 |
| Side view of Antonius and Faustina Temple (left); my family walking in the foreground |
 |
| Outside of Santa Maria Antiqua |
The Santa Maria Antiqua is a dark, cool church that sits within its grounds. It's odd, though. It's not something I would've known was there, nor had I read much about it before.
When we approached the 'ever-so-modern' door, I thought it would lead to an exit, or possibly Palentine Hill.
Instead, what I got was a really old Byzantine cathedral with mosaics and vivid wall paintings.
What I thought to be neat (and an answer as to why I didn't know much about it) is that this specific church within the forum opened to visitors spring of this year, after 36 years of being closed to the public for excavations! That's nuts.
 |
| View of forum from above Santa Maria Antiqua; below Palentine. |
 |
| I'm not quite sure what this piece is, or where it originally belonged to, but I found it within a dark nook of the church. |
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| House of the Vestals. Or as I like to call it: "The only place in Rome with grass." |
Piazza Navona
It's not surprising as to why this square is said to be one of the most beautiful in Rome.
For the record, I believe it is.
In recent years, this square has gained some popularity thanks to Tom Hanks and Dan Brown. You may have heard of Angels and Demons {book and movie}?
The center fountain, "Fountain of Four Rivers", is a main character in the movie, but the reason I wanted to see this particular fountain is...take a guess...because Bernini designed it.
What I found surprising is that the square wasn't as busy with people as I thought it would be. It's also pretty darn big, so I guess that helps.
We found a cute toy store in the area, and I loved looking at the apartment balconies facing the square. The atmosphere of Piazza Navona is what I imagined it would feel like to be in Rome.
We happened to visit this square on the first and the last day of our Rome trip; purely by wandering. I'd also like to think maybe it was meant to be that way...
 |
| Adorable little pizza joint on an adjacent road. |
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| It has been said that Bernini (the fountain's sculptor) and Borromini (the architect of the large church behind it) didn't get along too well. With that said, it is believed Bernini sculpted the above figure with a sense of sarcasm; making the figure to appear as if he is trembling in fear below the massive church. Not because of Jesus or a religious reason, but as if to say he thought the church would crumble and fall one day. "Oh, Borromini, your church is soooo beautiful. Blah." Oh, Bernini. You so funny. But, the church still stands. |
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| Yet another Bernini design. |
Pantheon
The Pantheon is larger than life and quite a spectacle.
Nearly 2,000 years after is was built, the dome still holds the record of being the largest
un-reinforced dome in the world. That's pretty darn impressive.
Unlike St. Peter's, the dome isn't much of a sight from afar because of how flat-ish looking it appears from a higher point. But in terms of size, it is HUGE, and bigger than St. Peter's.
My kids loved the "hole in the roof", otherwise known as the oculus. I do have to wonder how many other places of worship there are in the world where a Sunday service can come to an abrupt end because of a thunderstorm.
Yes, rain can come through the oculus, thus the floor inside is slightly slanted with a drainage system. I almost wanted a storm to roll though, but from what I hear, it's rare that enough rain can cause a flood in this place. Still, it would have been cool to see.
Oh, and Raphael is entombed here, along with a couple Italian kings.
Really though, it doesn't look like a church, at all. Definitely one of a kind.
And there you have it. Rome's most crowded tourist attractions!
I did say Rome.
Vatican City will be a post of its own!
We attempted to see just about everything within our first trip to Rome, but this is Europe and not every site can be visited for one major reason: Restoration.
The reason I put off Rome last summer is because I knew the Colosseum had a buttload of scaffolding on her outer shell and wouldn't be finished until late spring 2016.
I didn't want to see it for the first time covered by metal and junk; just preference I suppose.
However, there is always a give and take...this summer, the Spanish Steps were closed for repairs and restoration during our visit, which is why you won't find it in any of my posts. Bummer.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. Scaffolding happens.
My thoughts on Rome's top attractions:
They are quite something to behold.
I was a bit afraid that some of them wouldn't leave me impressed, in fear that Pinterest photos, movies, text books, and Google images had ruined them for me. Almost as if I had seen them so many times (other than in person) that I would feel 'meh' when I finally had the chance to visit.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Are they touristy? Oh, hell yes. But with good reason. If I were ever in the Eternal City again, I don't think I'd mind walking the beaten paths of Rome once more.
Next Post:
Randoms of Rome
There are quite a few nooks and crannies of the city I want to share that aren't exactly attractions or museums. I also toured the city by night, twice, so I have a little night photography to throw in the mix, too.
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