Monday, December 5, 2011

The Eternal City



Rome was great.
Walked up the Via Giulia, a gaslight-lined street featuring an archway designed by Michaelangelo. The road was built for the popes to travel up and down
along the Tiber from St Peter's. Wandered around the Trastevere and visited Santa Maria in Trastevere with its fabulous 13th century mosaics by Pietro Cavallini. Dinner in a small Osteria near the Piazza Farnese called La Quercia, which was recommended by our hotel, the Ponte Sisto.

Day two- visit to the Contarelli Chapel with its three fantastic Caravaggios depicting scenes from the life of Saint Mathew. Next up was the Santa Maria sopra Minerva, a beautiful gothic basilica which has a Michaelangelo sculpture just to the left of the altar. There are also some stunning 15th century frescoes by Filippino Lippi. After a brief visit to the Pantheon which is around the corner, we viewed the courtyard of Rome's oldest university and then strolled around the atmospheric Ghetto district where we had lunch in a small trattoria. That night we ate at one of Rome's most famous pizzarias, called Da Poeta. The queue was long, I gather it always is! but it was fun to try genuine Roman pizza.