Day Two (…it was a long day…)—October 1, 2007
So.
Back on the bus for a quick ride to another part of town.
Well, at least as far as it could take us down small itty bitty Roman streets. But there’s really no way to drive up to where we were headed to next, so we had to hoof it as best we could through the small streets lined with souvenir shoppes/gelato stores/food joints/who knows what else (it was a brisk walk, so I couldn’t really get a good look) to the Trevi Fountain.
Trevi Fountain. Which finally was outfitted with a circulating water pump in the late 1990s. No wonder the water looked so sparkling fresh.
Trevi Fountain lies at the intersection of three roads and was the location at the end of one of the main aqueducts in ancient Rome.
I do know there was a wide crush of humanity at the fountain when we made our way there. Our guide told us of the “traditional” three-coins-in-the-fountain routine. (I don’t know how traditional it is, but the tourists seem to like it.) The key to the coin-tossing lies not only in how you toss the coin(s), but in the number of coins you choose to toss. You stand with your back to the fountain, and you toss the coin(s) with your right hand over your left shoulder. (If you’re a lefty, just pray you don’t put out the eye of the person next to you.) If you toss one coin, you’ll one day come back to Rome. If you toss two coins, you’ll soon be married. If you toss three coins, you’ll soon be divorced.
Ah, love, Italian-style.
The coins are collected nightly and given to a local charity. Word has it it’s quite a haul.
While waiting to push our way close enough to the fountain to toss our coins, my Mom and I struck up a conversation with an Australian gentlemen who was trying to do the same. (Actually, it was my Mom who did the talking, as she’s the gabby one.) He told us he’d just come back to Rome after a trip down to Sicily “because, well, you can only see so much marble at once.” True, true, very true.
At any rate, we eventually made our way down to the edge of the fountain. I tossed my coin in the appropriate fashion, and legend has it my Mom has photographic proof of same.
Then it was her turn.
I took her picture. A couple of seconds later, somebody’s coin whacked my Mom on her shoulder. (Apparently somebody in the crowd couldn’t be bothered trying to get closer to the fountain.) So, as near as I can tell my Mom managed to dash the wishes of somebody at Trevi Fountain that day.
That’s my Mom. :)
We then pushed our way back up, and decided to indulge in a couple of gelati that melted before we could eat even half of them. (And having to pay for it before telling the guy scooping the gelato what flavors we wanted…how bizarre, how bizarre.) But it was a chance for a brief break before trotting on to our next tourist spot.
Passing by Trajan’s Tower (where a nekkid Trajan flapping in the breeze at the top of the tower was eventually replaced by a statue of St. Peter) and an actual protest in front of a governmental building, we found ourselves in front of the Pantheon.
The Pantheon. One-time temple to the seven primary Roman gods and goddesses built by Agrippa. Now a converted Catholic church.
And, oddly enough, the only church I visited in Rome that had holy water near the front door.
In terms of Catholic churches, it’s really stripped down…little ornamentation or anything of that nature. Coincidentally, as part of the stripping down process the huge bronze ceiling over the entrance was melted down…most of it purportedly went into the construction of the Papal Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica. Others say the bronze went into the construction of cannons at Castel Sant’Angelo. Either way, pretty much all that remains in the Pantheon’s portico are bare columns (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, take your pick).
The doors are made of bronze, but they could be pushed open with one of my weak little woman’s fingers.
But the Pantheon doesn’t really need a lot of ornamentation to make it impressive. And much of this can be attributed to its dome and oculus.
Unlike most domed churches, the oculus of the Pantheon is never covered. So when the weather is inclement outside, it ends up on the floor inside. (Drains are embedded in the floor here and there to keep the flooding to a minimum.) The Oculus (and the doors when they’re open) are the only sources of outside light in the Pantheon. I thought it looked pretty impressive during daylight hours, but given my natural inclinations it probably would’ve looked totally boss on a night with a full moon.
Just to the left of the main altar at the back of the Pantheon is a small alcove. A statue of St. Anne holding the infant Virgin Mary is in that alcove. And right underneath?
That’s where you’ll find the grave of Raphael, who died on his 37th birthday.
Raphael purportedly spent many hours inside the Pantheon, waiting for the inspiration bug to bite. When he fell ill before his death, it was his wish to be buried in the Pantheon.
After leaving the Pantheon, we were again herded on (passing the old Senate Building where Julius Caesar got what for…actually, this was a rebuilt Senate Building, but it’s at the same location as the old one) until we found ourselves at the Piazza Navona.
One section of the Piazza Navona is taken up with the Agonalis Obelisk and the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone. The Piazza Navona wasn’t always called the Piazza Navona…at the time St. Agnes was martyred in this location, it was known as the piazza in agone, a stadium of sorts where footraces were held. So, even though St. Agnes’s martyrdom did involve a fair amount of agony, it has nothing to do with the name of the church that bears her name.
Another section of the Piazza Navona has a large fountain…called, wait for it…Neptune’s Fountain. (There are two other fountains in the Piazza Navona, but I must have blinked because I didn’t see them.) There was also another refreshing drinking fountain there (much like the one near the Arc of Titus)…nectar, I tell you, nectar.
I may not have seen any other fountains but my weary eyes were happy to see the tour bus, which would take us back to the hotel for a brief layover before venturing out for a bit of Roman nightlife…
Pictures, pictures, get your pictures here.
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