Rome, Italy

arz · 03-11-2003, 08:19 PM

Rome is my second home. I have been there a dozen times since 1996 and each time I fall in love with the city all over again. I believe it to be unique; I don't think there is any other city on Earth that has so much history prserved, used, recycled and displayed the way Rome has.

I love that city so much I've written a book about her.

I can list some favorite spots if anyone is interested.

Griff · 03-12-2003, 06:23 AM

Sure!

arz · 03-12-2003, 02:03 PM

OK!

Rome is a busy, noisy city, but it is very quiet about an hour or so before sunrise. The partiers have finally gone home but the early risers - the fruit sellers, newspaper stand guys, coffee bar people - haven't arrived at their stand or their shop yet.

So, I like to visit the Trevi Fountain then, or the Spanish Steps. The square in front of the Pantheon is also really great, especially since the little fountain there is bubbling away.

And then a Vespa scoots by and ruins it.

One of my favorite churches is the ancient (originally 4th or 5th century) Santa Pressede, near Santa Maria Maggiore (also a favorite). It contains the relics of hundreds of martyrs who were removed from the catacombs in the 9th century. It is named for one of the daughters of a man named Pudens, who hosted Saint Peter (or was it Saint Paul, I can't rememebr right now) and is mentioned in the New Testament. A great old church with a fantastic set of mosaics in the apse and also in the ceiling of the St Zeno Chapel, which holds what is claimed to be a fragment of Christ's flagellation column.

Another favorite is SS Cosma e Damiano, another ancient church, unrestored, located in what was once a library room of Emperor Vespasian's Forum of Peace. Great mosaic showing the saints, Saint Peter and the Pope that built the church, lambs, palm fronds, all kinds of great archaic Catholic imagery. Tiny and dark, with a great "atmosphere." You know you are in an really old building when you're in there.

Let's see... south of the Pantheon is a tiny neighborhood with the best restaurants in town. No English on the menus.

I also like to look out at the Colosseum from the Colle Oppio at night. The Colosseum is always lit and it looks very stately and not at all like a killing field.

There is a bench in the Parco Borghese that is a favorite of mine, too, since myself and a local girl spent some time there sitting on it one night...

03-11-2003, 08:19 PM	#1
arz Hand-of-Kindness Extender Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: So Cal Posts: 137	Rome, Italy Rome is my second home. I have been there a dozen times since 1996 and each time I fall in love with the city all over again. I believe it to be unique; I don't think there is any other city on Earth that has so much history prserved, used, recycled and displayed the way Rome has. I love that city so much I've written a book about her. I can list some favorite spots if anyone is interested.

03-12-2003, 06:23 AM	#2
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Sure! __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

03-12-2003, 02:03 PM	#3
arz Hand-of-Kindness Extender Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: So Cal Posts: 137	OK! Rome is a busy, noisy city, but it is very quiet about an hour or so before sunrise. The partiers have finally gone home but the early risers - the fruit sellers, newspaper stand guys, coffee bar people - haven't arrived at their stand or their shop yet. So, I like to visit the Trevi Fountain then, or the Spanish Steps. The square in front of the Pantheon is also really great, especially since the little fountain there is bubbling away. And then a Vespa scoots by and ruins it. One of my favorite churches is the ancient (originally 4th or 5th century) Santa Pressede, near Santa Maria Maggiore (also a favorite). It contains the relics of hundreds of martyrs who were removed from the catacombs in the 9th century. It is named for one of the daughters of a man named Pudens, who hosted Saint Peter (or was it Saint Paul, I can't rememebr right now) and is mentioned in the New Testament. A great old church with a fantastic set of mosaics in the apse and also in the ceiling of the St Zeno Chapel, which holds what is claimed to be a fragment of Christ's flagellation column. Another favorite is SS Cosma e Damiano, another ancient church, unrestored, located in what was once a library room of Emperor Vespasian's Forum of Peace. Great mosaic showing the saints, Saint Peter and the Pope that built the church, lambs, palm fronds, all kinds of great archaic Catholic imagery. Tiny and dark, with a great "atmosphere." You know you are in an really old building when you're in there. Let's see... south of the Pantheon is a tiny neighborhood with the best restaurants in town. No English on the menus. I also like to look out at the Colosseum from the Colle Oppio at night. The Colosseum is always lit and it looks very stately and not at all like a killing field. There is a bench in the Parco Borghese that is a favorite of mine, too, since myself and a local girl spent some time there sitting on it one night...

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