Ancient city-- Rome

Rome is one of my dream places to go. Let us go there first via this blog to now a little bit more about Rome. Rome is the capital of Italy and also of Lazio. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy. Rome is referred to as “The Eternal City”, a notion expressed by Roman poets and writers. 

 Compare to Rome, I am more interested in the history of ancient Rome. Rome’s history spans more than two and a half thousand years, since its founding in 753 BC, with the union of rural villages. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization than began growing on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. It become one of the largest empires in the ancient world. 

Place to see in Rome.

Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square)

This magnificent square was designed by Bernini. It was completed in 1667 and can hold 400.000 people. The piazza has the shape of an ellipse; on each side there's a curving pair of quadruple colonnades topped with statues of saints. In the middle of the piazza is an obelisk which was brought from Alexandria in AD 37. Also in the piazza are two beautiful fountains. To the left and right of the obelisk are two spots marked on the pavement.

The Pantheon

This building is ancient Rome's best preserved monument. The emperor Hadrian reconstructed it around 120 AD when an older temple sitting on the same spot was destroyed by fire. The interior is really striking, with its dome a perfect hemisphere and an oculus which is believed to symbolize the all-seeing eye of heaven.

Colosseo (Colosseum)

The most famous of ancient Rome's monuments, Colosseum was begun in AD 70 by emperor Vespasian and inaugurated in AD 80 by with a program of games and shows that lasted 100 days. The gladiator fights that took place in the arena were popular forms of entertainment with the Romans. You can find a few of their followers outside the Colosseum. They don't fight to their death anymore but rather pose for pictures.

Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter Basilica)

This must be the world's most imposing church.The present church dates from the 15th century when it was decided to replace the earlier St. Peter church. The rebuilding lasted until the 17th century. Among the artists that worked on the design of the new basilica are Bramante and Michelangelo. Inside the church, near the entrance is Michelangelo's Pieta which is so beautiful; it's a pity that nowadays one has to see it from the distance (due to an incident in 1972). Also very impressive is Bernini's baldacchino that rises above the papal altar.

Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)

If you've seen La Dolce Vita by Fellini you'll recognize this spot easily. The fountain lies in a small piazza off Via del Tritone. It was designed by Nicola Silva. Legend goes that by throwing a coin in the fountain you can secure your return to Rome.

 by Daisy