Italy – Day 1 (Rome, Pt 4)

Arch of Constantine 

One we had finished exploring the Coliseum, we exited and had the task of trying to choose what next to discover. 

We ruled Palatine Hill & The Forum out – we didn’t have enough time – so we started towards the center of town.

Strolling back up Via Fort Imperiali, we arrived at the vast monument at Piazza Venezia. 

We didn’t go up/in, but headed north passing many old churches, restaurants and many more tourists. 

We saw Trajan’s column as we took steps towards my next goal: the Trevi Fountain.

Once we arrived there we found The Fountain was jammed with people.  It was hard to get even a clean photo of this magnificent work of art. 

We decided to continue onwards, so we took a line north east and eventually found our way to the Spanish steps.

Again, more people (though not as bad), so we climbed to the top to get a view of the center below. 

Timing is the key, so we descended and made our way west – bypassing Trevi this time and walking past Italian parliament (I believe).

It’s so odd how you can turn a corner in Rome and literally bump into some building which is 1,500 years old.  The Pantheon was one such building.  Before we knew it, we’d turned a corner and there it was.

Let me preface this by saying the Pantheon is my favourite location in Rome, hands down.  I knew this the first time we went to see it. 

It is not as big or recognisable as the Coliseum, nor as large as many of the Basilicas in Rome, but it is a marvel to have survived rather intact to today.

Originally the Pantheon was a Pagan shrine (to early Roman Gods) and rebuilt in the 2nd century AD.  It survives to this day mainly because it was converted into a Christian church around the 7th century. 

It is also the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome which is amazing, considering it was built almost 2,000 years ago.

Oh, and did I mention it (like many old Roman temples) is massive?

We spent about 30 minutes inside just sitting and taking it all in.  The only light provided is through the open oculus in the dome ceiling, which creates an interesting effect.

After a while we decided to move to our final destination for the day, Piazza Navona which is a very long Piazza to the west of the Pantheon. 

We hauled ourselves over and took a few photos, but as many of the restaurants were closed (or full), we had to look elsewhere for dinner.

We eventually found our way back just north of the Pantheon and ate pizza whilst people watching.  After we had finished up, we took one last stroll past and took some twilight pictures of the Pantheon before beginning the long walk back.

..and that was day 1.