Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Rome, Italy
Temps: HI 79F (26C) / Lo 63F (17C)
To say that the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument is gigantic would be an understatement … it can be seen from almost anywhere you go in Rome. Also known as the Altar of the Fatherland, the white marble monument that dominates Piazza Venezia was built as an homage to the man considered a symbol of the movement for a united Italy, and who later became the first king of the nation.
Opulent … yes, that’s one word to describe the monument.
Our meandering walk through the patriotic exhibits inside led us to the first terrace from which we enjoyed views of the Rome skyline dotted with the domes of several of the 2,000 or so churches the city boasts.
We’ve visited several of the churches marked by these domes; the Vatican’s
St Peter’s Basilica is the farthest dome on the horizon, just right of the center.
We debated taking the elevator up to the top for aerial views of the city, but the queue was long and it was brutally hot waiting under the sun. No matter; we headed to the terrace behind the monument instead and enjoyed the pleasing views of many of Rome’s iconic sites from there, including the Forum and the Coliseum.
While at the monument, we also visited the adjacent Basilica of St Mary of the Altar of Heaven … one of the most impressive churches I’ve seen in Rome to date. As it turns out, we stumbled upon a service commemorating — if that’s the right word — the Italian armistice of 8 September 1943. We sat awhile and listened to the military choir that was performing for the service before resuming our sightseeing.
© 2004-2015 Two to Travel. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.
Beautiful and unchanged. Guess it really is the Eternal City. Have you yet been "almost" run over by a Vespa? Those things were a major threat to my well being ;)
ReplyDeleteNot yet ... and I hope not ever. There don't seem to be nearly as many as I expected to see running about.
ReplyDeleteBiz Roma'ya gittiğimizde caddelerde Vespalar'dan bol miktarda görmüştük. Özellikle kırmızı ışık yandığında hepsinin birden sinek sürüsü gibi bütün arabaların önüne dizilişleri çok enteresan oluyordu.
ReplyDeleteLooks like nice blue and white skies at least, in spite of the heat. Such an amazing skyline. Two Thousand churches?!? Wondering if they are all Roman Catholic. Also curious is there are refugees from the Middle East streaming into Rome as other parts of Europe.
ReplyDeleteThe Pope has asked each parish in Europe to host a refugee family, so there must be a lot of them in Italy and Europe. But we have not noticed them here in Rome ... at least not where we've been wandering about. We came across one Anglican church today and walked by one that was probably Greek Orthodox (doors closed), but otherwise all have been Roman Catholic as I think the vast majority are. I should have taken a picture of the Anglican church just to show the difference between the simplicity of it in contrast to the opulence of all the other churches we've been in.
ReplyDelete