Such a short time for such an amazing country. Sitting on my desk
is a piece of vocalnic stone from Mt. Vesuviuvo, a postcard from
Napoli, a museum guide to the National Cinema Museum in Mole
Antonelliano, admission cards to Matisse & Connard, Uffizi etc,
several books about Rome, Venice, Pompei, Da Vinci, a few packages of
Ferraro chocolates, a precious murano glass bowl and a water painting
of the beautiful Spanish Steps in Spring. It seems like Italy has this
magic power to make people fall in love with it instantly. This trip
was memorable because of all the sweet and passionate people that made
me feel at home in a foreign country.
One of the most characteristic piazze in Rome is
Piazza di Spagna. In the center of that irregular and sublime piazza is
Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Old Boat). This fountain
stands apart from all other fountains not because of its grandeur but
because the lack of it. This unusually beautiful creation is the work
of the famous team Bernini -- father Pietro and son Gian Lorenzo --
under the commission of Pope Urbano VIII Barberini in 1627. The design
is a boat semi-submerged in a huge bathtub, with water gently flowing
out through leaks. It's a brilliant solution to the problem of low
pressure in the aqueduct Vergine, the feeding source of water to the
fountain. The sun and the bees on the bow and stern are the symbol and
family crest of Pope Urbano. (attached is a picture of Spanish Steps in
Spring when decorated with beautiful blossoms. My water painting bought
from a street artist in Piazza Novano looks very much the same.
Trevi Fountain is the most famous fountain in the world, and not just because Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita lifted up her gown to wade through its waters after dancing through the night streets with a white kitten in her arms. Designing and building Trevi was the work of many geniuses and the project was the master of all master works. The central figure of the fountain is Neptune riding a chariot in the shape of a shell. The chariot is pulled by two sea horses and guided by two Tritons. One of the horses is calm, while the other one restive: they are the symbols of the sea's fluctuating moods. On the left hand side of Neptune is Abundance the God of Wealth, and on the right, Salubrity the God of Health. I tossed one coin into the fountain to ensure my return to Rome!! The fountain at
day time is a place full of people and cameras clicking. We also saw a young couple taking wedding photos. At dawn light, it was even more beautiful and much quieter.[code]<script>
D(["mb","
\n
\nMy very favorite Piazza in Rome is Piazza Navona,\nwhich is oval in shape because it was built to be used for athletic\ncontests, chariot races, as well as other sporting events. It stands\nabove the remains of the Circus of Domitian and preserves its original\nform. There are three beautiful fountains in this Piazza. The one I\nlike best is officially called Fontana dei Fiumi by Bernini. Most\npeople call it the Fountain of the Four Rivers. It serves as a base for\nthe Egyptian obelisk brought to Rome from the Circus of Maxentius.\nThose rivers of the world are: the Nile, the Plate, the Ganges, and the\nDanube. Sculptured Figures are seated on rock ledges, and each figure\nrepresents one of the Rivers. Another fountain (also by Bernini) is\ncalled Fontana del Moro or (Fountain of the Moor). The one in the\nPiazza is really a copy. The third fountain is called Fontana di\nNeptuno (Fountain of Neptune). The Piazza is filled with artists. While\nthere, I purchased the watercolor of Spanish Steps in Spring. It was so\nlovely. There are\nnumerous cafes and interesting things going on at the sidewalk and the\ncenter of piazza. We sat down at a cafe to enjoy the view with a glass\nof good vino bianca and a plate of prociutto con melone. It was very\ndelicate tasting, great for summer weather.
\n
\nI heard that Piazza Navona was frequently flooded, not by rain or\nstorm, but by Romans to provide fun for all! I hoped to find a water\npainting of the flooded piazza but did not succeed.
\nUnlike most huge monuments, the Pantheon takes\nonly a moment to be overwhelmed by its beauty. The immense vault,\nsuspended overhead\nseemingly without support is crowned by the open circle - rays of\nsunlight bath the devout as their prayers rise to the heavens. Rome\'s\nonly monument that is architecturally intact from classical times. In\nreality, no one knows when it was built, but supposedly by Agrippa in\n27 BC (due to the inscription "M Agrippa....")actually it was\ndestroyed by fire in 80 AD and redesigned by Hadrian. Hadrian said, "My\nintentions had been that this sanctuary of All Gods should reproduce\nthe likeness of the terrestrial globe and of the stellar sphere...The\ncupola...revealed the sky through a great hole at the center, showing\nalternately dark and blue. We wandered around the Pantheon so long that\nwe were not in time for Vatican Meseum..another excuse to come back\nagain! Actually during that day Italy had a strike of public\ntransportations. Getting a taxi nearby would almost be an impossible\ntask.",1]
);
//--
My very favorite Piazza in Rome is Piazza Navona,
which is oval in shape because it was built to be used for athletic
contests, chariot races, as well as other sporting events. It stands
above the remains of the Circus of Domitian and preserves its original
form. There are three beautiful fountains in this Piazza. The one I
like best is officially called Fontana dei Fiumi by Bernini. Most
people call it the Fountain of the Four Rivers. It serves as a base for
the Egyptian obelisk brought to Rome from the Circus of Maxentius.
Those rivers of the world are: the Nile, the Plate, the Ganges, and the
Danube. Sculptured Figures are seated on rock ledges, and each figure
represents one of the Rivers. Another fountain (also by Bernini) is
called Fontana del Moro or (Fountain of the Moor). The one in the
Piazza is really a copy. The third fountain is called Fontana di
Neptuno (Fountain of Neptune). The Piazza is filled with artists. While
there, I purchased the watercolor of Spanish Steps in Spring. It was so
lovely. There are
numerous cafes and interesting things going on at the sidewalk and the
center of piazza. We sat down at a cafe to enjoy the view with a glass
of good vino bianca and a plate of prociutto con melone. It was very
delicate tasting, great for summer weather.
I heard that Piazza Navona was frequently flooded, not by rain or
storm, but by Romans to provide fun for all! I hoped to find a water
painting of the flooded piazza but did not succeed.
Unlike most huge monuments, the Pantheon takes
only a moment to be overwhelmed by its beauty. The immense vault,
suspended overhead
seemingly without support is crowned by the open circle - rays of
sunlight bath the devout as their prayers rise to the heavens. Rome's
only monument that is architecturally intact from classical times. In
reality, no one knows when it was built, but supposedly by Agrippa in
27 BC (due to the inscription "M Agrippa....")actually it was
destroyed by fire in 80 AD and redesigned by Hadrian. Hadrian said, "My
intentions had been that this sanctuary of All Gods should reproduce
the likeness of the terrestrial globe and of the stellar sphere...The
cupola...revealed the sky through a great hole at the center, showing
alternately dark and blue. We wandered around the Pantheon so long that
we were not in time for Vatican Meseum..another excuse to come back
again! Actually during that day Italy had a strike of public
transportations. Getting a taxi nearby would almost be an impossible
task.
The
way of Italian demonstration was very peaceful and filled with flowers
and music. As we passed by policeman, carabiles, we carefully asked if
it was ok to walk there. They gave a "go ahead" and enthusiastically
asked where we wanted to visit.
We figured the Vatican would be closed by then, the alternative
option was to walk to the coliseum. My first look of the coliseum was
from Piazza venezia, walking down the tomb of the unknown soldiers.
Many thing glorious and many gory, this huge monument inspired awe and
wonder. The Colosseum was begun in A.D. 72 when it was
originally know as the Flavian Amphitheatre. The Colosseum is known as
such for it was built by the three Flavian emperors, Vespasian, Titus
and Domitian. When completed the Colosseum must have been a stunning
building. It's exterior was highly decorative with, Iconic, Doric and
Corinthian columns. The interior seated 60,000 people. The Colosseum
could also be canopied to cover the audience on rainy days or from the
hot summer sun. The seats, rows and sections were numbered much like
they are today in modern stadiums. The sport that the Colosseum played
host to must have been quite exciting for it was here that the
gladiators fought. The battles between these gladiators were quite
elaborate. Often teams of them would fight each other resulting in a
gory bloodbath. The floor of the Colosseum could actually be flooded so
that small naval vessels could go to war against each other. The
Colosseum fell into disuse when Rome became Christianized in the 4th
century A.D. The walls of the Colosseum began to fall apart, the result
of both earthquake, neglect and the need for stones to build the walls
that surround Rome. I purchased a guide book of past&present Rome
for mom where it has pictures of the original il colosseo. The vendor
said hello in Chinese and when I spoke to him in Chinese, he said "piao
liang" in a musical way that made me laugh.