Rome: the historic centre (3)

With less than a week to go before Christmas I'm finishing my walk around some of Rome's historic centre with a look inside the Pantheon which is not far from Piazza Venezia and Il Vittoriano or the Victor Emmanuel II Monument (below) - an unmistakable landmark.  A lift that was installed a few years ago takes visitors to the top of this impressive monument and the views must be amazing.

the X marks the lift shaft of the Victor Emmanuel II Monument in this photo

The Victor Emmanuel II Monument

Piazza Venezia

Piazza della Minerva

The church in this piazza was built on the ruins of a temple.  The obelisk was found in the monastery garden of Santa Maria sopra Minerva and was mounted on the back of  the elephant, designed by Bernini and sculpted by Ercole Ferrata.

In the same area is Piazza della Rotonda (below) and the Pantheon.  By the time we arrived there it was early afternoon and the area was so crowded it was difficult to take photos of the exterior of this impressive building although the light was better than it had been earlier in the day.

a vintage postcard shows the Pantheon's facade with its immense portico, columns of granite
 and the piazza with the fountain and obelisk

On entering the building we found that it was also full of visitors. 

The Pantheon, the Roman temple dedicated to 'all the gods', is a marvel of Roman engineering.  Designed by the Emperor Hadrian (AD 118-125) it replaced an earlier temple built by Marcus Agrippa, son-in-law of Augustus.  The rotunda's height and diameter are equal 43.3 m (142 ft).  The dome was cast by pouring concrete mixed with tufa and pumice over a temporary wooden framework.  Brick arches embedded in the structure of the wall act as internal buttresses, distributing the weight of the dome.   The hole at the top, the oculus, provides the only light.

In the Middle Ages the Pantheon became a church. The great Master painter and architect, Raphael, is buried here and the tombs of the kings of modern Italy can also be seen.  

The Annunciation  (Melozzo da Forli)

St. Joseph and the Holy Child

The high altar

                 

Bust of Raphael

The Tomb of Raphael (Raffaello da Urbino)  1483-1520

The Adoration of the Shepherds (Francesco Cozza)

The Adoration of the Magi (Francesco Cozza)

Rome: the historic centre (2)

Continuing with the walk around Rome's historic centre we made our way from the Quirinal area to the Forums.  The Via dei Fori Imperiali is a long one with Roman ruins on either side of this main street and the Colosseum looms large at the end of it.

 

The above photo was taken a few years ago and it has reminded me that work on the Colosseum to stabilise this most famous buildings of Rome's Imperial past has been going on for many years.  At the moment there's a major construction work taking place in the Metro near the Colosseum and some areas of the main Forum are closed for repairs to some of the monuments.  I noticed metal bands had been clamped around columns in the Forum presumably to strengthen them.   On the right as you walk towards the Colosseum there's a high fence surrounding the building site. However, a visitor can take a tour and the ticket can be purchased and used to enter both sites.

The Colosseum was commissioned by the Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and it's an amazing building

because of its design and engineering features.  Eighty arched entrances allowed easy access to 55,000 spectators who came to the amphitheatre.  It was built in the form of an ellipse with tiers of seats around the arena that had a wooden floor covered in sand.  The 19th century excavations exposed the network of underground passages and rooms.

                                                                   

Above is a view of the walk leading up into the Imperial Forum with the Arch of Titus and colonnades of a temple built in AD 121 by the Emperor Hadrian (The Temple of Venus and Rome) and behind that is the church of Santa Francesca Romana. In the 15th century Francesca cared for the city's poor and after her canonisation this ancient church, originally called Santa Maria Nova, was renamed.

The Arch of Constantine is next to the Colosseum.

This triumphal arch was built to mark the victory of  Emperor Constantine over his co-emperor Maxentius. Some of the statues and reliefs that decorate this huge construction were taken from Trajan's Forum. These were probably by the artist who worked on Trajan's Column at the other end of Via dei Fori Imperiali.

It would be tempting to take a ride along the road from the Colosseum to Piazza Venezia, but there's plenty to see on foot.

Reliefs on the Temple of Minerva in the Forum of  Nerva.   A frieze of young girls shows some learning to sew and weave. Excavations have been going on for some time and Renaissance shops and taverns have been found.

The Forum of Augustus can be viewed from wooden platforms with seating along this stretch of the road. It's a good place to take a rest and appreciate what has been uncovered during the excavations of the site.

The Trajan Markets

Trajan's Column

There's a complete set of casts of the scenes that are depicted in relief on the column in one of the Museums of Roman Antiquity.

Small windows can be seen as there's a spiral staircase inside the column although this is not usually open to the public.

On the other side of Via Fori Imperiali is the Forum of Julius Caesar.

The church on the left of the photo with the pink walls is San Giuseppe dei Falegnami (St. Joseph of the Carpenters). Underneath the church visitors can go down into a dungeon which was part of the Mamertine Prison also known as the Tullianum. This was an old cistern with access to the city's main sewer.  I visited the church many years ago as the dungeon is the cell where St. Peter was imprisoned according to Christian tradition.  The two chains (vincoli) that were used to shackle him, again according to legend, were taken to Constantinople.  In the 5th century the Empress Eudoxia had one placed in a church in Constantinople and the other was sent to her daughter in Rome.  The daughter gave them to Pope Leo who built the church of San Pietro in Vincoli to house it. Later the other chain was returned to Rome and both chains can be seen together below the high altar of this church. 

Rome: the historic centre (1)

Our trips to Italy wouldn't be complete without spending some time in Rome's historic centre.

Porta Maggiore - a city gate formed by the aqueduct built by Emperor Claudius in AD 52

The photos were taken from the train window as we travelled in from our provincial town.  When we pass through the countryside near the Alban Hills and see towns such as Colonna, the remains of Roman aqueducts and other ruins we know that we're not far from the city.  Before coming into the station the train slows down and usually stops next to Porta Maggiore and I remember the first time we lived in Rome in an apartment a few tram stops away from this area. 

Via Casilina

a tram in the Via Casilina area

Every time we've been into Rome in the past couple of years we've noticed the makeover to the major monuments in the historic centre (which is a ENESCO World Heritage Site).  This has meant that many of them have been covered in scaffolding, tarpaulin or wooden boards. Some fountains have been drained of water in order that the marble and stonework could be cleaned.  Construction work is also being done on the infrastructure of the city. Some of these projects are being funded by private companies; Tod's is financing works at the Colosseum, Fendi has refurbished the Trevi Fountain and Bulgari is working on the Spanish Steps. There's a rush to complete these projects, at least by Spring 2016, in time for many of the Vatican's Jubilee Year events, although the official date for the beginning of this special year starts next month on the 8th December.  Of course, there's so much else to experience in this fascinating city, but everyone wants to see the iconic major sites when visiting Rome for the first time.

Whilst we were in Rome in September we made our way to the Trevi Fountain to see what was taking place there regarding the project to clean the sculptures and water bowl surrounding this magnificent structure.

                                                                                       

A perspex wall had been placed around the fountain and the water drained from the basin so, of course, there was no opportunity to throw those coins into it as has been the tradition for many years.

The site of the Trevi Fountain originally marked the end of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct built in 19 BC although the fountain was only constructed in 1762.  The central figure is Neptune with two Tritons on either side each with a horse. One horse strikes a wild pose and the other looks more docile symbolising the two contrasting moods of the sea.

These are the photos I took through the perspex wall.

Thankfully the water was turned back on recently and the Trevi opened again to the public and I'm looking forward, hopefully, to returning next year to see the results of the cleaning and to compare the before and after look. (Photos below were taken in 2011)

On the corner of one of the streets that leads into the Piazza di Trevi there's a strine on the wall of the building. These sacred pictures of the Madonna have been placed here and there in the narrow thoroughfares throughout the old city and are called Madonelle by the Romans.  The icons have a long history and originate from the custom of placing small pagan altars in honour of the deities that were important to wayfarers at the intersection of streets.  These pagan images were then replaced by Christian ones.  The oldest ones appeared in the 15th century and over the centuries were embellished with elaborate frames, canopies and other decorations. Below is another in the same area along Via Pilotta where Via San Vincenzo leads into Piazza di Trevi.

Via Pilotta is a beautiful street.  On one side is Palazzo Colonna with its 17th century art gallery which is open to the public and contains some fine paintings and on the other are the gardens of one of the villas on the Quirinale Hill.  Each section of Palazzo Colonna has a private walkway across the street into the Quirinale grounds.

Further along this street is the Gregorian University whose entrance faces Piazza della Pilotta.

Piazza della Pilotta

As you can imagine there's a lot to see as a visitor wanders around just a few of the back streets and piazzas in one area without even going into any of the churches, art galleries or museums.  As I study the guide books dedicated to the rich history of Rome I begin to appreciate the finer details of architecture, sculptures, street furniture and the ancient stones beneath my feet.   

I'll continue with our walk around Rome when we went to the Roman Forums, the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the churches on the Quirinal Hill before returning to the main train station another time.