Rome and Silversea Day 3

Start of day: Rome, Italy
End of day: Rome, Italy

Every Wednesday the Pope is in residence at the Vatican, he holds a General Audience. Anyone is invited to attend, and there is no charge. If you write to the Prefecture of the Papal Household in advance, you may be able to get tickets that provide closer access. They ask that you submit your request at least two weeks in advance. If they respond that they have a ticket for you, you can pick it up during limited hours the day before, or on the morning of the Audience.

I did not attend the General Audience, despite having a ticket. The event itself starts at 10am, with doors opening at 7:30am, but I’ve read it’s a good idea to arrive earlier than that.

As I lay in bed at 2am the night before, my body still believing it to be 8pm, I decided the math wasn’t mathing on sleeping for maybe 3 hours, and then standing in a dense crowd or possibly sitting on a hard plastic seat for 3+ hours. I’m of an age where my body doesn’t operate well with less than 6 hours of sleep. I was not optimistic it would be a good time.

Instead, I set out to walk and tour. Notable stops that day were the Spanish Steps: The Spanish Steps in Rome rising up to the twin-towered Trinità dei Monti church, flanked by ochre and cream palazzi and lined with pink azaleas in bloom, with dense crowds of tourists on the steps and in Piazza di Spagna below

Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in Piazza Navona: Detail of Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in Piazza Navona, showing the bearded Ganges river god reclining on travertine rocks with a carved palm tree behind him, water cascading into the basin, and ochre Roman buildings and restoration scaffolding in the background

The Pantheon: Interior view of the Pantheon dome in Rome, with sunlight streaming through the central oculus down onto its coffered concrete ceiling, columns and altars ringing the rotunda, and visitors gathered on the marble floor below

View looking out from inside the Pantheon through its massive bronze entry doors at the columned portico beyond, with a turnstile queue of visitors and roped stanchions in the foreground

Pantheon entrance dress-code sign in Italian and English (Attenzione Prego Abbigliamento Consono al Luogo Sacro / Attention Please Appropriate Dress for the Church) showing YES and NO pictograms next to a fluted granite column inside the portico

The Largo di Torre Argentina archaeological site (where Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Curia of Pompey, in the area beneath that umbrella pine in the photo):

A few other sites caught my eye as I was walking around:

Two-tier travertine arcaded courtyard at Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome, with Bramante-designed arches receding around an empty cobblestone court under an overcast sky

Long marble-and-travertine archway passage through a Roman palazzo with wrought-iron gates on either side, vaulted ceiling, and a red car parked just beyond the far arch on the street

Close-up of the Renaissance facade of Basilica di Sant'Agostino in Rome, showing the 1483 dedicatory inscription to Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville (OSTIEN CARD ROTHOMAGEN, M·CCC·LXXX·IIII) flanking a recessed fresco lunette of seated robed figures

Full Renaissance travertine facade of Basilica di Sant'Agostino in Rome, with its triangular pediment, rose window, central fresco lunette over the bronze doors, broad outdoor steps, and crowds passing in the small piazza in front

Dinner was a return visit to Romoletto (this time for carbonara), followed by my obligatory gelato from MYO, then a sit-and-watch in the chairs in front of the hotel. I turned in at 11pm and fell asleep straight away.

Bowl of rigatoni alla carbonara dusted with black pepper and guanciale on a yellow Romoletto-branded ceramic plate, set on a yellow Romoletto placemat at the Campo de' Fiori trattoria

A mint-green Italian city bicycle parked at night outside Al Biscione cafe near Campo de' Fiori, with a basket overflowing with pink-flower garlands, the restaurant's PIZZA PASTA VINO signage glowing behind, and a cobblestone street stretching into the dark

Cast-iron Roman nasone drinking fountain running in a small cobblestone piazza at night, with Ristorante Verso Sera lit up behind under a clear plastic enclosure with string lights, diners inside, and a server standing by a chalkboard menu

BTW, here’s the door to the rooftop patio I was mentioning yesterday. That’s my room, #603. Loved the rooftop patio.

Hallway at Hotel Campo de' Fiori showing the door to room 603 on the right and a sunlit glass door at the end of the hall opening onto a small balcony with ochre Roman buildings visible outside

← Previous Post Next Post →