Piazzas, Piazzas, Piazzas.

 We essentially did a 5k this morning. Last night I came up with the route below. These spots were a combination of places I wanted to visit, and places we've noticed on other tours that we wanted to explore a bit more. 

We didn't get up too early, around 8am, just enough to beat the larger crowds at the Trevi Fountain. Passing by it yesterday, Pedro had no idea it was that big, so I think he was excited to go back as well. We found the deli again and got some fruit and sandwiches, then sat at the fountain to eat. So this was our view at breakfast: beautiful

From there we went to Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland).  We saw this from the top of Palatine hill on Friday and Pedro went, " what is that? We need to go there!"

So I did some digging online, and figured out what it was. It is a monument to the first king of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II.  It is huge and has a lot of steps. It also has some funny nicknames, like 'the typewriter' due to its shape and 'the wedding cake' because it's so white. I read that it was free to walk up the steps, through the building, and back down. You would only have to pay to visit the art galleries inside, so we climbed up to the top terrace, walked around, and  enjoyed the high viewpoints. 

Above you can see guards at the Tomb of the Unknown.

On the way to Piazza Navona, we stumbled upon an active archeological site, which was kind of cool to see though we didn't know the significance. 

Today was probably the hottest so far, at 103℉. Luckily we came across plenty of water fountains on the way.  We've seen them in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and the one below happened to be perfect to stick your head and arms under to cool off.  We watched a few locals do this and then plug the tap which sent a stream shooting out of a little hole in the top of the faucet for an easy drink.  Pedro quickly followed suit. 

As we arrived at Piazza Navona, I read Pedro the interesting facts that led me wanting to visit it. This giant Piazza used to have a convex floor, with the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of Four Rivers) flowing directly onto the square. It was designed by Bernini and completed in 1651.  From 1652 to 1866, during an annual festival in August, the piazza would be completely flooded; the aristocrats could decorate their coaches as boats and stage naval battles, the locals could cool off, and everyone could enjoy the show.  And of course, another great Egyptian obelisk.

 

From here, we were in the perfect spot to shop a bit along the way.  We were on beautifully shaded street, with the smell of leather and coffee in the air.  I found a small leather journal and went through several shops other leather shops trying to find a bag I liked. Where is the best place to buy a leather purse, if not in Italy?

We walked up to the Vatican, stopping here and there along the way, until we reached Castel Sant'Angelo.  We didn't want to go in, we were really just interested in seeing the outside and the Ponte Sant'Angelo Bridge.  We found a shady spot and I told Pedro what I'd found out about the castle.

It was originally built as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian and his family (he died in 138AD).  Unfortunately, everything in the tomb had been lost when the structure was converted into a military fortress in 401AD.  The bridge is one of the best surviving ancient roman bridges, though the statue on top has had no such luck.  It was created based on legend, where archangel Michael appeared atop the mausoleum, sheathing his sword as a sign of the plague of 590 coming to an end. The statue has been redone six times since the 11th century.  The first was made of wood and therefore destroyed by time. The second was made from marble, but destroyed by an attack on the castle. The third was marble with bronze wings and struck by lightning. Then, it was entirely gilded bronze until it was used as cannon fodder in 1527.  The fifth was marble with bronze wings (sounds beautiful) but destroyed by weather, until finally it was constructed of all bronze in 1798 and remains today. 

In the 14th century, Pope Nicholas III connected the castle to St. Peter's Basilica so the popes could take refuge there, though military use of the castle didn't end until 1901. 

Pedro was loving the shaded path along the River Tiber on the way to our next Piazza. It was at least 10 degrees cooler here, and it thankfully lasted awhile. 

Just before Piazza del Popolo, we stopped for lunch at this place called PizzaRé.  Best pizza of the whole trip! We got a front row seat to the wood fire grill, watching them make our pizzas.  Thanks to all the walking, I was able to enjoy the whole thing! Even Pedro was surprised I finished it. 

I did my routine reapply of more sunscreen, and then we headed to the piazza, where the metro would take us back to the hotel.

This obelisk was brought over from Egypt around 10BC by Emperor Augustus, celebrating the conquest of Egypt.  The twin churches in the background were built by Bernini and Fontana under Pope Alexander VII.

From there, we went back to the hotel for a rest. This time I was careful to not fall asleep, but at least Pedro got in a two hour nap.  The last thing on our list was Piazza della Repubblica, and it was only one metro stop from our hotel, so it was a pretty easy journey.  The two attractions there were the Fontana delle Naiadi and Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. 

This was the last church Michelangelo worked on, when he started in 1563, only to die a year later. His student, Jacopo Lo Duca, finished his designs.  It fit entirely inside the frigidarium (the cool baths) of the Baths of Diocletian, an interesting choice inspired by a priest's dream of the seven archangels appearing in the ruins of the baths. The priest brought this idea to the Pope, wanting a church to be constructed there, but it wasn't approved until Pope Julius III.  Michelangelo built the church without changing the structure of the ruins, which I'm sure was not an easy feat. Even more impressive, is the meridian line (put in long after the construction), commissioned by Pope Clemens XI.  It was used to check the accuracy of the new Gregorian calendar, when they made the switch from the Julian calendar.  Unfortunately, there was a service in progress, so we couldn't see the line, but there was plenty of other things to see. The last three pictures are interesting, as they are all modern art.  The first is the "Angel of Light" sculpture made in 2000.  The next two show the "Head of John The Baptist" made in 2006. As service was being held, there were ropes put up to separate the pews from the front entrance room, and we decided to leave out of respect. 

Since it was our last day, I wanted to shop. We started walking down a street lined with stores, stopping for gelato along the way (when in Rome), keeping an eye out on shop windows.  I eventually found an outlet store, and found a beautiful, wine red, leather purse. I was definitely satisfied, so we called it a day and headed back to the hotel. 

Not going to lie, I did a whole little photoshoot of my new purse back at the hotel.  Pedro was laughing the whole time, but genuinely glad I found something I liked. 

Surprisingly, we were still full from lunch and ended up just going to bed.  With check out at 11am, and our flight after 2pm, we were going to sleep in!