Major Attractions (part 1)

Campo de Fiori Market

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

Tiber Island

Campo de Fiori Market

The Forno Campo de Fiori was a busy piazza and sandwich takeout place. The typical way to buy take-away pizza here is to fold up the rectangular thin crust pizza slice and serve it that way.

The most famous and the busiest outdoor market in Rome, this market has everything from spices and olive oil to flowers and fashion wear. We usually shy away from restaurants and eateries at the busiest tourist locations, but the popular Forno Campo de Fiori pizzaria at the corner was fantastico!

Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon...lots of visitors!

The architecture is quite unique, comprised of a series of intersecting arches.

A pano shot of a dome makes the walls look flat when taken from the center of the dome.

A striking 2000-year-old temple, now a church, the Pantheon is the best preserved of Rome’s ancient monuments and one of the most influential buildings in the Western world. Built by Hadrian over Marcus Agrippa’s earlier 27 BC temple, it has stood since around 125 AD.

Trevi Fountain

The crowd here is maddening.

Legend has it that if you throw one coin into the fountain, you will return to Rome. Two coins, and you fall in love with a Roman. Three coins, and you will marry that Roman.

We only had three coins with us, so Megan, Maren and Ashlyn each threw one.

They collect about 3000 euros a day in coins, which is donated to charity to give food to the needy.

The spray art looks amazing. But the fume is so strong, I wonder if these artists' health suffers from these fumes over time.

Trevi Fountain, a truly impressive fountain with a long history. Built on a major aqueduct. The latest renovation cost 2.2M euros and was paid for by Fendi, completed in 2015.

Spanish Steps

They recently passed a law forbidding sitting on the steps. Now you hear police whistle at least once a minute, telling people sitting to get up.

The crowd here is maddening, even in early November.

Fountain of the Old Boat, or Fountain of the Ugly Boat, depending on the translation.

The street directly opposite to the steps are full of high end shops like Cartier and Hermes. It was jam packed.

Trinità dei Monti church

Inside the church.

It started to rain hard with little warning, but luckily there was no wait for our bus and for the connection.

Spanish Steps, one of the most popular attractions in Rome, was built to connect the Trinità dei Monti church to the Spanish square below. The steps got its name from the fact that the Spanish Embassy is near the square.

Tiber Island

Tiber River runs through the west side of Rome. Tiber Island is the only island on Tiber River.

The bridge onto Tiber Island.

Basilica of St. Bartholomew.

Fatebenefratelli Hospital, established in 1585. The hospital is known for having sheltered Jews during the Holocaust by diagnosing them with a fictitious disease called "Syndrome K".

There's almost no one else at the lower level of the island by the water.

The Smart car is super popular here. I've never seen these cars parked like this other than in TV commercials. It flopped in the US but is the perfect car in this busy city.

The beauty of walking around in the city is running into random treasures. This is one example. No idea who carved it.

We stopped for some pizza and pasta for lunch on the way to Vittorio Emanuele II (Altar of the Fatherland) monument.

Tiber Island, a tiny island with a hospital and a church, also serves as a nice escape from the city hustle and bustle.