Roma=Amor, My Eternal City.

After the really sober Renaissance architecture of Florence, I was eager to experience Rome. Rome with it's sheer Baroque magnificence is undoubtedly one of the most stunning cities in the world. Baroque comes from the Portuguese word "barocco" which means "irregular pearl". In Italian it means "grotesque". This is a very dynamic, detailed and complex architecture. Primarily, it was funded by the Roman Catholic church who wanted to show their religious superiority and also win back the masses who had joined the Protestant movement. The main goal of Baroque art and architecture is to dazzle the spectator and boy was I dazzled! I am also such a huge fan of Audrey Hepburn and after watching my favourite film Roman Holiday (over hundred times), I have always hoped for that special moment in my life when I would be in Rome and run into my Gregory Peck on the Spanish Steps. Ya, so that did not happen. I was at the Spanish Steps of course and all I ran into was hordes of tourists and Indian con artists. Yes, Indian salesmen who bugger the hell out of you to buy their little souvenirs. That story comes later. I'm going to put up my pictures from 2 trips to Italy (May and July) together (Well because it just makes sense to not repeat the similar post).
While in Rome, I stayed at Camping Tiber which is a beautiful place and really cheap. The downside is that it's really far away from the city (an hour minimum). However they do organise a shuttle every half an hour to get you to the local metrostop and then it takes you 20 minutes to get to the city. I would recommend the place since it was so much cleaner and inexpensive as compared to the hotels right in the centre!
So Roma, beautiful Roma! You have had the strangest impact on me! I have never been to a place which has never made me want to leave! (My dad always said I'm the cat on a hot tin roof, I have to keep moving). But Rome was different, I guess it's because there is so much to the city! It's full of magical chaos. Everywhere you turn, everywhere you look, everyone you talk to is so unique and full of life! I had planned to stay here just 4 days but I decided I should make it a week, in order to really nurture my electrifying Roman affair :)

I love the red hues everywhere in Rome.

Roma is such a huge city and it's impossible to fit everything in a week! So I returned a second time and I still did not see all of it. I will keep going back (next trip December 2010 woohoo!) to finish discovering eternal infinite Rome! I never had a single bad experience here (as everyone predicted I would). The city is infamous for pickpockets and beggars. Really? In that case which town isn't? I took care of my belongings on the metro and trains like I would do in Paris or Bombay or anywhere else. It's common sense! I hate it when guidebooks and websites berate any place. How dangerous an area is, always runs parallel to how stupid you are! (If you're going to get pissed drunk and then decide to ride the metro, si signore, you will get pickpocketed or worse mugged! anywhere in the world)

So below are some places I have visited among countless others and which I found to be spectacular. There are tons of others lying in my hard drive but I don't want this post to get any lengthier than it already is. So ladies, gentlemen and unicorns, I present to you the itinerary of a single bohemian girl in Rome! 

Fontana di Trevi

Rome's most famous fountain was the first on my to-do list. I had to really hunt for it and then finally as I found the path, I could hear the water gushing forcefully from quite a distance. I held my breath as it magically appeared on my right and had to gasp! This is beyond doubt, one of the most remarkable pieces of Italian Architecture ever! It has so much life, it's as if the carved horses are riding towards you through the waters of the fountain! 

I sat here a long while and watched so many tourists just throw away their coins (Legend has it that if you throw a coin into the fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder, you would ensure another trip to Rome). I was sure I was going back to Rome so I gave my self the pleasure of people watching and then amused myself when they would repeat the same process all over again just to get a good photo. Each day, 3000 euros are thrown into fountain! Where does all that money go?

PANTHEON

A few minutes away (just follow the multitudes of tourists), you will find the Pantheon. Another magnificent structure, except for the part that was being refurbished. I got talked into taking the audio tour (costs 3.50 euros) and I don't regret it because I learnt so much about the building! I had no idea that the Pantheon is 2000 years old and it's the most intact of monuments on earth dating back to this period. This is an active church and tomb of many important Italians such as the First King of Unified Italy, Vittorio Emmanuele II and his successor King Umberto I.

According to me, the most important tomb has to be the one of the Italian painter Raphael (as you enter on your left). Before he died he had ordered a statue of Mother Mary and after his death it was placed on his burial ground. There is a verse engraved on his tomb that fascinated me. This inscription was a gift from Pope Gregorio XVI who disentombed the body to verify if it was Raphaels'. It was indeed the body of the illustrious painter. The verse reads in bold letters "Here lies Raphael, by whom Nature feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die."

The most interesting part about the Pantheon is the dome/obelisk and the floor. Until a few years ago, the dome was the largest in the world! and the floor is equally fascinating. The dome of the Pantheon has a wide opening in the middle and is never shut even when it rains. When rain water pours onto the ground, it is immediately absorbed by the porous floor which carries the water away through complex drainage systems beneath the ground (dating 2000 years as well!).

PIAZZA NAVONA

This spectacular plaza incarnates Italian life. When I was here, the weather was at its best, the sky was the bluest you will find during spring. Piazza Navona is alive with so many artists and musicians all over and they are so friendly and allow you to take pictures. There are many restaurants here but if you're travelling on a budget, you'd want to skip these tourist traps. For reasonably priced food, head to the nearby Campo di Fiori (a crowded flower and fruit market) that has great restaurants all around and the feel is very bohemian, easy going. I love the artists enjoying their afternoon break with wine, the couple sharing a cigarette, the hungry bohemian girl devouring the amazing Pizza Piccante with tomato, mozarella and hot salami! yum!

At Piazza Navona, don't forget to sit on the steps of the beautiful church of Saint Agnes in Agony (The church contains the skull of Saint Agnes who was beheaded at the Piazza because she refused to marry the son of the Prefect Sempronius. Since Roman law did not permit the execution of virgins, she was forced into brothels and then sentenced to be burnt at stake. The wood on which she stood, refused to light up and hence an officer had to draw his sword and behead her :'( yes, the story gave me the chills too) and admire the breathtaking Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain designed by the infamous/demi-God Italian architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, dedicated to four major Rivers of the world, namely the Ganges, the Nile, the Danube and the Plate.)

The Wondrous COLOSSEUM

I am not a huge fan of ruins. You need to have a fantastic imagination when you're visiting ruins and I can't really boast having a good one. But the Colosseum/Flavian Amphitheatre has fascinated me every since I studied about it in sixth grade. Irregardless of how you feel about it's history, this precious vestige of Ancient Rome is going to take your breath away! And if you're an Audrey Hepburn fan like me, there are no words to describing the joy you feel as you head there by the same road she took in Roman Holiday :)

The monument is 1500 years old, it is capable of seating 50,000 people and it was used for gladiatorial battles, public announcements and also as a market place. You can buy a dual ticket to enter the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. 

FORO ROMANO

If ruins are your thing, you should head to the Roman Forum. This valley comprises of fragments of Ancient Rome's marketplace, government buildings, temples, etc. Most of the buildings date back to 600 BC and one is surprised to find so many intact! 

ALTARE DELLA PATRIA

Altar of the Fatherland/Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II/ Il Vittoriano are all names used for this gargantuan monument dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first King of a Unified Italy. It is a fairly recent structure built in pure white marble and completed in 1935. Most Italians are not too happy with this brazen white monument (which can be spotted from most parts of the city) that doesn't blend in with the neighbouring ruins. I personally loved it! The views of Rome from here are fantastic. In the modern day, to find such an intricately built structure is so rare and this was a real treat for me!

P.S. It is very important to be respectful in the premises of the monument. It is after all a shrine and the guards will come and tell you to behave yourself if they find the need to. At the entrance you will find the (gorgeous) guards protecting the statue of the Goddess of Rome, the Tomb of the Unknown soldier and the Eternal Flame. 

Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara Coeli

If you're feel energetic enough, climb the 122 steps on the left side of Altare della Patria and you will reach the majestic Basilica of Saint Mary/The Altar of Heaven. This is my most favorite church in the world. It's constructed in a Romanesque/Gothic style and unlike it's subdued exteriors, the interior of the church is over whelming! Never in my life have I seen so many chandeliers, so much gold, so much detail, so much glitz in one single church! 

San Pietro In Vincoli

Most of the famous Italian art and architecture is locked away in museums and you're expected to pay big bucks to get a glimpse of it. San Pietro in Vincoli has free entry and it houses one of Italy's most well known symbols and very few people even know of. The church of Saint Peter in Chains is home to the actual chains of Saint Peter and Michaelangelo's very own statue of Moses!! 

Just outside the church you can always catch a beautiful sunset with the Vittorio Emanuele monument in the distance of course!

TRASTÉVERE

If you're looking for romantic Old Rome, musicians singing Volare and other Dean Martin favourites, charming worn out colours, then you should head to the Trastévere neighbourhood of Rome. It's also famous for it's cheap restaurants but honestly, I didn't find a single one! Italian restaurants will try to fleece tourists for every single service. I had the smallest serving of Carbunara in Trastévere and I was charged for using the napkin, using the cutlery, drinking the tap water and thank goodness I didn't eat the bread and wine they "offered" at the beginning of the meal!

The neighbourhood is tiny, has many excellent gelatarias to satisfy your need for gelato (/Italy's answer to mouth orgasms!) and all the roads with their walls decorated with graffiti and creepers will meet at the main Piazza. 

Rome and this neighbourhood in particular is filled with Indian salesmen. I hate to say this but most Indian men are/could be disgusting. Bad enough I get stared at in India. Now when I come to Rome, I have to face these morons again (who act like they've never seen an Indian woman with a camera before!) And it's not a decent stare, it's more like leering, undressing you with their eyes kind of look which makes me physically ill! If there was a genocide of "gawking Indian men", I would be the first to support this long needed extermination!

Capuchin Crypt

If you're in the mood for an unusual tourist attraction, head to the Capuchin Crypt. It's free to enter but you're expected to donate a euro for upkeep. Basically this is a church decorated with the bones of 4000 Capuchin monks who died between 1530 to 1870. The entire place gave me the jitters. I was amazed how all the decorations, the chandeliers, the crosses, the lamps, the incense holders and even the tiny vials were all made from the bones of Capuchin Friars! They have skeletons in upright and resting positions all wearing the habit of the monks. This was quite an experience and I'm sure as hell never doing it again! Photographing the rooms is forbidden and you can get more information at the monks' website. 

Gianicolo Hill

To get the best bird's eye view of Rome, head to Gianicolo Hill. I loved catching the sunset here. Rome is a big city and you will surely not see everything in one trip. But standing on top of it, the tired traveller has a sense of accomplishment that atleast he had a fleeting glance of every steeple and dome in magical, endless Rome. 

Largo di Torre Argentina

This is my most favourite places in the city and I go here every time I visit Rome. Read why.

The ruins of Pompey's Theater can be found at the square of Torre Argentina. But that's not what draws me here every time. The ruins are home to the homeless cats of Rome and I looooooooove cats. There is a cat shelter called Roman Cats at the square and the felines here are so beautiful and friendly, it makes your heart melt. It if forbidden to feed the cats. They have specific meal times, they have been vaccinated, bathed and all they want is a little attention. I lost track of the time I spent here. My favorite was this magnificent but very feeble black cat whose ear was bitten off and fur was falling out but I didn't mind cuddling him. I could see he was old and with great difficulty he crawled up to me. Some French tourists kept telling me he was "malade" and I shouldn't touch him. I have known cats all my life and I know when one is ill. (Silly, paranoid, ridiculous) French tourists! Have they not heard what Charles Dickens said? "What greater gift is there, than the love of a cat?" The black cat and me sat together on the steps and together we admired the impressive Pompey's theater laid out before us. This was his regal playground which he didn't mind sharing with me. I sat with him till the red sun went down on Rome that day. He had sat on my lap all the while and for once during my entire trip I felt as if I had a friend, someone who would just let me be. Two months later, I was in Rome again and with a heavy heart, I went in search of him. I looked for a long time among the ruins and all his furry friends. I knew he wouldn't be there. I teared up a little. But soon with all the purrs and mewing around, I could sense a wild spirit at play in his old kingdom. That "malade" yet magnificent black cat owned this beautiful theater where we, the humans were nothing but silly comedians trying to impress a cat audience!