Three Days in Rome (Part II): The Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Vatican Museums & La Befana
This is part of a continuing series of photographs from my 21-day, three country, five city
winter vacation to Europe with my ladyfriend (and fellow photographer) Serena.
Our stops? Berlin, Rome, Naples, Bath & London
In my last post, I kicked off Part I of a series of photographs summarizing our three days in Rome (and you really, really need more than three days in Rome). In that post, I tried to not sound too pretentious in my comparing every other capital city (or city) I’ve visited to my birthplace of New York City. I mean, when you grow up in the Big Apple, other cities (even the bucket list ones) gotta put a little work in to impress you. And as I stated in my last post, Rome impressed the hell out of me.
Why? Well it’s got the best that Europe has to offer combined with the best that New York City has to offer. That’s why. Take for example the bonkers Trevi Fountain, a modern marvel and one of Rome’s most iconic structures…
Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)
The construction of the current Trevi fountain, located in Rome’s Trevi district, is due to Pope Clement XII who, in 1732, launched a competition in which all the major artists of the time participated. Among the various projects presented, that of the architect Nicola Salvi was chosen. Construction began in 1732, and Salvi died in 1751. Following his death, sculptor Pietro Bracci oversaw the progress until its completion in 1762.
The immense fountain stands some 85 feet (26 meters) high and is approximately 160 feet (49 meters) wide. At its center is Pietro Bracci’s statue of Oceanus (a Titan god in Greek mythology representing the world-encircling river Oceanus), who stands atop a chariot pulled by sea horses. The Trevi Fountain pumps out about more than 2.8 million cubic feet of water daily. Based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s estimates of how much water the average American uses in the household (82 gallons per day), it would take 697 years for one person to get through the amount of (recycled) water pouring through Rome’s landmark over a 24-hour period.
This short video (shot using the Xiaomi 13 Ultra by my evil twin Dan Perez Films) features three of Rome’s most popular fountains, Including the Trevi…
La Befana
La Befana, which coincides with the feast of the Epiphany on January 6th, is a public holiday in Italy. Italians celebrate the religious feast of the Epiphany, or the more popular folklore version of La Befana. La Befana is an old soot-covered woman or witch who delivers presents to Italian children on the night before (Epiphany Eve).
The popular annual event in Rome sees La Befana “fly” (or, in this case, be slowly lowered by a crane) into Piazza Navona on her broomstick at 10:30 in the morning, handing out sweets to children. The square is transformed into a bustling Christmas market, where visitors can buy sweets, toys, and gifts.
The popular fairytale version the story goes that the wise men invited a witch-like woman, or strega, to join them on their journey to bring gifts to the Christ child. She initially refused, due to being too busy with housework, but then tried to follow them. Unable to find Jesus (apparently, she wasn’t told about the Star of Bethlehem), the kind-hearted Befana gave the toys to other children instead.
Despite the modern tradition of Santa Claus, La Befana remains adored by Italian children who hang up their stockings in anticipation of presents on the night between January 5 and 6.
Galleria Doria Pamphilj
About a 12 minute walk from Piazza Navona is the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, a large private art collection housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj owned by the Doria Pamphilj family, a princely Roman family of Genoese extraction with origins that date from the early 11th century.
The Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome was built mostly between the 16th and 18th centuries and contains one of the most valuable private collections of paintings in the world. The large collection of paintings, furniture and statuary has been assembled since the 16th century including paintings and furnishings from Innocent X’s Palazzo Pamphilj, who bequeathed them to his nephew Camillo Pamphilj, an Italian Catholic cardinal and nobleman.
Originally the palace was built for the Pamphilj family but after the family had no heir in the 18th century, Pope Clement XII decided to give all the property to the Doria family, who were huge art lovers for several generations. The collection includes masterpieces by Titian, Raphael, Caravaggio, Correggio and Vélazquez.
Enjoy the full gallery below…
The Colosseum
From the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, you can take about a 20 minute walk south the the Colosseum, probably the most famous monument in the world and a symbol of the greatness of Rome…
Construction of the Colosseum was finished in 80AD. It extends over 24,000 square meters and could accommodate about 50,000 spectators. The arena was a large wooden board covered with sand, 76 meters long and 46 meters wide.
The Colosseum hosted fights, games between gladiators (munera), simulations of hunting wild and exotic animals (venationes), and naumachia (naval battles – yes, the Roman Colosseum was filled with aqueduct water via hidden channels!).
Today, the Colosseum attracts over 7 million visitors annually, making it one of the most visited landmarks in the world. More on this (as well as my personal video tribute to one of my favorite films, “Gladiator”) IN THIS POST
The Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli
About a 9-minute walk from the Colosseum you’ll find the Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli, which really doesn’t look like anything special from the outside. And even once you walk inside, you’ll find it different from other churches in the city, primarily due to the simplicity of its decorative elements. But keep walking because the church offers one of the great surprises Rome has to offer…
For one, it houses a combination of chains that had bound Saint Peter during his imprisonment in Jerusalem and the Apostle Paul when he was imprisoned in the Mamertine Prison before his martyrdom. If that wasn’t enough…
…it is also home to a remarkable masterpiece of Roman art, an 8-foot marble statue of Moses by non other than Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, better known by the mononym Michelangelo. CLICK HERE to view the full gallery of images…
Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Fonte
About a five-minute walk from Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli you’ll find one of Rome’s little hidden gems, Santi Ippolito e Lorenzo in Fonte, better known as San Lorenzo in Fonte, which dates back to the 13th century and is located in the eclectic Monti neighborhood on Via Urbana.
The church is dedicated to the holy martyrs Hippolytus and Lawrence. According to tradition, it was built on the house of the centurion Hippolytus, where the deacon Lawrence was held prisoner. Lawrence miraculously sprung a source of water, still visible in the basement of the building, with which he baptized his cellmate Lucillus, restoring his sight at the same time. Having witnessed the miracle, Hippolytus converted to Christianity and was also baptized.
Alas, his newfound Christianity didn’t last long as he was beaten and dragged to his death by wild horses once the Emperor Valerian found out. On the bright side, he did achieve martyrdom.
The church dates back to the 17th century, but it stands on the structures of an earlier early medieval church (8th-9th century AD), which in turn was built on some rooms of a building from the 3rd century AD, the remains of which are now visible in the church basement. The building was rebuilt starting in 1543 and renovated after 1628 by architect Domenico Castelli.
The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani)
“The Vatican, the Museum of Museums,” not only houses the extensive collections of art, archaeology and ethno-anthropology gathered by the Popes over the centuries, but also contains some of the Apostolic Palace’s most extraordinary and artistically significant rooms.
Pope Julius II founded the museums in the early 16th century. The Sistine Chapel, with its ceiling and altar wall decorated by Michelangelo, and the Stanze di Raffaello (decorated by Raphael) are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums, considered among the most canonical and distinctive works of Western and European art.
The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employ 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments. In 1956 a modern art collection was initiated, which exhibits secular works by such 19th- and 20th-century artists as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Rouault, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso.
One of the oldest and most-visited complexes in the world, the Vatican houses some 26 museums and numerous galleries with priceless masterpieces and important archaeological and cultural collections. View the full gallery of images from this fascinating museum by CLICKING HERE
Night and the City
