Roman Encounter

Day 3: And our Best of the Rest... of Rome

The Spanish Steps are closed!  What do we do now?

Back into the city and our Metro stop was Spagne (said "sparn yah").  Can’t you always tell a tourist by their pronunciation of names….  From there it was only a hop down to see the Spanish Steps.  All closed off to the public in the height of the season for restoration!  Yes, that’s just Italy for you!  Tourists stood in a daze, waiting perhaps for something to happen.  We took brief note of the boat shaped fountain (by Bernini’s father) and Keats’ House where he died in 1821. 

An opera singer serenades us

Italy was of course, incorporated in the Grand Tour when young men of good fortune came to study the classics and find themselves.  Perhaps the closest we (Australians) ever came to such a literary epiphany was the artists colonies on Hydra, Greece ("Peel Me a Lotus” by Charmian Clift & yes, I’m probably being rather mean!). Now a museum dedicated to Keats, Shelley and Byron, it’s on every trail of every literary buff in town.

Our jaunt took us down Via Frattina, deep in fashionista heartland.  Big Names kept popping up and so did price tags too.  Even the buskers kept the experience up a notch; an opera singer serenaded us with great gusto.  We did stop for brunch; delicate sandwiches and teeny coffees, right opposite YSL in nearby Piazza San Lorenza in Luccina.  The people watching was well worth it.  

Someone (a very rich someone) was buried in this once.... Museo Nazionale

Hercules looking grim

From there it was a reasonable stroll to the Museo Nazionale Romano: Palazzo Altemps**.  Just to confuse you, museums seem spread over a number of buildings, making good use of the available palazzo (palaces).  The Palazzo Altemps was a fantastic combo of palace and museum so we were able to see how the other half really lived, as it were!  You also find yourself wondering about the might of the Church too as many of the pieces are from the Ludovisi Collection.  He was just one of many Cardinals, wealthy families & others who amassed significant private collections over the years.  Aside from the quality of the collections in the Palazzo Altemps, its best feature (for us anyway) was that it was not crammed full of visitors.  This meant the First Mate could have a quiet chat with Hercules; there were several renditions of him, so it took a while….

Odysseus - at last a portrait
(Ulysses to Romans) 

Our next move was those Omni Tickets** to the Vatican.  As previously mentioned, finding the Roma Cristiana office was quite a quest but we knew it was our only hope of getting into the Vatican Museum in August (this year!).  We decided to walk via the Tiber River, passing Ponte Sant Angelo wondering if we would ever have time to call at the mysterious Castel (we didn’t).   Eventually we found someone who pointed us in the right direction and with tickets (not for Wednesday, that’s the Pope’s Audience Day) confirmed for Thursday, we jumped the #40 bus (said to be pickpocket central) to the Station.

**Our Roma Pass gave us discounted entry to Museo Nazionale Romano Museum.  Aside from using the Pass on our first day, this was the only other paid entry fee we used it for (given our very full but time-poor  schedule!)  We certainly got great value for money when calculating everything including our transport costs.  As to the Omni Passes, the included bus ride gave us a quick overview of Rome (all stops churches) though luckily, a stop for us at the nearest church to the station.  I doubt I would ever use these again.   However, paying for skip the line"" into the Vatican was most certainly worth it ! 

Castel Sant' Angelo built in 135AD for Hadrian
with Bernini's angels ceremoniously lining the bridge