Italy
Fountain of the Obelisk, Piazza del Popolo, Rome
The obelisk was brought from Egypt in 10 BC and moved from the Circus Maximus in 1589. Four lion fountains were added in 1818.
ItalyRomePiazza del PopoloFontana dell'Obeliscowoman in the red dressFountain of the Obelisk
Trevi Fountain, Rome
...of "Three Coins..." fame, completed in 1762...
ItalyRomeFontana di TreviTrevi Fountainla dolce vitaMarcello Mastroianni
Trevi Fountain, Rome
ItalyRomeFontana di TreviTrevi Fountainwhich one will the fountain bless
Fountain of the Four Rivers, Rome
...of "Angels and Demons" fame, with "Ganges" shown. It was dedicated in 1651. I could have spent several days with the fountains.
ItalyRomePiazza NavonaFontana Dei Quattro FiumiGian Lorenzo BerniniFour Rivers FountainAngels and Demonslong exposure
Neptune Fountain, Rome
...the Piazza Navona, with Sant' Agnese in Agone and Four Rivers Fountain (obelisk). Here Neptune wrestles an octopus; in Florence he girl watches.
ItalyRomeFontana del NettunoNeptune FountainPiazza NavonaSant' Agnese in AgoneSophiala dolce vitaarrivederci RomaFour Rivers Fountain
Quiriti Fountain, Rome
Built in the 1920's, the women were thought to be strumpets and were covered for church-related observances.
ItalyRomeItaliaRomafountainFontana della Piazza dei QuiritiQuiriti Fountain
Arch of Constantine and Colosseum
...from the slope of the Palatine Hill...
ItalyItaliaRomeRomaArch of ConstantineColosseumPalatine Hill
Arch of Constantine
Dedicated in 315, this triumphal arch celebrates Constantine's victory over Maxentius in a civil war struggle between competing emperors. It is model for the Arc de Triomphe du Caroussel at the Tuileries in Paris, and it served as the finish line for the marathon in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
ItalyItaliaRomeRomaArch of ConstantineArc de Triomph du CarousselOlympics
Arch of Titus
"The Roman Senate and People to the Divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of the divine Vespasian"... Before he was emperor, Titus conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the (Second) Temple in 70 AD, an event depicted inside the arch (the menorrah visible in the previous frame); his "divinity" is entirely suspect (explained with the following frame). By most accounts he was an exemplary emperor and the first to succeed an emperor father.
ItalyRomeArch of TitusRoman ForumVia SacraemperorSecond Temple
Arch of Titus
Edward Gibbon: "A regular custom was introduced, that on the decease of every emperor who had neither lived nor died like a tyrant, the senate by solemn decree should place him in the number of the gods; the ceremonies of his Apotheosis were blended with those of his funeral. This legal, and, as it should seem, injudicious profanation...was received with faint murmur, by the easy nature of polytheism...[and] as an institution, not of religion but of policy... Under the mild administration of Titus, the Roman world enjoyed a transient felicity, and his beloved memory served to protect, above fifteen years, the vices of his brother Domitian." The merits of the history notwithstanding, few could wield the English language at Gibbon's level.
ItalyRomeArch of TitusRoman ForumVia SacraemperorSecond TempleEdward GibbonDecline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Tiber
...looking toward St. Peter's Basilica from Ponte Umberto 1
ItalyItaliaRomeRomaTiberSt. Peter's BasilicaMichelangeloPonte Umberto 1Ponte Sant'Angelolong exposureHadrian
St. Peter's Basilica
This is the same perspective as the previous frame, sans infrared and fisheye. A few seconds during the opening credits of "Roman Holiday" is also this view. The dance in the movie was on a barge moored beyond the boat landing. Michelangelo designed the dome, completed after his death. The bridge dates from 134 AD, which leads to Hadrian's tomb. A young German couple approached me here to photograph them with the church in the background, which I was happy to do. The young woman clambered onto the bridge's balustrade and reclined into a coquettish, 1950's-type cheesecake pose, incongruous with the church but charming nonetheless.
ItalyItaliaRomeRomaTiberSt. Peter's BasilicaMichelangeloPonte Umberto 1Ponte Sant'Angelolong exposureHadrianRoman HolidayAudrey Hepburn
Palace of Justice, Rome
...trying to keep cool, but no shade...
ItalyRomestatuePalace of JusticePalazzo di Giustiziaarchitecture
Piazza Cavour pano
...across from the Palace of Justice... The theater is decorated for a Spiderman movie. A couple of streets behind the theater at 52 Via Ennio Quirino Visconti is Ristorante Ambasciata di Capri. It was so good we went twice and recommend it unequivocally.
ItalyRomePiazza CavourpanoramaTeatro AdrianoRistorante Ambasciata di Capri