Monte Gianicolo

The Gianicolo in Trastevere used to play a major role in the defense system of the city. That's why there are statues of Giuseppe Garibaldi and his wife Anita Garibaldi. The Gianicolo currently serves as a popular place for walks. For many tourists the view of the city allows them to check their kn...

"Rome of Black Aristocracy!"

To my question how to title today’s entry, Olaf replied:  "Rome of Black Aristocracy!" Each family which gave a pope, received the title of prince. As nothing was done without big money of the bishops and cardinals, we can safely say that the aristocracy during the Renaissance was born in black cas...

Rome from day to day

On Saturday, we can see "ordinary" Rome in the centre of the city. The weather is a little better - more sunshine, but the temperature still does not exceed 10 °C. Not too many tourists in town, so we can freely move around the city. Many restaurants seem to be empty at daytime, only the "beaters" ...

Caravaggio

Life of Michelangelo Merisiego called CARAVAGGIO has been described in many books and a scandalous film was shot. His life and work intrigues and inspires many artists. A casual tourists simply rave about his paintings  which, although were created at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centu...

The Aventine Hill

The Aventine Hill is one of the most peaceful places within the Roman walls of this crazy city. At the top stands the Basilica of Santa Sabina with a lovely patio (a garden inside the walls of the monastery) which can be seen only through a small window. From the top one can overlook  the Trasteve...

The Lateran Hill

Another Roman hill  - the Lateran. The Lateran Palace was the residence of the Pope in Rome (one of the three in history: the Lateran, the Quirinal and the Vatican), and therefore it equals in its magnificence the largest Catholic churches in Europe. Before the popes could safely reside in Rome, th...

The Vatican

The Vatican has been described all over many times. Tons of paper have been covered with all the alphabets of the world. We are not going to  compete describing what we saw in more than six hours of our visit to the Vatican Museums and St Peter's Basilica. Thanks to our excellent guide we managed t...