The Charms of Rome: An Unmissable Tour - 4k
#fontanaditrevi #romeitaly #rome
Today we will take a walking tour with an itinerary that passes through the following charms of Rome: Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di Spagna and Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.
An advantage of this itinerary is that almost everything is free, only the panoramic elevator to go up to the terrace of the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele has to be paid, but if you visit it on the first Sunday of each month there is no charge and then you will only be spending the soles of your shoes.
--------------- Video chapters:
0:00 Synthesis
0:22 Historic center
1:22 Piazza Navona
3:07 Pantheon
6:49 Fontana di Trevi
9:51 Piazza di Spagna
13:37 Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II
-------------- Places visited on this tour:
To do this walk of around 5 km it took me around 5 hours to appreciate everything very well and I suggest you take a bottle of water that you can refill at the various sources available.
Brief description of the charms of Rome that I visited on this tour:
PIAZZA NAVONA
In the place where it was an arena for athletic competitions in 80 AD, today stands one of the most beautiful squares in Rome, Piazza Navona. In the square there are three huge fountains, by important Italian artists. It's a good place to sit and rest for a while.
The most famous of the three fountains is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, one of the most famous and impressive fountains in Rome. Built in the 17th century by the renowned sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The base of the fountain is a basin from the center of which rise travertine marble rocks to support the four river gods and above them, a copy of an Egyptian obelisk surmounted by the Pamphili family emblem of a dove with an olive branch.
PANTHEON
The Pantheon, the “Roman temple of all the gods”, today known as the Church of Saint Mary of the Martyrs, is almost 2,000 years old and is a building commissioned by the Roman consul Agrippa during the reign of Emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC–14 AD) and rebuilt by Adriano (r. 117–138) around 126.
It is so well preserved, and almost two thousand years after it was built, its dome is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. This dome consists of concrete coffers and is topped by an uncovered central opening (oculum). It's impressive.
Despite the size of the queue, entry is quick and free.
FONTANA DI TREVI
After walking through the alleys we are surprised by the largest and most famous fountain in Rome, the Trevi Fountain. This project by Nicola Salvi has Neptune flanked by two tritons as its central figures and was completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762.
According to an ancient legend, in 19 BC, a group of Roman soldiers found themselves very thirsty as they had not had water to drink for days. It was then that they met a young woman, who sympathized with the soldiers' situation, took them to an incredible hidden source of crystal clear water, which was about 13 kilometers from Rome.
Later, upon learning of the story from his soldiers, Emperor Augustus decided to build an aqueduct to transport water from this source to the city, and called the project Acqua Virgo, in Portuguese, “Virgin Waters”, a tribute to the young woman who saved the lives of Roman soldiers. Much later, a fountain was built where the aqueduct ended, where there is an intersection of three streets. Because it has the shape of a shamrock, thanks to this intersection, the fountain was named Fontana di Trevi, an expression that refers to “trívio”, that is, an intersection of three streets.
PIAZZA DI SPAGNA
This square owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, built in the 17th century. XVII to host the Spanish Embassy, next to the Holy See. The view from the top of the Scalinata di Spagna (name of the stairs) is one of the best in the city, and it is a recurring choice of many film directors.
Piazza di Spagna is a traditional meeting place for young people, tourists and the essential street artists, who usually gather around the Fontana della Barcaccia located in the center of the square. The church located at the top is called Trinità dei Monte, having been built in 1495 and containing numerous works of art inside.
MONUMENT TO VITTORIO EMANUELE II
The Monumento Nazionale was inaugurated in 1911 to honor Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy after unification.
The colossal monument measuring 135 meters wide and 70 meters high is made up of dozens of majestic Corinthian columns and endless stairs, all made of white marble. An equestrian sculpture by Vittorio Emanuele made in bronze presides over the complex and two quadriga (quadriga is a chariot drawn by four horses abreast) led by the goddess Victoria crown the portico with 16 columns.
One of the biggest attractions of the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele is the unmissable view from the terrace. The panoramic elevators are the only way to access the terrace located at the top of the monument, but the view makes it worth going up.
