"mccalpin's Rome Page" a Rome Travel Page by mccalpin

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The Three Romes - Roman Rome

Many people ask "What should I see in Rome in my 3 or 5 or whatever days there?" The answer is "There's no way you're going to see everything in a year, much less 3 or 5 days!"

Every civilization in Western Europe in the last 3,000 years has left its mark in Rome. So there are many Romes. What you should ask yourself is "Which Rome will I visit this time?"

I think of there being 3 Romes: Classical Rome, Christian Rome, and Renaissance Rome. Yes, it's a generalization, but it helps to filter all the possible places you might visit into something that you can manage.

Classical Rome is all around you: the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, the Pantheon, even the Cloaca Maxima (extra points if you know what that is!) - a single day's walk will take you by the outside of the wonders of what was the Western world's largest empire.

The Three Romes - Christian Rome

Although Christianity did not begin in Rome, Rome is where the classical world and the Christian world collided - and eventually became the center of the early Christianity and later the Roman Catholic Church, by far the largest Christian denomination in the world.

Although Catholics know Rome as the home of the Pope in Vatican City, virtually all Christian faiths trace their roots back to the believers who struggled against the old Roman culture and government until conquering them from within in the 4th Century A.D.

You can see the lives of the early Christians in the catacombs just outside of town, in the expanse of the Circus Maximus (where most Christians were martyred, not in the Colosseum), and even in the excavations under St. Peter's itself, where church archaeologists believe that they have found the tomb of St. Peter himself.

But don't miss the medieval church still hidden in the corners of Rome, that remind you that during the centuries of darkness that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, Rome - although a decaying village - was still the center of the only pan-European organization trying to hold Western civilization together.

The Three Romes - Renaissance Rome

The Renaissance began in Italy first of all - the "rebirth" of Western civilization after the centuries of barbarism and darkness after the fall of Rome. The political, economic, and cultural climates had evolved enough so that citystates arose that were wealthy and stable enough to encourage the arts - and these arts looked to classical Rome for their inspiration. Much that was lost was rediscovered, in art, in literature, in architecture.

Although I call this "Renaissance Rome", I really mean the period that began with the rebirth and ended with the rise of Fascism, which mimic'd Roman architecture's power, but not its art. This era saw the creation of world treasures in painting (Sistine Chapel), in buildings (St. Peter's), in the cityscape (Piazza Navona), in literature (Divine Comedy), in sculpture (Michelangelo's Pieta') - in so many ways!

Everyone knows that the Italians have a sense of style that is rarely matched elsewhere. The Renaissance enabled the Italians to be the leaders in rebuilding the Western world.

As you can tell, gee, I like this place. In the Western world, there just isn't anyplace like it. Talk to me about it!

Bill

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Piazza di San Pietro from the top of St. Peter's

Rome Mapping Software for Walkers

The following link takes you to a website which allows you to "walk" around Rome, seeing streets and the tops of buildings as you move - great for planning your excursion to Rome!

See http://www.lecittadellemeraviglie.it/home.php

On the first page, click on "English" (if it's not already). Then click on "Rome".

When the map opens, you are the icon in the middle of the screen. You are looking at Rome from a few hundred feet in the air, and the streets are named. By clicking on places on the map, your icon is moved there and the map recentered - which is how you move around Rome.

Note how you can see the buildings and monuments.

If you see small green circles with a temple icon, these are information links. Click on the circle, and a box will open describing the place (be prepared for a short delay).

Let's try a sample walk - from Piazza Venezia to Trastevere.

The heart of Trastevere is generally considered to be Santa Maria in Trastevere and the Piazza in front. The neighborhood around the church is a somewhat rabbit warren maze of streets, a cozy space of restaurants, bars, apartments, and whatnot.

You should be at Piazza Venezia when the map opens. On the left hand side of the screen, click on "25%". This will zoom you out.

Click on the lower left hand corner of the screen on a street (i.e., not the middle of a building). This will effectively move you west-south-west. You should see the river appear along the bottom left.

Click on the center of the bottom of the screen, on the road just this side of the river (i.e., head south). The new screen will show an island in the middle of the river. This is the island of Tiburina, which long has had a hospital on it ("un ospedale per i pazzi" - a hospital for crazy people - one old Italian on the island told me as he tapped the side of his head with his finger). Click on the intersection of the road that goes through the center of the island and on to the far side of the Tibur (i.e., cross the river through the island).

You are now in Trastevere ("tras" + "tevere" = "across the Tibur").

Head due west (click on a road at the center of the left edge of the screen). Your icon should now be very close to a large piazza with a fountain in the center, and with a large building complex on the left that is darker colored than most buildings - this is the complex that the church is in. Click next to (not on) the fountain. Zoom in (click on 100% on the left).

You should now easily see "Piazza di S. Maria in Trastevere". See the little green icon on the west side of the square. Click on it, wait a couple of seconds, and a pop-up box should open which gives you information about the church.

This software really gives you a feel for walking the town(!)

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Piazza Navona

Panoramic Photos of Rome

New VTer Peter (peterw2) has pointed out a website that contains more than 100 panaromic photos of various locations around Rome. You surf around on the street map and click on the blinking spots - each one will open a 360 degree view at that location.

See http://www.panoramicearth.com/index.php?europe/italy/rome