Sign in with Facebook"Seen on the Via Veneto" Rome by TheWanderingCamel
Rome Travel Guide: 11,941 reviews and 26,475 photos
Photo: This one's for willy-wonka
George Bush came to town whilst we we in Rome. It just so happened that we'd opted for a well-earned coffee stop in a cafe on the Via Veneto that day. Carabinieri everywhere - parked on street corners by the van load, lining the roadway, tearing up and down on motor-cycles - what a circus!
The motorcade rolled by, returning from the Vatican to the American Embassy, and slowly the street returned to normal. We hailed a cab and made our way to our next destination, the beautiful little church of Santa Constanza, where we found ....
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Photo: Line up
No workman-like fatigues or guns for these guys though. Cockaded hats and silver epaulettes were the order of the day as they stood honour guard for one of their colleagues whose wedding had just been celebrated in the church.
We watched and waited as the photos were taken, the wedding guests fluttered around the newly-wed couple, the old sexton berated all and sundry as he swept up rice and rose petals and the last of the guests left the church before we could enter.
Because of the wedding, we'd had to hang around a bit before we could go up to the church, but this was our last day and Santa Constanza was a must (both for the mosaics and because my companion's mother had been a Constance too) so hang about we did.... in the company of the elderly bocce-playing members of the the Santa Agnes Community Centre at their shady bar next to the church.
Isn't it things like this that we really remember most about our travels? The chance encounters, the unexpected, the out-of-the-way. Millions of tourists and travellers visit Rome each year and each and every one of them will almost certainly make their way to the Roman Forum, St Peters and the Trevi Fountain. Of course we did it too, and there are all the photos to show for it. Do I really need to post them up here? To add to the 920 photos of the Colosseum, the 737 of the Vatican?
I'm not sure how this page is going to pan out. My love of history will almost certainly take me down the traditional paths of recording Rome's extraordinary past but I hope by the time it's done you'll have enjoyed sharing my view of the eternal city and maybe found a thing or two you'd like to add to your ideas of Things to Do on your Roman holiday.
Clicking Member's Choice in the Things To Do section will reorder the tips into the sequence they were intended to be read .
Reviews (42)
Papal post
Local Customs
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If you want to post your Roman postcards from the Vatican, you can't simply pop your Italian-stamped cards into the... more travel advice
Sweet!
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Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Palatine, Aventine - the seven hills upon which Ancient Rome was... more travel advice
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"First among cities, home of the gods, golden Rome" (Ausonius, 4th C AD) Ochre - the oldest pigment known to man, it... more travel advice
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Comments (15)
More leyle - I am Italian, Catholic, will live my life in Rome & St Peter's IS cold - a testament to institutional excess. It is treated by visitors as an art gallery - not a place of worship. I dislike being there. Grazie for your keen insights, Carol
oh those poppies are so beautiful
Great food writing....I'm off to the fridge. LOL Glad you liked my Rome musings. I hope I'm not being too negative - we actually had a great time!
What a sensational tour of Rome! I absolutely loved every bit of info. you presented on your page, especially the info. pertaining to the Jewish ghetto.
Hi Camel. Someday someone is going to catch you in a city carrying the encyclopedia with you while you write your wonderful tips. Thanks again for bringing a better light to something less well covered by others.
i came back to this page to see if you had any updates, and lo and behold, my day is now complete seeing the carabinieri pic! i forgot this pic for me! haha. sigh... my day is now so happy! ;-)
Wonderful Rome tips..going to Italy this Sept...can't wait, so looking at pics and tips ahead of time...thanks for sharing, norman :)
We'll be returning to Rome this September to revisit some sites...how interesting to hear there are some new historic sites to consider!
Great mix of well-known sights and less so (how did I miss St Zeno's Chapel?!) and wonderful photos - I love the shot of the priest taken from your hotel window, and the view of St Peters from the Palatine Hill, among many others
Wow..what an incredible page of Rome. It is a living museum and your tips have so much interesting details behind each pillar and fountain. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful ancient city.