AnnamariaC.'s VirtualTourist Home Page

All the roads lead to Rome, a well known and famous statement of ,when the glorious city of Rome was the center of the World.
However, in my case this was the opposite.
The roads lead me far away from my Beloved city: Rome ,the city of my birth.
At the age of 20, I said Arrivederci, dropped many coins a La Fontana di Trevi, and followed my American husband, that was in the USAF, in his various assignments abroad and in the US.
Eventually the road led me here in Texas,The Lone Star State.

The Flavius Amphitheatre, was built by the Emperor Vespasian, but was inaugurated by his son Titus in 80 A.D.., is the largest monuments of anciet Rome...it seated around 50,000 spectators.

There is an old saying:" When the Colosseum fall Rome will fall, and when Rome fall, the World will fall.."

This fountain is situated in the centre of Piazza Barberini.
It is a magnificent work of art by Bernini.
Four dolphins support a huge conch, bearing the heraldic emblem of Pope urban VIII Barberini.

"Tu es Petrus et Super,han Petram Aedificabo Meam et Tibi dabo Claves Regni Coelurm".
Thou Art Peter and Upon this rock I will build my Church and I will Give into Thee The Keys of The Kingdom of Heaven."
It was St.Peter who made Rome the center of the Christian World....
Recent exscavations under St.Peter Basilica have brought to light tombs and sepulchral vaults of the first and second centuries A.D.
Among these, beneath the Papal Altar and the main Cupola, was discovered the humble burialplace of the Apostle Peter...

La Lupa with the twins Romulus and rRemus , the mythical founders of the Eternal city, is one of the most recognizable emblem throughtout the world and is the Symbol of Rome..
Rhea Silva, the daughter of Numitor King of Albalonga and descendant of Aeneas, was the mythical mother of the twins.
Numitor brother Amulius, seized the throne and killed Numitor's son.
Then he forced Rhea to become a Vestal Virgin, to insure that Numitor will never have a heir.
According to the legend Mars, the God of war, took a fancy to Rhea and raped her.
After the twins birth, Rhea was buried alive and Amulius ordered a servant to dispose of the brothers..
The rest is history..

The Pantheon, temple to all Gods, is one of the best preserved monuments of Imperial Rome times.
Was built by Agrippa during the glorious times of the Emperor Augustus, later after it was almost destroyed by a fire, was modified by Hadrian.
The Pantheon hold the tombs of Raphael , and the kings of Italy,Vittorio EmmanueleII and Umberto I.

I saw this cute cat in a small street near Piazza di Spagna..
This is what i call La Dolce Vita, he looked so comfortable and serene despite that many tourists kept taking his picture...

The Ecstacy of Santa Teresa, Bernini's masterpiece is located inside the Cappella Cornaro.
Bernini's marble sculpture represented the saint and the angel ,swooning on a cloud, with her mouth half open, eyelids closed with an expression of ecstacy on her face.
I could not believe the emotions and the thrill I felt the first time I saw this magnificent work.
The church is located in Via XX Settembre.