Fountain di Trevi by night and other Rome, Italy Things to Do Tips

Di Trevi fountain is by far one of the most romantic sights in the world. Its mere size is overwhelming, as it takes up almost the whole area of the quare in which it is situated. It is built at the back wall of one of the four buldings surrounding the square. The dominating figure in the centre is the God of Ocean, sailing in a shell drawn by two seahorses - at least that's what I read in one of the guides. The scene is very dynamic and the water cascading from a myriad of layered pools adds drama to the scene. The whole structure becomes even more alive when the evening lights placed in the pools start to illuminate the fountain from the inside.
Getting to the fountain square if you don't know the city well is like a treasure hunt. We went there in the late evening of February, when it was already dark, following the signs and a few other tourists, who were heading in the same direction. As the fountain is surrounded by buildings , there's nothing to prepare you for the amazing sight, except perhaps for the commotion of the crowd which always surrounds the fountain. I've seen this beauty twice, and each time it was a moment of sheer pleasure. Of course I dropped a coin in the fountain to come back one day. Another interesting thing I read in connection with that custom is that the total worth of coins dropped in the fountain in high season is calculated at about $100 a week. They are collected with the use of magnets and are spent by the city council.

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Seen from the outside:

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The inside: we were lucky to visit on a clear day. The play of light was incredible.

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When we left the church we saw a group of boys playing football in front of the cathedral using the huge lawns as a pitch.

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Innitially a pagan temple devoted to all gods worshiped in the ancient Rome (PAN-all, TEOS-gods). Their statues were displayed inside the building. In 609 it became a Christian church and obviously the statues of gods had to give way. In 1520 Panteon became the resting place to Rafael, according to his will.

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The inside of Panthenon is a vast round room, about 43m in diameter and 43m high. It is covered by a cupola with a round opening in the middle, which lets in plenty of light. It may seem small when you look at it but apperently it's 9m big.

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It was getting dark when we got to Forum Romanum. When we were quite near the place we met a Polish couple who were jus leaving. They heard us speaking Polish and aapproached us saying that we'd never believe who they'd just seen visiting the place. True, I wouldn't believe it but I saw it with my own eyes and I even managed to sneak a picture. Have you ever heard of Andrzej Lepper, the (in)famous minister of agriculture in Poland at that time? Well, that's the guy we saw. He was stranding with a group of other official-looking men (there was only one woman), listening to the guide talking about the history of this place (I've got it in the other pic). That's probably how I will remember Forum Romanum for the rest of my life: with the figure of Andrzej Lepper in the foreground.

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One of the best sculptures I've seen was in this museum, worth every euro I spent. The display is great, the villa itself is a very handsome building too, and the immence park surrounding it gives you the impression that you somehow managed to escape the city. Cons: time in the museum is limited as I remember to 2 hours (am I correct?), you need to pre-book by phone, and the queue to get tickets and then the time you have to wait to get inside is quite too long (considering pre-booking). But otherwise it's a perfect place to chill out.

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