Piazzas, Churches, and Lunch, Oh My! (Rome Day 3, Part 3)

Our third afternoon in Rome was filled with walking and discovery.  Our map was a partial guide, but more often it was what we saw as we turned a corner that made the decision for us.  Across the street from Castel Sant'Angelo was this monstrosity:

This is the Palace of Justice that houses the Corte di Cassazione - the Supreme Court of Italy and the Judicial Public Library.  This is a young building - built between 1888 and 1910.

We did not go inside, but continued our wandering.  Seeing little streets like this:

And giant churches like this:

We had noticed on our map the Mausoleum of Augustus.  This was built in 28 B.C. by Emperor Augustus and many notable Romans are buried there.  We were able to see the outside, but the inside is not open to tourists.

It was nearly noon and it had been quite a while since our breakfast at Sweetly Home Roma.  We stumbled upon Al Gran Sasso and it was quite a find!  This was the best entire meal of our trip.  We had great meals, but this one was tops from start to finish.   We were the first customers.

We started with an appetizer of bruschetta, fried olives, and battered mushrooms.  This would not be the last time we enjoyed olives on this trip. I have a great love of olives - my grandpa Edgar Fultz grew them and I remember eating those he grew when I was a child.

I ordered lasagna that was exactly what I expected from Italy - thin layers of pasta, sauce and cheese, but not ricotta!  Les ordered cannelloni and he said it was the best he has ever tasted.  We cleaned our plates!

But we saved room for dessert.  Again, the best ever!  Crème brûlée and Tiramisu.

Some "American" coffee and two very contented diners.

Now that we had received sustenance we were off for more adventures.  Al Gran Sasso was in the Piazza del Popolo.  A piazza is a large square, or gathering place.  There are many shops and restaurants.  In the center of this piazza is the Egyptian obelisk of Sety.  It was brought to Rome in 10 B.C. and was originally in the Circus Maximus.

We wandered past the Spanish Steps, which are currently closed for renovation.  Then made our way up a hill to the Villa Medici.  This one caught my attention when I saw it on the map because my earliest ancestor, Jacopo di Genova was married to Leonora de Medici.  This villa was acquired by Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici in 1576 and was the first Medici property in Rome (my Leonora was from Florence.) It now houses the French Academy in Rome. Sadly, we were not able to get past the lobby.  Tours are conducted but the only one in English was already done for the day.

Our wanderings next took us past the Parliament building.  It's kinda big...

We walked by the remains of the Temple of Hadrian, built in 145 A.D.

The detail is truly astounding!

We then arrived in Piazza Navona.  In the center is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers.)  There are four river gods and above them, an ancient Egyptian obelisk.  They represent four major rivers of the four continents through which the Catholic church had spread: the Nile representing Africa, the Danube representing Europe, the Ganges representing Asia, and the Río de la Plata representing the Americas.

Also in Piazza Navona is the Sant'Agnese in Agone church.  According to tradition, Agnes was a member of the Roman nobility born in AD 291 and raised in a Christian family. She suffered martyrdom at the age of twelve or thirteen during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, on January 21, 304.

The name of this church is unrelated to the ‘agony’ of the martyr: in agone was the ancient name of Piazza Navona (piazza in agone), and meant instead, from the Greek, ‘in the site of the competitions’, because Piazza Navona was built on the form of an ancient Roman stadium.  Agone meaning games.

I'm always amazed at the interior in these churches.  So many paintings and sculptures.  And the ceilings...

We followed a small crowd to a side room.  I didn't take any pictures, but later learned that the skull we saw was that of Saint Agnes (you can see it on Wikipedia here.)  People were wiping tears and crossing themselves as they looked on. It was another one of those moments I really can't even describe.  I was happy to step back out into the sunlight.

At this point we had walked about six miles for the day and were ready for a break.  One pleasant surprise at Sweetly Home Roma was an electric foot massager.  Our aching feet were very appreciative.  We crossed the Tiber River many, many times!

It was about 6:30 when we decided to go eat, only to learn that most restaurants were closed and would not open again until 7:00 or later.  We found one place that was open and had our most disappointing meal of the trip.  The food was outstanding, but our server was horrible.  I hope she was just having a bad day, because there are plenty of other restaurants in the area.  We did learn that you always have to ask for the check, they will never just put it on the table.  Bad service aside, our ravioli and pizza was delicious!

I know we found gelato somewhere that night, but no pictures.  We thought we were done with our Roman adventures and would be heading to our ship around 10:00 the next morning.  Monday morning brought a pleasant surprise first!

I know this post was very photo heavy, but if you need to see a few more...  they are HERE.