Holidays in Rome - Italy
Like few other cities on Earth, a holiday in Rome manages to combine an extraordinary past with an amazingly vivacious present. If you took away the people, walking through Rome would be like walking through a museum, such is its wealth of extraordinary buildings and monuments. Add the people back into the equation and you have a city that seems to exemplify contemporary Italian style and a love of modern living, juxtaposed with a heritage that's richer than a Tiramisu.
Sightseeing in Rome
Walking through Rome on holiday is not for the feint hearted. Every Italian driver appears to be auditioning for a place in the Ferrari Formula One team, while the ubiquitous scooters seem to be exempt from any kind law whatsoever. However, such Latin commotion seems completely appropriate in Rome and only serves to enhance those moments of tranquillity when you find a little café for an espresso or walk into another beautiful piazza or stunningly lovely church.
The Pantheon, Rome
Walking into buildings like the Pantheon, for example, is akin to time travel – mind you, some of the queues in Rome will make you wish you owned a time machine! However, once through the enormous bronze doors you can leave the hustle and bustle of the contemporary life far behind. This is the only complete piece of Roman architecture still in existence and it is stunning. The sublime space – the building height is exactly the same as the radius of its' dome - is lit by the sunshine that pours through the unglazed oculus in its magnificent roof. Amazingly the rain seldom enters the building at all and the natural light plays wonderful games as it flatters different aspects of the interior.
The Colosseum, Rome
The Colosseum is magnificent it in own way too and, for a building that was inaugurated by the emperor Titus in AD 80, it is extraordinarily contemporary in the way it seeks to usher visitor along is meticulously planned corridors. 50,000 spectators used to gather here to see the brutal spectacle that was put on yet, with 80 entrances for crowds to come and go in an orderly fashion, all the casualties were confined to the arena.
Rome & the Vatican City
Naturally, this being Rome on holiday, the Vatican City is a definite ‘must see' as of course are Michelangelo's inspiring works at the Sistine Chapel. Interestingly the chapel itself is built to exactly the same dimensions as the Temple of Solomon as given in the Old Testament. Elsewhere you can climb the magnificent Spanish Steps and visit the house where Keats lived and died. The house is now a museum dedicated to Keats, Shelley, Byron, Mary Shelley and their fellow Romantics.
Trevi Fountain, Rome
Of course you can't visit Rome without seeing the Trevi Fountain: beautiful in itself, great for watching the world go by and, with the unique advantage that, according to legend, a coin thrown into the fountain will ensure your return to the city. St Peter's – the largest church ever built - is something of a ‘must see' too. Once again Michelangelo receives prominent billing with the magnificent Pieta located near the entrance. These days a glass screen sits between you and the sculpture following the attack by a man with a hammer in 1972.
Contemporary Rome
Finally, if you'd like to see some of Rome's more contemporary accomplishments on holiday, try the magnificent Stadio Olimpico where over 80,000 spectators can enjoy an uninterrupted view of the action. If you crave a little controversy, the Palazzo della Civilita is a fine example of the fascist or "bombastic modernism" of the 1930's while those looking to escape the relentless pace of a modern city should head for one of the many parks like Villa Doria Pamphilj, Rome's largest public park and one of the richest in terms of flora and fauna.
Cosmos Tourama Holidays in Rome & Italy
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