We loved the view outside our VRBO looking out to the Piazza Venezia. It is where 4 major roads meet...and there is some chaotic crossings with the traffic! The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument was built between 1885 and 1935. Victor Emmanuel II was the first kind of a unified Italy in Rome. It also holds the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Currently it is owned by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.
Looking out of another window of the apartment! On the ground level there were restaurants, shops and businesses.
We had a great location that made it super convenient and enabled us to be able to walk to the popular and common tourist sites in Rome. There is no better way to explore than by foot.
Window shopping
There were a lot of shops for the Catholic clergy
The Pantheon
A former Roman temple and now a Catholic Church since 609 AD.
The Pantheon was a Pagan temple dedicated to all the gods originally. But then given as a gift to Pope Boniface IV (608) who then removed all paganism and then transformed it into a church of St. Mary and the Martyrs.
It is an Ancient Roman building and one of the best preserved as it has been used throughout history.
It is said that it is the Pantheon has the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world! The Romans were truly innovators, artists and unbelievable engineers!
Italian meat shop
coffee shop
The best gelato, at Giolatti.
The girls commented that the Nutella gelato tasted like it was scooped and frozen right out of the jar and super rich!
The Tiber River
Vespa means wasp in Italian and is a popular luxury brand of moped seen on the streets.
a nasoni
Rome is home to hundreds of drinking fountains all over the city where locals and tourists alike fill bottles, take a drink and even wash their face in the cold, refreshing water.
The initials SPQR on the fountains and around the city represent the ancient Roman government, Senãtus Populusque Rōmānus.
The ancient aqueducts supply the fountains and maintain a steady stream of clean water. They were installed in the late 19th century.
Juliette is blocking the spout enabling Allie to take a drink out of the small hole in faucet like a drinking fountain.
There are over 2,500 nasoni around Rome.
Supreme Court of Cassation
Vatican City is the world's smallest independent nation-state that has a 2 mile border within Italy. It has a population of over 800 people but consumed with visitors as it is the headquarters and home of the Roman Catholic Church and their Pope.
We opted for a tour, met our guide then headed first to the Vatican Museum with droves of other tourists.
The Vatican Museum has about 70,000 works including paintings and sculptures that have been collected by the papacy and Catholic Church for centuries. Only about 20,000 of these are on display.
No pictures are allowed in the famous Sistine Chapel decorated by Michelangelo and Raphael. It is the last room visited in the museum. There are 24 galleries total.
Vatican obelisk
In St. Peter's Basilica
After our tour we walked back toward our apartment and stopped at a delicious pasta restaurant on the way! I will never tire of Italian cuisine!
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