Sunday 7th October
Not far from the hotel was the Vespa museum which reminded me of the scooter I had before our first car.

The main road was closed to traffic and full of cyclists, runners and musicians. We stopped at some seating overlooking some ruins to relax, listen and people watch.

We crossed the Piazza Venezia in front of the huge imposing monument to Victor Emmanuel II who in 1861 became the first King of a united Italy since the 6th century.

We then entered a maze of old streets in the Medieval part of the city.

We arrived at Gesu Church just a the service was ending.

This church is famous for its ceiling fresco by Il Baciccia and we thought it absolutely beautiful.

 

We then walked along Via Torre Argentina to the Pantheon where there were huge queues to get in. This was built by Emperor Hadrian between AD 118 and AD 125.

The original Temple was built by Marcus Agrippa in 27 BC and on the outside you can clearly see the changes that have been made over the years.

It is so huge inside that the queues moved quickly and we were able to enter and marvel at the rich interior and the geometric dome which is the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built.

Nearby in the Piazza della Minerva is the Elefantino carrying a 6th century Egyptian obelisk. It was designed by the famous artist Bernini and completed in 1667.

Just behind the elephant is The Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva which boasts a beautiful lapis lazuli ceiling and was built on the site of 3 pagan temples

Nearby is  the Church of St. Ignatious Loyola built in 1626 which has a superb fresco ceiling as well as highly decorated columns and arches.





We returned by way of the cobbled Via del Governo Vecchio.