ITALY - ROME - A FEAST FOR THE EYES #2

Rome wasn't built in a day...

View of Rome from Gianicolo (Janiculum in English) is the second-tallest hill in Rome and one of the city’s most popular attractions. While it’s not one of the “Seven Hills of Rome,” as it sits outside the ancient boundaries of the city, it provides perhaps the best panoramic view that you can get.

We will start today's tour with a quick visit to Rionale market. Then, at Barberini Square and, after seeing the Fountain of Triton, we are going to take metro and then a tram to reach Villa Doria Pamphili, commonly called Pamphili, only...

I admit, I love Roman Villas, and this third stay in the eternal city didn't include a visit to the Villa Borghese or to the Villa Adriana because I had already been there before. So let's visit a seventeenth-century Villa with what is today the largest landscaped public park in Rome, at over 450 acres (it's larger than Hyde Park by 180 hectares and about 55% the size of Central Park).

The Casino del Bel Respiro

Like at any other park, we see people jogging, walking their dogs, spending their time the way they like far from the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

Differently from other parks, we see many parts of statues, a consequence of the government's takeover of the park in about 1970 - yes, that's 40 years ago, not 140 - and its inability to keep the park from being raided by thieves and vandals.

Before leaving the Park let's take a photo of the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica

From the Park, we are walking along a large road that crosses the entire Gianicolo (top photo) and as we see the St. Angel's castle, we cross the bridge of the same name. The Tiber river is running silently... 

Suddenly, I have an idea: 'how about killing two pigeons with one stone???": we have enough time to visit the exhibit by England's Henry Moore at the Baths of Diocletian, the largest baths under the Roman empire. 
I'm sure you have noticed some sad street scenes that you wouldn't like to have seen but Rome, like any other large city, has homeless people in stark contrast to the large segment of the population.

The slideshow below includes images of other aspects of the city: for instance, outside the market, there was a dog leash holder (something I have never seen in Portugal) for shoppers' dogs, and others like a language school advertisement at the metro station. It  pictured a coat-free cat jumping down a table. I roughly understood the reason for the choice of that image...

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~~ Thanks for joining me~~

~~ See you soon... in Rome, of course... the tour is to be continued...~~

Have a wonderful weekend

PS. I am going to spend a long weekend in the south...