A monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy since the 6th Century.
An elliptical amphitheatre, just east of the Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built - construction began in 69AD. It is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world.
In 1585 only one of the ancient Roman aqueducts was still working. Everyone who wanted clean drinking water had to go to the single fountain near the site of today's Trevi Fountain. Pope Sixtus restored several aqueducts, including the Acqua Alessandrina. The new fountain that marked the aqueduct's terminus was the first new monumental wall fountain in Rome since antiquity
Opposite is the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. The sculpture over the altar shows Saint Teresa of Ávila, swooning in a state of religious ecstasy while an angel holding a spear stands over her. Considered to be a sculptural masterpiece.
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, also known as Castel Sant'Angelo is a towering rotunda initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The popes later used the building as a fortress and castle. It is now a museum.
Perhaps the most impressive of the buildings we saw. Built by Hadrian c 126 AD. It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history. Since the 7th century, it has been a church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs
This deeply detailed nativity scene passed by most visitors who queue to look at the ceiling.
Quadratura - a form of mural painting that creates the illusion of extending the real architecture into an imaginary space.
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, begun by Pope Julius II in 1506 and completed in 1615 under Paul V. It is designed as a three-aisled Latin cross with a dome at the crossing, directly above the high altar, which covers the shrine of St. Peter the Apostle.
Gallery of Flemish weaving with episodes from the Life of Christ produced in the first half of the sixteenth century based on drawings by pupils of Raphael.
Pat picked out this one of Jesus, thought to be the gardener, appearing to Mary
Basilica of S. Mary and the Angels and the Martyrs was built in the 16th century on the remains of an ancient Roman bath, much to the delight of the Pope who commissioned the meridian-aligned sundial in the space, a fitting triumph over pagan time-keeping
The most beautiful and largest fountain in Rome.
And the most beautiful visitor at the time
