A walk through Rome is physically paging through history. You ARE there! Whether intact, visibly ravaged by time, or in bits and pieces, the city of Rome's sites and monuments are a gripping, dramatic testimony to time and to change. As it unfolds before me I can feel the palpable sense of history.
A life-long opera fan, I start with the Teatro dell'Opera where I have seen innumerable performances. But Rome is a city of temples and I particularly love, the Temple of Portunus. Not shown on this post but to follow, are several important sites close by the temple: the circular Temple of Invincible Hercules; across the street rises the Arch of Janus, and barely twenty feet away, is the Arch of the Moneychangers which is attached to a wall of the medieval church of San Giorgio in Velabro. The attractions in this area continue in the opposite direction, up the street: the ruins of the Portico of Ottavia in front of the facade of the Theater of Marcellus grafted onto an apartment builing. The Capitoline Hill is only a block away.
Near my apartment is the emperor Hadrian's Tomb, better known as Castel Sant'Angelo (also the setting to act three of Puccini's opera Tosca). I love the Bridge of the Angels, each of whom bears an instrument of Christ's passion. It is the perfect spot for beautiful, evocative walks by day or night and St. Peter's Basilica is visible in the distance. I caught this shot one morning during a rare snowfall in February, 2010.
I hope you enjoy these posts. Your comments are welcome!
Godete! Enjoy!
