April 13-16, 2018 - Exploring Rome and a Visit from Holly & Tim
EUR is a residential and business district in Rome, Italy, located south of the city centre. The area was originally chosen in 1930s as the site for the 1942 world's fair which Benito Mussolini planned to open to celebrate twenty years of Fascism, the letters EUR standing for Esposizione Universale Roma. The project was originally called E42 after the year in which the exhibition was planned to be held. EUR was also designed to direct the expansion of the city towards the south-west and the sea, and to be a new city centre for Rome.[1] The planned exhibition never took place due to World War II.
We found EUR to be quite different from other neighborhoods we have visited in Rome. Its man-made lake, fountains, and landscaping are beautiful, and more "kept" than other green areas in the city. The abundance of white, impressive structures from the 40s and 50s is interesting and has a modern yet classic look.
There was a Formula E (Formula 1 for electric cars) race being held there the day after we visited, so much of the area was blocked off. We got to see a car doing practice runs, though, which was pretty cool!
That evening we had our first visitors arrive. Heather's sister, Holly, and Holly's husband, Tim, came to visit for a few days. Holly works for the State Department and will be starting a new assignment in Sarajevo, Bosnia in a few months. They had an orientation trip to Bosnia and stopped in Rome on their way home. It was great to have them with us for a few days.
While Holly and Tim were here, we visited the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. It's amazing to see the impressive remnants of that powerful civilization! It continues to boggle our minds to see all the layers of history in this city.
It's weird to use a 2000 year old column as a bench.
In between touring the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, we took a break for a yummy meal!
Everyone's got to make a buck somehow, but these guys who dress up like Romans to sucker gullible tourists into paying them for a picture, are something else.
After the Colosseum, we decided to truly exhaust ourselves by walking around town a bit more.
Though this looks like the Colosseum, but it's actually the Teatro Marcello (with apartments or offices currently in use on top!). As we said, there are layers upon layers of Roman history here.
We stopped by the Jewish Ghetto and peaked at the Tiber (Tavere) River.
...and then we swung around to Capitoline Hill. The Wisteria is breathtaking, all over the city.
We had to go home and crash after all of that. Holly helped us find probably the best meal we have had in Rome, just a few doors down from our apartment. Who knew?!
Feeling revitalized, we headed out for a quick look at the Trevi Fountain at night.
The next day we went to church in the morning, with Hannah attending Young Women's for the first time as a fresh 12 year old.
After we got home, we went with Holly and Tim to San Giovanni (St. John) in Laterano, the impressive and important church right by our apartment. The statues of each of the 12 apostles are quite soul-stirring. The pictures below don't capture the statues' imposing size. Each one was carved by a different artist, and they each have a very distinctive personality. Each statue contains items pertaining to the respective apostle's life.
Everything about the Church is big, as you can see below.
We then walked around town a bit, seeing sights like Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona, etc.
We even ventured into Trastevere a bit.
The next morning Mark had to go to work so Holly, Tim, Hannah, and Heather went and got some delicious food at a place called, "L'Antica Salumeria," which is a salami shop. It was dripping with cured meats and cheeses, and yummy pastries! I had a picture of the shop but cannot find it. If I find it later, I will stick it in. It was an impressive sight to see.
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Then we went to one of the most important museums in the city - The Capitoline Museum. Many of the historical pieces of art from large excavations, have been moved to this museum and to the Vatican Museum. It had tons of amazing things to see, and we got worn out looking at it all. The statue below is a rendition of The She-wolf who was said to have found and suckled the lost Romulus and Remus infants, several hundred years BC. The legend is that these brothers later fought over the founding of the city of Rome, Romulus being the winner of the fight, and getting to name the city his. We have seen statues and paintings of this all over the city, and the symbol of Rome is a wolf.
It was so great to see Holly and Tim; to hear about all that they have seen and learned about their new post, to eat some good food, and to be complete tourists in Rome with them. Their tour of the city was a bit like a whirlwind, but maybe they can come back here again when they have moved to Sarajevo. There is always more to see in Rome!
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