The B52s said ‘rome ⁽¹⁾ if you want to’…so we did!  Oh man….what a city…

Leaving the gorgeous Amalfi behind us, we headed up the coast with a one night stop over in a terribly expensive, massively busy Italian camping village, and a few nights in the absolutely lovely Abruzzo National Park.  We stayed in a sweet little village called Barrea, nestled under the mountains and overlooking the lake – one of our favourite spots.  Our camp for the night was the home of a traditional wolf caller Passeta, who very proudly showed us the many photos of him exploring the world (including climbing K2) and calling wolves, and then convinced us to buy his book at an outrageous price.  Quite a character!   We spent a pleasant day wandering the town, skinny dipping in the lake and enjoying a pasta lunch in a tiny alley (including the rather wicked complimentary grappa from the chef’s father’s still).  That evening, and the next, we slept outside under the stars as it was the Perseid Meteorite showers and despite the light of the supermoon, we spent the nights spotting ‘shooting stars’, one of which trailed from one side of the night sky to the other – time for several wishes.  Along with a research project on meteorites, this was a super (if a little chilly) way to do science lessons!  The ghost stories were fun too!

We then headed across the park to Pescasseroli, where we got the last spot in a tiny camperstop that was over-run for the weekend and hence suffered from a lack of electricity much of the time.  After wandering around town, we joined a small tour to call wolves, driving out of town and walking into the mountains to sat in silence while the guides used recordings to call the wolves, who duly called back – one single wolf in one direction and a pack in the other.  It was lovely to be out in the hills and it is always a treat to experience real animal behaviour (plus spot a few stray meteorites) so along with a pizza in a family run restaurant, a very enjoyable evening.  The next morning, after a slightly laboured run/ride, we took a chairlift up to the top of the mountain and ate a fresh cooked BBQ lunch in a very small restaurant overlooking the mountains run by three nutty old men. Abruzzo National Park is simply delightful – if you like to walk, ride, etc., add it to your list!

We then left the park and took the E80 into Rome.  Recent improvements to the motorway had not registered on our sat nav and it took us a little while to find our way off our exit and pay the toll, only to go round the roundabout and straight back onto the motorway, back the way we came.  Never mind…..a few kilometres up the motorway we took the next exit, paid our toll again, went round a complicated junction and back on the motorway – again, the wrong way.  Our driver lost his sense of humour.  A few more kilometres up the motorway we again exited, paid our toll, drove very slowly around the roundabout and made it back onto the motorway in the right direction.  One more exit, one more toll and we were back on track to our campsite beside the Tiber River.  Lunch and a swim, and senses of humour were also back on track.

Now…what shall we do in Rome today?  We took a suburban train into the city, caught the metro across to a stop called ‘Colosseum’  to see a small Roman theatre near there.  What a sight!  As you emerge from the station into the bright, hot Italian sunshine, it is right there – I mean literally right there – towering above you with the yellow travertine walls curving around before dropping away in disrepair.  Whether it is the size, the faded grandeur of the arches that once held gilded statues of emperors and gods or the echoes of the gladiators – it is a truly jaw dropping sight.

Despite having pre-booked tickets, it was 2 hours of queuing to collect them and the audio-guides.  Once inside, we were all stunned by the sophistication of the complex – from the class segregated seating, the carefully orchestrated entrances for emperors, gladiators and spectators (London must have learnt crowd control from the Romans), the impressive underground system of stage management and above all the sheer scale of the place.  It was not hard to imagine the crowds of over 80,000 people baying for the blood of the animals, gladiators, convicted criminals and Christians in this arena.  Today, there is much of the structure missing due to decay and pillage (often lawfully for building materials), and evidence of terrible reconstruction attempts, but its purest corners and its overall aura remains an awe inspiring insight into Roman life.  We were very lucky to have ‘Will-i-pedia’ along with us.  Having studied the Romans at school and receiving several books on the subject from family, Will was not only thrilled to be at this place that he had read so much about but was a wealth of information – filling us in on all sorts of weird and wonderful facts throughout our time.  He has declared this his definite favourite historical site!!

From the colloseum we headed up to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill – the remains of the administrative and commercial centre of ancient Rome.  When you gaze upon, and wander among these sites, it is really easy to lose sight of the fact that these ruins are over 2,000 years old.  The forum is not only impressive for its size, but its diversity – temples, gardens, marketplaces, statues, houses, roads, baths – you name it – it’s here.  Yes, of course it is showing its age (so are we and we are a few years younger), but we came across some copper temple doors which were 1,800 years old and still had a working lock!  Beat that B&Q!   It was ‘scorchio’ (again) and sitting in the shade within the garden of the Temple of the Vestal Virgins was a welcome break.  Some time wandering Palatine Hill wore us all out and we headed home with history (and Will-i-pedia) ringing loud and clear in our ears!

The following day was a ‘wander around Rome day’.  As has become the norm, as soon as our train pulled into the station, Deane was off for what we have affectionately called  ‘Dee’s Wees’.  The aging bladder is pretty reliable and predictable – and seeks out the first available pit stop wherever we go – train stations, gas stations, road side bushes, ‘self-made thermal spots in the sea’, restaurants, bars, theatres, galleries, and of course campsites and our own little bathroom.  Best of all he always reports back – location, cost or code, cleanliness, loo seat or not and the availability of loo roll.  A handy and helpful toilet monitor to have along on our journey!

We kicked off the day with a much anticipated visit to the Trevi fountain, only to find it under wraps for renovation.  We duly threw a coin in to guarantee our return and headed down the road to give Will his history lesson for the day – this time in the form of a 3D movie simulator  (Time Elevator) – taking us through 3,000 years of Roman History.  It was surprisingly good – with ruins overlaid with visual reconstructions and actors bringing historical characters to life.  Unfortunately for me the seats rocked and rolled a lot and it was with sweaty palms and a clammy forehead that we spilled back outside.

Just down the road Deane had spied an Andy Warhol exhibition so we headed there for a cool, calm environment in which to settle my stomach.  It was a brilliant exhibition – if it comes to a gallery near you do go!  It contained 150 of Warhol’s work including Blue Shot Marilyn – with a white spot on her forehead from being repaired after literally being shot, and what William has declared as his favourite pieces of art this trip (and boy have we seen some treasures!), Warhol’s Oxidation Paintings – where he and his mates pee’ed on canvases covered in metallic paints, creating abstract copper starbursts and trails.  It could have been Picasso, Dali, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Matisse, Degas, Monet or so many others but nope….Warhol’s ‘Piss Paintings’ win – oh to be a nine year old boy!

One of the wonders of Rome is the sheer gluttony of ancient buildings, monuments, churches, fountains, piazzas.  Every street contains another treasure (or two) and we wandered aimlessly for a couple of hours dipping in and out of churches (too many to name now, but one small seemingly inconsequential one we came across just happened to contain some of Caravaggio’s famous works)  gelato shops, admiring endless architectural gems and pausing on the fountain wall in Piazza Novana to watch a toothless old busker lip synch to 1950’s Italian ballads.  In one of numerous ‘talk while we walk’  moments we devised the ‘Rome Redistribution of History’ scheme, where Rome gives some of its lesser treasures to some of the less exciting spots in Italy.  Those ladies on patio chairs in the hot sun would sure appreciate a fountain to dip their toes in and it might just drum up a bit more business too.

We finally made it to the Pantheon.  This remarkably well preserved building, with its rather impressive 43m unreinforced concrete dome may be 2,000 years old but inside it looks as good as new (almost).  It has no exterior windows but instead has a large hole in the centre of the dome (technical term is an oculus apparently) which lets in the light (and the rain).  It was sunny while we were there, but the floor is designed with drainage holes in the marble floor for less pleasant days.  How clever those Roman folk were!

On the way home we decided on a quick stop at the Spanish Steps but like the Trevi fountain, much of it was under renovation, and the steps were packed with tourists so to be honest, we felt a little underwhelmed by the whole experience.  Deciding we were worn out we popped ourselves onto the metro and then train to head home for the day.  Hopefully our coins in the Trevi will work equally well for these famous steps as they must hold more charm than we felt!

After a good night’s sleep we were ready to tackle another day – taking in the Capitoline Museums in the morning and then the Vatican in the afternoon.  Our senses were about to be overloaded!  The Capitoline Museums are housed within two palaces which sit on the top of a hill not far from the Roman Forum and Colloseum.  Designed by none other than Michelangelo, the square and buildings are a brilliant work in perspective, appearing larger than they are.  We really didn’t have long enough to explore the treasures in these twin museums, strolling through room after room of marble sculptures and statues.  We spent a little more time admiring some of Michelangelo’s work in a temporary exhibition and elsewhere in the museum were stunned to come across the statue of Romulus and Remus suckling the she wolf (and therefore escaping death and founding Rome).  We were somewhat amused to discover that the little Romulus and Remus were actually added a few hundred years after the sculpture was cast (with even the age of the she-wolf itself being somewhat controversial).  Ancient spin doctors huh!

In the afternoon we headed across to the Vatican City to visit the Vatican Museums and St Peter’s Basilica.  Unlike the Colloseum, our prebooked tickets did help us jump the queue into the rather slick new entrance lobbies and within 15minutes we were in.  I’m not sure how far we walked in this vast complex or how many pieces of art and artefacts we looked at – this place is a mammoth treasure trove of several museums –it took us three hours to get around.  There are simply too many wonders to mention, but Stanze di Raffaello (the Raphael Rooms) were a wonderful showcase of his fresco work (and his students), while the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche is an interesting corridor lined with 16^th century maps of the Italian province’s, depicting all the towns and churches.  And oh so many more….

Unfortunately I had forgotten the advice a friend gave me about early morning guided tours and we were caught in the midst of what were perhaps the largest museum crowds we encountered on the trip.  Like Ikea you are guided through a set route with little chance for escape (not even for Swedish meatballs) until you eventually reach the Sistine Chapel.

I am not sure what I expected, but I certainly didn’t expect to be reduced to tears by the Last Judgement.  Painted 30 years after the ceiling frescos which depict the Creation in nine framed scenes, the absolute genius of Michelangelo is at its best in the Last Judgement on the west wall – the richness of colour, the detail in the scenes, the symbolism and above all the sheer emotion of this piece was astounding.  I think it is top of my favourite art list now (though was recently challenged by Marc Chagall’s tapestries – more on those in a later blog).  Despite not being able to take photos, we spent as long as could in the Sistene Chapel before emerging out into the sunshine and across to St Peter’s Basilica.

So….St Peter’s is the Pope’s office and is suitably grand.  It’s enormous of course (second biggest in the world) and you simply get swallowed up inside the 15,000 sq metre basilica – dwarfed by the vaulted ceilings, awestruck by the soaring beauty of Michalengelo’s dome (which he designed at the age of 72) and overwhelmed by the endless sculptures and paintings.  The basilica has a rich aura – one of strong authority and control – no frivolity in this place of worship – it’s a serious business.   St Peter is believed to be buried here (though his remains were only discovered in 1942 and declared as definitely St Peter in 1976).  We did not have tickets to see these nor to climb the dome so we headed out into St Peter’s square and away from the city…for now.  We could have spent another week/month/year in Rome – we hardly touched the city – and we will do in the future but for now, we had plans to head north.

Footnote 1 – Yes, I am aware it was ‘roam’….but it doesn’t work here does it…..