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Barcelona

Marseille

VilleFranche

Rome

Florence

Naples

Day at Sea

Barcelona Hotel Stay

Return to Main Window

The "lovely" view of Civitavecchia's port

The drive to and from Civtavecchia is far more pleasant than the route into Florence, perhaps for the same reason a drive into New York City is less uplifting than entry into Washington, D.C. Seats of government do not attract industry.

For more than half the journey my tour bus hugs the coastline, following the route of the ancient Via Aurelia. This bears a striking resemblance to the drive along I-5 in California, where it traces the coastline on the way to San Diego. Not too shabby at all! The road gently veers left, and I'm quickly up into the rolling Apennine hills, past fields, small vineyards, olive groves, and power lines running from the generating stations on the coast. Crowning hilltops, the famous pines of Rome, with their broad, rounded crowns, look more like maples than Christmas trees.

Vineyards spotted on the road to Rome

Bogged down in morning commuter traffic, the scene slowly changes from rural to the urban jumble that is Rome, where the blush of youth long ago gave way to the weariness of age. Forgive the grimy facades. What might Washington look like in another 2600 years?

Today's tour itinerary (I'm doing the "Imperial Rome" excursion) includes the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Venezia, the Victor Emmanuel Monument, Via Imperiale, the Roman Forum, the Coliseum, and St. Peter's Square and Basilica. Somewhere along the way, we'll have lunch.

The Trevi Fountain is my first stop of the day. Our bus winds through city streets while our tour guide points out some sights I'll be visiting later on. I disembark by a hillside park, trek several blocks through city streets, round a corner, and there it is, at least as grand and glorious as any photo you've seen (and you've undoubtedly seen several).

My first glimpse of the Trevi Fountain

The neighborhood is encrusted with tourists but relatively few tourist traps (I don't think a Benetton shop counts). Perhaps the tours allocate too little time here for the tourist trade to truly flourish. Even so, there's a costumed "Roman Centurion" eager to pose for a fee, and an enterprising old fellow with a digital camera and a battered, battery-operated computer printer slung from a neck strap delivers your souvenir photos on the spot.

A Roman entrepreneur

The cascading waters, galloping marble horses and neo-classical building behind it are quite photogenic. If you take the time to listen to your tour guide (or any of the dozen or so others holding forth), you'll learn that this fountain is the end-point of the last of the fully-operating old Roman aqueducts.

Glorious, isn't it?

Thirsty? Off to the right-hand side of the pool you'll find a knot of fellow tourists in a grotto-like niche, where a heavy, constant stream of water spouts forth for the benefit of anyone thirsty enough to get his/her face drenched. It's fun and just a bit romantic, so join the fun!

A Trevi Drinking Fountain

From there it's back to the bus through different streets, past a variety of impressive residential buildings including an empty, private palazzo at least six stories tall. It more closely resembles a New York City office building from the late 1800s, all stained stone and grimy picture windows.

A old Roman building

I pass through its courtyard, awed by fading, painted stonework that you wouldn't find anywhere in the New World.

A peek into an intriguing Roman courtyard

My tour bus next deposits us on the edge of Piazza Venezia, a broad expanse dedicated to traffic and ringed by monumental architecture. We cross busy streets and walk past the huge, white marble, Victor Emmanuel Memorial.

Victor Emmanuel Memorial

Romans call it the "giant wedding cake," (with not a little derision). From the front, this monument to the founding of the modern Italian state seems to obliterate all that came before it. From the rear, viewed across the brown and grimy broken glories of ancient Rome, it's simply the white frosting on a much richer cake.

An ancient vista

Next stop? The Roman Forum. Click here for the next page of our Rome Report.

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