Headway Systems: Cycling in Italy

Sept 9 - 27th, 2003

1st Stop - Rome

On September 9 we jetted off to Italy to join Vic Panei on his fifth annual cycling tour of the Tuscany Region. Our threesome: Roy; Carol; and Doug spent the first three days in Rome, before meeting the rest of the group, taking in the sites, and walking till we dropped.

You can skip Rome if you want and jump right into the cycling:

(Click any image for a larger view.)

Day 1: We took the train from the airport to Rome and found our way to our hotel room at Papa Germano, where we dropped our gear and then we were off......


The first thing we noticed was an abundance of scooters. They were everywhere and of every design imaginable!

These Smart cars could squeeze into any
parking space they were so small.
Even sideways.

Piazza di Spagna
or
Spanish Steps

Designed by an Italian, paid for by the French, named for the Spaniards, occupied by the British, and under the sway of American ambassador Ronald McDonald. Built in 1725.

Doug and Roy take a break, after 15 hours of flying and one hour sleep.

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Piazza del Popolo Once a favorite place for executions the square is now called the "peoples square"

At the southern end of the Piazza del Popolo
are the twin churches of
Santa Maria di Montesano and
Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Fontana de Trevi.
This was certainly a hot spot for tourists. Even at night there
were tons of people eating gelato and sitting around the fountain.

Nicolo Salvi's (1697-1751) Fontana di Trevi.
Legend has it that a traveler who throws a coin
into the fountain is ensured a speedy return to
Rome, and one who tosses two will fall in love
in Rome. We'd tell you about the three coins option,
but not on this site.) How many did she throw?

Distractions everywhere.
The Rome women are gorgeous.

A safe place to wait till the road was
clear to cross. I think the road in front
of this church was a drag strip for all the
motor scooters in Rome. It was like being
at the race track, engines roaring
and scooters flying everywhere.

Jet lagged and incredibly tired it was time to head back to our hotel for a rest before foraging for dinner.

One of the many narrow streets on
the way back to the hotel.

All the streets are cobbled from different eras.

Now that's a pizza!

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Day 2: Having slept in to recover from jetlag, we decided to head towards the Colosseum and other local sites. The Vatican would just have to wait.

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Officially part of the Vatican City. Originally built in 352, Pope Sixtus III
commissioned the basilica when he noticed that Roman women were still
visiting a temple to the pagan mother - goddess Juno Lucina. Sixtus
then tore it down and built a new basilica and substituted a Christian
cult for a pagan one.


Statues in the Basilica

The Colosseum - Opened in AD 80

The Colosseum stands as the enduring symbol of the Eternal City. It dwarfs every other ruin in Rome.

Above the arches there would have been wooden stands that went
right to the top of the wall and this was for the women, children,
and pheasants. The colosseum could hold 50,000 crazed spectators
from Aristocrats, to Noblemen, to lower class.

Within 100 days of it's opening, some 5000 wild beasts perished
in the bloody arena and the slaughter went on for three more centuries.
Where the floor once covered there is a labyrinth of brick cells,
ramps, and elevators used to transport wild animals from cages up
to arena level.

Gothic Stone.

Old arches in outer walkway.

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Arco di Constantino
Between the Colosseum and Palantine Hill


Constantine built the arch to commemorate his victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312, using fragments from monuments built by emperors Trajan, Hadrain, and Marcus Aurelius, creating the triple arch.

Palatine Hill

The entrance ramp to the Forum, which Roy
is on, is the oldest street in Rome.
It leads the way into both the Palatine Hill
and the Roman Forum.

What remains of the buildings on Palatine Hill.

The Palatine Hill lies between the Tiber River and the Forum. The Forum was originally a low laying swamp land and was often flooded by the Tiber so during Rome's Iron age the inhabitants lived on the hill. The hill was also home to the she-wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. It was here that Romulus built the first walls of the city. During the Republic, the Palatine was the city's most fashionable residential quarter, where aristocrats and statesmen, including Cicero and Marc Antony, built their homes. Later emperors capitalized on the hill's prestige, building themselves gargantuan quarters. By the end of the first century, the imperial residence swallowed up the entire hill.

Leaving the Palatine Hill

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The Forum

Lower Forum	Upper Forum - House of the Vestal Virgins

The Forum - In the 7th and 8th centuries BC, Etruscans and Greeks used the Forum as a weekly market. The people who would soon be known as the Romans founded a thatched-hut shanty-town on the site of the Forum 753 BC. Now the Forum bears witness to centuries of civic building.

The Vestal Virgins tended the city's eternal, sacred fire, keeping it continuously lit for over a thousand years. The Vestal Virgins were among the most respected people in Ancient Rome. For 30 years, the six virgins who officiated over Vesta's rites, each ordained at the age of seven, lived in spacious seclusion above the Forum. They were the only women allowed to walk unaccompanied in the Forum and possessed the right to pardon prisoners. This esteem had its price; a virgin who strayed from celibacy was buried alive with a loaf of bread and a candle- to allow her to survive long enough to contemplate her sins.


Arch of Titus, built in AD 81 by Domitian to celebrate his brother Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem 11 yrs earlier.

Museo Nazionale del Palazzo Venezia
OR Mon A Vittorio Emanuele II on the Piazza Venizia?
(We're not sure which this is)

Some elaborate building with guards outside.

Piazza Venezia and Via Del Corso
Via del Corso was Rome's premier racecourse.
It runs nearly a mile between P. del Popolo and the P. Venezia


On the way home the boys did a little shirt shopping. Don Cherry would be in his glory, check out those collars.

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Day 3: Todays the big day. The Vatican and St. Peters Basilica. It took us a while to figure out where to get onto the Metro but eventually we pushed and shoved with the rest of the locals and were on our way across town.

There were limited places where we could take pictures so you'll just have to go yourself to see the rest. We passed through the Galleria degli Arazzi (tapestries), the Galleria delle Mappe (maps), the Apartamento di PioV, the Stanza Sobieski, and the Stanza della Immaculate Concezione on the way to the Sistine Chapel.

From the Room of the Immaculate Conception, a door leads into the first of the four Stanze di Rafaele, apartments built for Pope Julius II in the 1510's. Raphael painted a trial piece for Julius, who was so impressed that he fired his other painters, had their frescoes destroyed, and commissioned Raphael to decorate the entire suite. (I personally enjoyed Raphael's paintings)

Vatican City -Occupies 108.5 independent acres entirely within the boundaries of Rome and is the foothold of the Catholic Church. The nation preserves its independence by minting coins with the Pope's face, running a separate postal system, maintaining an army of Swiss Guards, and hording fine art in the Vatican Museums.

Basilica Di San Pietro (St. Peter's)

We went to have tea with the Pope, but wouldn't you know it. He stood us up. We had to settle for a bunch of nuns.

The statues on the top of the Basilica represent
Christ (center), John the Baptist and
the Apostles (except for Peter).

The Basilica rests on the reputed site of
St. Peter's tomb.

The interior of St. Peter's measures 186 cm by 137 cm along the transepts.
Lighting was poor so any pictures hardly do the grandeur justice.
The marble floors were as impressive as the paintings.

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The marble statues, columns and floors were very impressive.

Cupola of St. Peter's

After climbing 350 stairs to the top of the Cupola (see arrow) we had an excellent view of the piazza, The Vatican gardens, Rome's skyline and the Vatican itself (square building lower right).

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After St. Peter's we wandered our way towards home through the many narrow streets and found some interesting buildings, courtyards, and doors (some elaborate, others well worn).

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How could anyone resist the Gelato with a display like this.	Piazza Navona & Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi Fountain of the Four Rivers

The Piazza Novona was used to house wrestling matches, chariot races, and mock naval battles, with the stadium flooded and fleets skippered by convicts. (The mock naval battles, using convicts, went to death)
Fountain of the Four Rivers Each of the four river gods represents one of the four continents of the globe; the Ganges for Asia, the Danube for Europe, the Nile for Africa and the Rio de la Plata for the Americas.

Pantheon With granite columns, bronze doors, and a soaring domed interior, the Pantheion has remained remarkably similar since it was built nearly 2000 years ago. The domed ceiling is open to the elements and there are drain holes in the marble floor to allow the rain water to drain off. It's official name is Church of Santa Maria ad Martyres.

Pantheon

I believe it is under this painting in the
Pantheon that Raphael's (the painter)
body is buried.

Although we were all very tired from a long day of walking the streets we headed out towards Trevi Fountain and found a wonderful place for dinner and a glass or two of local vino. Great way to end the day.