Rome as a last stop: the Pantheon amid residential blocks

We woke up on the morning of October 5, 2024, in a small town where we had stopped for the night: there was a lake right under the window, and ducks quacked there all morning. Then we set off to conquer Rome. The hotel was in Rome itself, but on the outskirts, and that same day we already managed to walk around the city.

The Vatican and the Tiber

The Vatican greeted us with an insane line — that's how many people wanted to get in.

Next came the Ponte Sant'Angelo over the Tiber — it is also called the Aelian Bridge. It was built by Emperor Hadrian in 134–139, and the bridge led to Hadrian's mausoleum, today's Castel Sant'Angelo.

The Pantheon and the turtles

The Pantheon was built between 118 and 128. As long as you look only at it, its scale is striking. But shift your gaze to the neighboring buildings, and the temple seems to end up in someone's backyard, and the solemnity is gone. This is what it looks like from the back.

Leia set about studying the Turtle Fountain. It was made in the 1580s, and the little bronze turtles climbing onto the upper basin only appeared in 1658–1659.

Then it started to rain, and we took shelter in some church.

The Forum and the Colosseum

The Roman Forum was once the center of ancient Rome: first there was a market here, and then the square also became a place of political life. Only fragments of its buildings have survived to this day.

And on the parapet above the ruins sat a seagull.

Alexandra thought the Colosseum was half ruined, but instead she saw restored walls: after Benedict XIV, the popes, especially Pius VII and Leo XII, shored up with buttresses the parts of the walls that were in danger of collapsing.

And again, a mixed impression. A huge structure from ancient times, yet surrounded by today's streets and buildings it looks like a modest neighborhood landmark. The feeling of touching the legacy of a great empire never came.

Nearby, between the Colosseum and the Palatine, stands a triumphal arch. It was built in 315, at the beginning of the fourth century.

Trevi and the view from above

Of course, we made it to the Trevi Fountain too.

And we looked at the city from above.

To be honest, Rome turned out to be not a very comfortable city. Too crowded: in such a crush you can't really feel its antiquity. And on the roads everything reminded us of Asia: every driver goes however suits them.

On October 7 we checked out of the hotel, killed time until it was time for the airport, and by evening we were already sitting on the plane. Later we posted a photo of the Pantheon on our channel with a question for our subscribers: do they often think about the Roman Empire?