So I ate dinner with Amy and the girls and the old apartment in Campo De Fiori tonight. On the menu was chicken, rice, and carrots. I didn't have to do much for the meal except eat it, so no complaints here. My main activity of the evening was a walk to Villa Borghese and Piazza del Popolo. The walk ended up being about 4.5 miles, as my beautiful diagram below illustrates:
The red line along the map was my walking path tonight.. click it to enlarge.
First stop was Villa Borghese. Villa Borghese is a large park described as a landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner. It houses many buildings, museums, kid's events/rides, and other attractions. Above is a statue that welcomes you just inside the main gates of the park.
Crazy pruned trees everywhere.
The column capitals and dome of an altar positioned where 4 paths converge within the park.
This is the Temple of Aesculapius, which was built purely as a landscape feature.
One of the many fountains and landscape features within the garden.
Another fountain just outside of a kiddie playground.
The backside of one of the larger fountain/arch installations.
The front of said installation with another fountain and a pool.
After leaving Villa Borghese, I headed toward the nearby Piazza Del Popolo. Piazza Del Popolo is one of those Piazza's that you hear about during your schooling at RPI. It's the point at which the city of Old Rome just "takes off" and goes in all directions. Basically, it's a circular Piazza, similar to St. Peter's, and off of this circle shoots three streets going south, southeast, and southwest. It gives a really interesting viewpoint of the city context. before the age of the railroads, this "entry point" was known as the traveler's first view of Rome.
A view within Piazza Del Popolo.
A "worm's eye" of Piazza Del Popolo.
The Egyptian Obelisk of Rameses II from Heliopolis, also known as the obelisco Flaminio is centered within the Piazza. To it's left and right are Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto, two "twin" churches which define the junction of the streets.
Between the Ara Pacis Museum and the Grave of San Augustino, looking out into the wild black yonder. This was on my way back from my walk... about 10 minutes by foot from where I'm living.That'll do it for now. Enjoy the pictures, and I'll be in touch tomorrow. Buona serra e buona notte.
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