May 17, 2016 - Revisit Chianti

Today, we decided to revisit the remaining 4 villages in Chianti.  This time, we started with Panzano in Chianti.  We drove around a bit to find a parking place.  After parking, we walked to the Church of Santa Maria and then to the town itself along with beautiful view of wine yards, grape and olive fields.  

 

We visited the Castellina in Chianti.  It is a very charming wine country town with pedestrian walk area, interesting shops, a lovely church, and a castle with high tower. 

Later, we drove to Radda in Chianti.  We did some shopping and visited Palazzo San Niccolo, then we just strolled around the town.  When we got to the only information center open in this area, we chatted with the staff there to find out more information regarding the Tour of Italia 2016 and the Chianti Classico wine and its seal of black rooster (Gallo Nero in Italian).

Then, we drove to Gaiole in Chianti.  It was difficult of finding things to do in Gaiole.  Therefore, we decided to drive to the country side to see grape and olive fields.  We also stopped by Relais Castello Vertine which is a castle-converted-to-hotel site.  It was on a hill top with a picturesque view and a quite cobbled road.

After visiting these 5 villages in Chianti, we realized the best part of visiting Chianti is seeing the endless country hill side of grape and olive fields.  The driving and wine tasting will be great activities here.  However, they are mutually exclusive.  If we are doing wine tasting, then we can not drive ourselves; if we drive ourselves, then we can not do the wine tasting.  

May 18, 2016 - Travel to Rome

We got up early, drove to Florence, returned the rental car and took a high speed train ride to Rome.  The hotel we booked is not too far from the Rome Termini, so we decided to walk to the hotel.  Later we found out the info we got from Google Maps is not the best route and it took us quite a while to find Hotel Lodi.  The worst part of finding your way out in Rome is the street signs are not very clear.  Even if you finally spot the street sign, it has a long Italian street name and very hard to register for any non-Italian speaking person.  The Hotel Lodi has a very small sign on their narrow front door.  We passed it, missed it and had to ask someone to find it.  The room was extremely small, and the facility had a lot to be desired.  However, the staffs were very helpful in advising on tour attractions and how to get around in Rome.  With their help, we were able to take subway and buses to tour around Rome for the next 5 days.

After we settled into the hotel, we rode subway to visit some of familiar attractions such as Fontana di Trevi and Spanish Steps.  The Fontana di Trevi was still very popular with a lot of tourists.  We took some photos and then we had to leave to get away from the crowd.  The Spanish Steps was under maintenance for restoration work, it was completely closed with clear plastic fence around it.  

Since, there was no steps we could sit on to relax, we moved on to the north along Via del Corso and got to the Piazza del Popolo which is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square”. The piazza lies inside the northern gate in the Aurelian Walls, once the Porta Flaminia of ancient Rome, and now called the Porta del Popolo. A obelisk in the center of the square, known as the Flaminio Obelisk or the Popolo Obelisk, is the second oldest and one of the tallest obelisks in Rome. The obelisk was brought to Rome in 10 BC. The central street, the Via del Corso, was the ancient Via Lata and to the north it links with the ancient Roman road, the Via Flaminia, beyond the city gate and southwards, to the Piazza Venezia (formerly the Piazza San Marco), the Capitol and the Forum. The Porta del Popolo was reworked to give its current appearance by Bernini for Pope Alexander VII in 1655, to welcome Queen Christina of Sweden to Rome following her conversion to Roman Catholicism and her abdication.

When we were wondering around the Piazza del Popolo, we noticed on the east side of this square, there are stairs and many people climbed up to the top of the stair.  We decided to follow these people and climbed up to the top and found a huge park/square on the top of the hill with the best view of central Rome.  Later, we found out this is the Piazza Napoleon and it is part of the Villa Borghese.

May 19, 2016 - Vatican Museum Garden Tour

The Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel are our main attractions in Rome.  Since there is a Vatican Garden tour (the only way you can see the Vatican Garden), we booked the garden tour which allows self touring the Vatican Museum afterward.  The garden tour guide is from the state of Pennsylvania, we had no problem of understanding her.  She showed us the whole garden in a very relaxed pace.  It is a private urban garden with parks which cover more than half of the Vatican city and is owned by the Pope.  The garden covered approximately 57 acres. 

The attractions include Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of the Watch, Our Lade of Guadalupe, the Eagle Fountain, St Joseph’s Fountain, Shell Fountain, American Garden, Italian Garden, English Garden, French Garden, Square Garden, Kitchen Garden, and Tower of the Winds. It was a pleasant 2 hours walking tour.

After the garden tour, we went into the Vatican Museum and immediately we noticed that there was a huge crowd. The only thing we could do was to follow the crowd moving along in the direction toward Sistine Chapel.  Along the way, we passed through Gallery of the Candelabra, Gallery of Tapestries, Gallery of Maps, Apartment of Pius V, The Immaculate Conception and Sobieski Rooms, Room of the Immaculate, Raphael’s Rooms, Borgia Apartment, Museum of Modern Religious Art and finally got to Sistine Chapel which is the highlight of the whole museum.  Once we were in the Sistine Chapel, we were impressed by the art work on the sides and on the ceiling.  We were lucky to find a couple seats on the side, so we were able to sit and enjoy this world famous wonder.  

The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescos that decorate the interior, and most important ones are the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment by Michelangelo. Between 1508 and 1512, under the sponsorship of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a masterpiece without precedent, that was to change the course of Western art. He returned between 1535 and 1541, and painted The Last Judgment for Popes Clement VII and Paul III.  The fame of Michelangelo's paintings has drawn millions of visitors to the chapel, ever since they were revealed five hundred years ago.

After the visit of Sistine Chapel, we walked to St. Peter's Basilica.  It is a free attraction with a long line.  However, the staffs at the entrance points were not helpful and they kept redirecting us to the other entrance and then told us that it was closed.  After a while, we noticed what they mean 'was closed' for that particular moment due to too many people trying to get in.  All we needed to do was just standing in line as many others, and eventually they would let the next group of crowd to get in.  It took us a while to get into the Basilica which is the largest Basilica in Italy.  

St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the finest Cathedrals in the entire world, St. Peter's is the spiritual center of the Vatican and the product of many of Italy's great Renaissance's architects, among them Bramante, Raphael and Michelangelo. The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels, including the most famous Michelangelo's Pietà. 

Then, we went up to the top of the dome with a beautiful view of Vatican City and Rome.  By the time we got back down from the top of the dome, it was close to 7PM closing time.  When we stepped into the Basilica again, we found out that there was no crowd at all.  Therefore, we took the opportunity of taking few more photos before we call off the day.

May 20, 2016 - Rome City Tour

We planned to visit 2 of the 4 largest basilicas in the Rome surrounding area (St. Peter’s Basilica is in Vatican City which is not part of Rome) namely Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano and Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. 

We went to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore first.   It is one of seven pilgrimage basilicas in the world, this church was founded in 432 AD and is where the famous architect Bernini was buried. The Italian word maggiore means major, and this signifies that the church is the most important one out of eighty Rome churches that are devoted to the Virgin Mary.

The church is widely known for its impressive interior that still resembles an ancient basilica. The oldest parts of the Santa Maria Maggiore are the Athenian marble columns that support the main nave. They may have originated from an ancient Roman building or were an original part of the basilica. There are mosaics from the fifth century that can be seen underneath the windows and they depict many Old Testament scenes. The triumphal arch has golden mosaics that dated back to the fifth century and display scenes from Christ’s early life. An additional focus of the church is the stunning coffered ceiling that was created in the sixteenth century. The gold that was used to decorate the ceiling is believed to have been brought back to Spain from America by Christopher Columbus. It is believed that the King of Spain presented the gold to Pope Alexander VI.

Later, we went to Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (also known as the Basilica of Saint John Lateran) which is the bishop of Rome’s residence. And Pope comes to celebrate Mass on certain holidays. The present building is characterized by an 18-th centrtury facade by Alessandro Galilei.  Borromini rebuilt the interior ordered by Pope Innocent X. The entrance of this basilica is via the Holy Door which is the door opened by Pope Francis on Dec 13, 2015 for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The nave features the original mosaic floor and gilded wooden ceiling (Borromini’s renovations in the mid 17th century) are the main attractions. The papal cathedra (chair) with rich decorations and mosaics is also a must-see in here.

After Basilica of Saint John Lateran, we went to the Pompi store near Re di Roma subway station to try the famous tiramisu.  There are several Poppi stores in Rome. For 3.80 Euro you can get a prepackaged box of tiramisu. It was a little bit too sweet for us, but it tasted great and was very smooth.  We just sat outside the store like many Italians and tourists.

Then, we took the bus to Piazza Cavour and walked to Castel Sant’Angelo.  It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. Museum part is not that impressive, however, the castle part is very nice.  You can climb up to the top of the castle and have a wonderful view of Vatican City and Rome.

Next, we walked over the Ponta San Angelo(a pedestrian only bridge) to the Renaissance part of the Rome to do the Renaissance Walking tour.  The bridge provides a photogenic view of the Castel Sant’Angelo.  Then we found the Via Giulia which was laid out during the reign of Pope Julius II (1503-13). Via Giulia and its straight edges were one of Renaissance Rome's earliest examples of urban planning. Designed to facilitate access to the Vatican, it was the widest, straightest, and longest city street in Rome at the time of its construction and was bordered by the 16th-century homes of such artists as Raphael, Cellini, and Borromini, and the architect Sangallo. Today the street is lined with some of the most spectacular antiques stores in Rome.  We had more than a dozen of historical attractions (recommended by Forrmer’s Tour Book) to visit.  We had descriptions and maps helping us to do the walking tour.  However, when we got there, we had a very difficult time to identify the street names and the building (attractions) names.  We just walked through this famous street and could not sure what did we see.  We finally end up at Piazza Campo de' Fiori.  It was just an open air market to us, therefore, we did not stay for long and then moved to see the Pantheon.  Pantheon was still very crowed, to enter the Pantheon, there was a long line.  Since we saw it in 2006, therefore we just took a photo and moved onto Piazza Navona for another photo oppportunity.  

The Renaissance Walking tour was sort of disappointment to us, therefore we decided to move to Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II and Capitoline Museums area to check out those huge monument and buildings.  We passed by this area in 2006, but we did not even know what is this monument.  This was the 2nd time we visited in this area and we finally realized Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II ("National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II") is a monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built under the statue of goddess Roma after World War I.