I’m still doing my Conqueror Challenge walk through Rome. I’d hoped I would be motivated to walk more this time - not so much. But I do check in each day to see where I’ve got to. And it certainly is interesting to see these old cities - here in Canada if we see a landmark from the 1700’s we get all excited. And perhaps wonder if a condo would look nice there. BTW - The next one I have in the queue is a walk around London, more ‘old stuff” but more colourful. Maybe I’ll see a Banksy on a wall.
I’m at almost 80% of this 55km tour, and have received emails for several notifications along the way, including two more virtual postcards sent from me to me. I’ll include them below.
Here’s the text from the email -
I left Castel Sant’Angelo via its eastern exit and walked around its star-shaped perimeter, heading north into the pretty neighbourhood of Prati. The area is not a tourist destination but a quiet and well-to-do place with lovely art nouveau-style apartment blocks. Wooden shutters adorn the simple designs of the buildings that are painted in cream or ochre colours.
Taking a counterclockwise approach, I swung back towards the Tiber River, passing the Vatican City, a city-state and enclave. Besides being the Pope’s residence, the Vatican City holds some of the most precious art and antiquities collections in the world within its museum. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescoes, and St. Peter’s Basilica is renowned for its Renaissance architecture and stunning central dome. A staggering 1.1 million printed books and 75,000 codices are held within the Vatican Library, one of the oldest libraries in the world.
As I walked up the wide cobblestoned Via della Conciliazione, I saw the Basilica rising before me and framed by a grand piazza. There are 284 colonnades, four rows deep, surrounding the piazza, topped with 140 statues of saints and martyrs. At the centre is an Egyptian obelisk with two disks on either side. When I stood on one of the disks, only a single row of colonnades was visible instead of four.
Instead of crossing the river, I continued south towards the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi for a fantastic aerial view of the city. Several prominent landmarks could clearly be seen in the distance. Nearby was the statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, an excellent military leader who, in the 19th century, helped with the unification of Italy and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy.
I passed through the bohemian neighbourhood Trastevere, where artisan shops, craft beer pubs, and trendy restaurants were tucked away in narrow streets. Ivy-draped walls gave the streets a gorgeous garden-like character. Trastevere wasn’t always this funky. As wealth seeped into the area, grand villas were established, evoking old-world charm amid chic commercial businesses.
Crossing the Tiber River, I walked to Aventine Hill, one of the Seven Hills of ancient Rome, to check out a unique view through the Knights of Malta Keyhole. Peeking through the keyhole, I could see a garden path lined with tall hedges beautifully framing the dome of the Basilica. The keyhole is tiny, and part of the oldest chivalric order in the world called the Knights of Malta or, more correctly, the Knights of St. John Hospitaller.
Satisfying my curiosity with the keyhole view, I moved on to Parco degli Acquedotti (The Aqueduct Park), where the ruins of seven different aqueducts are contained within a public park. Built between the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD, the aqueducts supplied water to the urban areas. A typical aqueduct consisted of arches supporting the top section where the water flowed through a carved groove. Four of the seven aqueducts – Vetus, Anio Novus, Claudius, and Aqua Marcia – were considered the “great aqueducts of Rome”. Ranging between 40mi (64km) and 56mi (90km) long, each aqueduct partially ran underground. The remains in the park are an amazing reminder of the Romans' exceptional engineering and construction skills.
PS. Experience our virtual challenges in real life - The Conqueror Adventures
And the text for this one -
I found myself in a park on a narrow path bordered by tall shrubs and felt like I was in the countryside. But no sooner, the park grounds opened up, and there to my left was another ancient aqueduct. Much lower in height than what I usually envisaged, it seemed to have a bulkier shape. While the arches were also shorter, the brickwork between them was much wider. I walked beside the aqueduct until I exited the park into a narrow street. From there, I walked through Rome’s suburbs amongst low-rise apartment blocks.
I stopped to take in the interiors of the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. As one of four papal basilicas, the church is also the largest in Rome dedicated to Mary. The church is splendid, with the most incredible gilded ceiling that was apparently built with gold that Christopher Columbus brought back from the Americas. Detailed paintings, marble carvings, and intricate mosaics furnish the interiors. One day in the middle of summer, a blanket of snow appeared on the hill where the church was located. In commemoration of the day, white flower petals are dropped from the ceiling every year.
One of the most bustling roundabouts is at Piazza della Repubblica, near Termini, Rome’s main railway station. In the middle of the circular plaza is the Fountain of the Naiads, with four bronze statues of nymphs and a central sculpture of a sea god holding a dolphin spouting water. On one side of the roundabout, two imposing semi-circular buildings give way to Via Nazionale, which leads into the historic centre. On the other side is the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. Though it doesn't look like much from the outside, the moment I stepped inside, I was blown away by its grandeur and stunning interiors. The church was built on the former site of a Roman-era public bath. A fascinating feature inside is the 147ft (45m) long meridian line made in bronze with yellow-white marble edging. An oculus, a small hole in the ceiling, allows light to filter onto the meridian line.
I continued past the church to finish the day in Villa Borghese, an extensive landscaped garden and public park developed on a former vineyard. In 1605, Cardinal Scipione Borghese commissioned the garden and a villa of the same name to house his extensive art collection. Today the park contains several villas converted into museums, as well as pavilions, a lake, and sculptures. The Galleria Borghese holds a significant part of the Cardinal’s art collection, including works from Bernini, Rubens, and Raphael, to name a few.
Southwest of the park is Passeggiata del Pincio, a promenade featuring more than 200 busts of prominent figures. The paths, wonderfully shaded by tree canopies, led to a large open terrace overlooking the city and the landmark square Piazza del Popolo, where I will head next.