May 4 Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Hotel Rooftop, Rome's Legacy

The photo above is a panoramic shot from the rooftop of our hotel, Hotel Pace Helvezia.  I just wanted to see how it would look on a blog.  More on the rooftop later.

We began the day with a van ride to the Piazza Navona.  It was raining heavily, but we persevered.  This piazza is interesting because the location goes back to the first century AD and was built by the Emperor Domitian for track and field games.  Today, it maintains the same configuration, with buildings around the piazza where the bleachers had been.  I did not get a good picture because of the rain and I couldn't find any on the internet that I liked.  The piazza features Bernini's Fountain of Four Rivers  The Four Rivers were representative of the four continents known at that time--the rivers are the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube and the Rio de la Plata in South America.  I know, what about North America?  This was in 1651, well past Columbus' discovery.  I will not quibble with Bernini's vision, though, because it is an amazing fountain. Here's a picture I pulled off the internet of the fountain:

The figures are magnificent.  We then walked to the Pantheon, still in rain so I pulled another image off the internet for this blog.

I have to admit that it was far more impressive than I had imagined.  Since it began as a pagan temple, I was unprepared for the grandeur of the inner space.  Again, this is not my photo, but one I found:

Because of the rain, the center was wet and roped off.  There are actual drain holes and the floor is stone.  The oculus is always open.  In good weather, the light moves across the space.  It became a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 609.  There are many altars in the niches, but this is the central one (aha! my own photo):

Back at the hotel in the late afternoon, Jan and I went back to the rooftop garden for more pictures.

Great views, and I won't even pretend to describe what we could see.  Jan also took this fun picture of me:

We had a presentation before dinner reviewing the history of Rome and some of the things we had seen.  I have lots of notes!  That evening, we walked to the Jewish Quarter for dinner.  I just have to share the menu:
                              Fried artichoke
                              Fried Zucchini flower stuffed with anchovies and mozzarella
                              Veal slice filled with prosciutto and mozzarella with mushrooms
                               I can't remember the dessert
                               Of course, wine...red or white

It was a good day!!!