Sightseeing in Rome, Italy - Thursday 10th April 2008

Having been to Rome once before, for a work trip several years ago, where I got to see virtually none of the city, I was determined to do better this time. With 2 separate trips inside a week, I resolved to spend some time wandering around the city, checking off some of the real big hitting sights that Rome has to offer. So, after an early morning start one morning, I was able to nick off work at about 4pm, to hit the city. Sadly, I didn't have room to pack a pair of trainers, so the extensive walking and cobbled streets took their toll on my feet, but there we go.

First stop was (were?) the Spanish Steps, which seemed to be called the Spanish Steps because there were hundreds of Spanish schoolkids sitting on them. In fact, when I got dropped by a cab about 300 yards away, you could see the masses of tourists well before you could actually make out any steps. Getting closer, and as the narrow approach street opened up into a nice square, I got the first breathtaking view of the day. Never mind that the building at the top had scaffolding covering it (as many buildings in Rome seemed to have - they are so old that lots are being repaired at any one time), it was a spectacular sight. Disney make things look like this in their artificial worlds - Rome has hundreds of places that are like a theme park, except they are real, and they are very old indeed.

Not far from the Spanish Steps is the Trevi Fountain, a short(ish) walk through some very narrow streets and squares, avoiding slow moving tourists wherever possible. On reflection, this was probably the best thing I saw all day, if only because of the surprise with which it sneaks up on you as you approach. The fountain itself sits in a pretty small square, and a square that looks fairly unremarkable when you first enter it. So, when you first get there, you are almost preparing for it all to be quite small, and possibly preparing to be underwhelmed. Which makes the view when you get properly into the square all the more amazing. Dominating one whole side of the square is the fountain, with the most spectacular sculptures (and in fact a whole building) on top of it. It is a huge fountain in a tiny square, and it looks incredible because of that, because it dominates the whole place. I had a real "wow" moment when I got in front of the fountain, truly one of the best "old" things I have ever seen.

Some more walking later, and I got to the really old part of Rome - one of several places where there are lots of very very very old ruins. These ruins ran along a main road, but their presence (like many others in the city) broke up the more modern buildings. Whereas London has parks to break up the city, Rome has dozens of sites where old Roman ruins are presented for all to see, and so where there are no modern buildings. This was a particularly good example, but walking around the city, you see many more like it. It is fascinating how well preserved much of it is, and also amazing to think how advanced some of the things that the Roman Empire built 2,000 years ago actually were. Some might say that Italy hasn't advanced all that much since the end of the Roman Empire, in fact!

Next up on my mini circuit was the Colosseum, a precursor to Emirates Stadium of course! This is a very big amphitheatre, much bigger than I had expected, and really made me wonder how the hell people managed to build something so huge and intricate in 70AD - without the aid of anything to make it particularly easy. It was built in 10 years as well - Wembley Stadium took almost that long, 2000 years of technology later! Of course, the Colosseum is probably THE iconic image of Rome, and a very fitting one it is too - it is a very impressive building, even if it is only 3/4 there now.

Finally, I thought that no whistlestop tour of Rome could be complete without at least setting foot in The Vatican - a country within a city of course. So, I jumped on the crowded Metro, jumped off a few stops later, and walked to St Peter's Square. This was the one Rome sight that I had seen before on my previous trip, so it was all quite familiar. Obviously, there were lots of Catholics there, getting rather excited. St Peter's Square is nothing if not huge, and it is very imposing for that reason - standing in the middle of the square, you feel very small, which I guess is probably the idea.

So, between 2 and 3 hours after I had started, my whirlwind tour was over. I had no time to read or learn about much of the history of what I saw - but even in that short a time, I was blown away by the beauty, age and size of some of the attractions I saw. Considering that some were built 2000 years ago, and still have the power to amaze you even now, there are some truly incredible sights in the city. I really want to explore all of this in much more depth, so Rome is definitely now on my "to do" list, when I have more time to do it justice. An amazing city, which is well worth all the hype about it.