June 22 and 23

 June 22 was a short riding day, only 35 miles, but still took a while.  After breakfast we were the Via Appia Antica Roman road for about 15 miles.  This road, still the longest straight road in Europe, was completed in 312 BC!!  Many of the original basalt stones are still in place and tracks from the chariots can be seen worn into the stones.

Here you can see Chariot tracks in the basalt rock road.

Then we visited Aqueduct Park where many of the original aqueducts supplying ancient Rome are still standing.



From there we entered the city through the Porta San Sebastiano, one of the largest remaining gates in Rome's fortress walls.

We had lunch at the Testaccio Market at a place called Casa Manco.  It reminded us of our favorite pizza place at Cape May, NJ called Manco and Manco.



Some other sites from the day are below.

The Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Victor Emmanuel monument




June 23

Today we took the metro from our hotel into Rome.  First stop was the Pantheon.  An incredible building.  The current building was dedicated somewhere around 126 AD.  The engineering is amazing, the preservation of the interior is stunning.


Next stop was the Colosseum.




Then the Roman Forum.


Last stop of the day was the Piazza del Popolo.

The obelisk in the center of the piazza is 3200 years old.  It was built by pharaohs Seti I and his son Ramses II.  It was brought to Rome around 10 BC after the conquest of Egypt around 30 BC.



Comments

  1. BobbieJune 25, 2024 at 5:22 AM

    Rome is magnificent! You are seeing all the sights! No picture of throwing a coin backwards into the Trevi fountain?

    ReplyDelete

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