TEN TEKST MOŻNA PRZECZYTAĆ TAKŻE PO POLSKU
Reminiscences from the trip to Italy that I made several years ago came back to me when I was browsing old photos. Some time has passed, that is why I will not give here any prices or opening hours because they must have changed. This post is therefore sort of memoir of those beautiful moments. I had wrote a bit more about Florence some time ago.
Roma
From Cracow there are flights to both airports of Rome, Fiumicino and Ciampino. There are low cost airlines, so with a little bit of patience you can find cheap tickets.Moving aroung the city is provided by the company ATAC, which has buses, trams, trolleybuses and metro (two lines: A and B). Official website: http://www.atac.roma.it - in Italian and English (not very intuitive though).
All the useful information for tourists can be found, in several languages, on the website: http://www.turismoroma.it
As in most of the touristic cities finding an accommodation in Rome is not a problem - it is only a question of price. When I traveled to Italy, those were times when I chose campings, but as I was traveling with low cost arlines, I wanted to save on luggage. Luckily in Italy, including Rome, there are campsites where you can rent a plot with a tent. Very practical solution.
In my case, it was Camping Roma. Several years ago for so called bungalow tent I paid 10 euros per person per night. But... it was a bit far from the center. Theoretically you could reach Vatican within 10 minutes' bus ride, slightly longer - with a change for metro to the center. But there was no way to sit until late at night in pubs - unless you would not mind returning by taxi...
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| Fountain di Trevi |
- Spanish Square (Piazza di Spagna) - one of the most famous in town; with Barcaccio's fountain in shape of a boat from XVII century; it is here where famous Spanish stairs are, with a cascade of railings and balconies; Fountain di Trevi (Fontana di Trevi) - the most known in the city, baroque in style; built in XVIII century in place of a former one from XIV cent. It is supplied with water by an aqueduct from year 10 BC.
- Coloseum (Colosseo) - amphitheater built on command of Flavian family in the second half of the 1st century AD.
- Forum Romanum (Foro Romano) - the oldest city square in Rome, probably from VIII cent. BC. It is surrounded by six of the seven hills, namely: Capitoline, Palatine, Caelian, Esquiline, Viminal i Quirinal. In ancient time Forum was a political, social and religious center of the city, it is here where the most important event were held.
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| Colosseum |
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| Forum Romanum |
- Palatine (Palatino) - one of the seven hills of the city, considered the place of the oldest Roman settlement; according to legends, in one of its caves she-wolf feeded the founders of the city, Romulus and Remus
- Pantheon - the best preserved monument of the ancient Rome, remaining until today in an unchanged shape; it was a place dedicated to all the gods of the empire
- Capitoline Hill and Capitoline Museum (Campidoglio e Musei Capitolini) - it is one of the most famous and often visited hills in the city; on a square which was an opus of Michaelangelo there stands a copy of the momnument to Marcus Aurelius; there are also here: Senatorial Palace (Palazzo Senatorio), Palace of the Conservators and New Palace (Palazzo dei Conservatori, Palazzo Nuovo), which house the Capitoline Museum, one of the most important collections of ancient art
- Basilica Sant’Agostino - Renaissance temple built in 1420, not far from Piazza Navona
Vatican
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| Basilica of St. Peter viewed from one of the windows of the Vatican Museums |
- St. Peter's Square with St. Peter's Basilica (Piazza San Pietro, Basilica San Pietro)
- Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani), of course with the Sistine Chapel; a ticket includes Vatican Historical Museum, papal apartments and Apostolic Palace of the Lateran
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| St. Peter's Square |
Vatican Museums are definitely worth visiting. You have to remember that it is one of the most visited places in the world! We stood in line two hours to get the tickets. Then: people ahead of you, people behind you, these crowds take away from you the joy of admiring all this immense collection of pieces of arts gathered here...
Assisi
Assisi is a very charming town lying on a hill about 3 kms from the train station. You can take a pleasant walk or get here by bus. There is not much to see here so I did not regret to have chosen Assisi for a one day trip between Rome and Florence. |
| View of the town from the hill |
- St. Francis Basilica (Basilica San Francesco) - lower church with a tomb and relics of the saint, upper church with frescoes by Giotto, Pisano and Cimabue; the Franciscan structures were designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO
- Basilica Santa Maria degli Agnelli - with Porziuncula chapel rebulit by St. Francis and with a historic monastery
- Communal Square (Piazza del Comune) - built in a place of an ancient forum, with the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, an ancient temple of Minerva rebuilt as a church of God's Mother of Lourdes; only a facade in the Corithian form has remained from the ancient temple
- Eremo delle Carceri - on Subasio hill; a small monastery and a church; the Bendictines gave this place to St. Francis, he retreated here often and in a small cave below the church; there is an oak here called Oak of Birds (it is supposed to have been a place where St. Francis preached to birds)
- Castle Rocca Maggiore - remains of the castle built in XII cent. by Frederick Barbarossa
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| St. Francis Basilica |