We've seen the Roman Forum and we marvelled at the Colosseum- what next? To begin our third day we decided to take a trip beyond the Tiber to Trastevere, a charming medieval neighbourhood with a fiery temperament. A stroll around Trastevere, formerly working-class district, took us away from the crowds to the hidden corners of Rome.
As it was Sunday there was Rome's flea market. Although, at first, I was quite disappointed - too much plastic made in China, LV handbags and shoes among other poor quality goods- I must confess that at some point I found Heaven: statement necklaces, many and gorgeous, with only 3 euros...can you imagine that? After spending quite a long time there I bought myself five necklaces, 3 pair of earrings ( 1 euro each) and the hat you will see in the pictures with only 12 euros. I was pleased....and happy :)
From there our next stop was Vatican City which is an independent state, the temporal seat of the Pope, head of the worlwide Catholic Church, entirely surrounded by Rome. The centre of the Catholic world, the magnificient St. Peter's Basilica with its dome (designed by Michelangelo) has an awe-inspiring interior. The place is huge, but everything is in such proportion that the scale escapes you. It is the largest interior of any Christian church and can hold 60,000 people. Below is the burial site of Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.
Next visit was Castel Sant'Angelo, but because of the big queue we didn't have time to go inside. This Fortress was built as mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian, but it has also been a prison and papal residence. It was used by former Popes who absconded there for protection in times of danger. There has been a covered passageway which still connects Castel Sant'Angelo to the Vatican.
As the sun went down we arrived to "Piazza Navona" ( one of the most famous and arguably the most beautiful of Rome's many squares) where we had dinner.
Kisses,
Valentina