ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 12

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

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Sitting and drinkinga coffee at the corner with Via del Corso, I looked at Piazza Venezia.
The square is dominated by the white Vittoriano, the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy. It' is one of the landmarks of Rome but most of the Romans do not like it, being sometging completely out of the normal style of the city. Many people call it the Typewriter. Color is different but the shape, indeed, is similar.

Palazzo Venezia and its balcony

Piazza Venezia is also important, in the Italian history, for Palazzo Venezia, a palace that was formerly the embassy of the Venetian Republic at the State of the Church and that became, during the fascist period, the seat of the government. From its balcony Mussolini was speaking to the cheering crowd in the square.
Anyhow, luckily the most famous balcony in Italy is not that but it is the one of Romeo and Juliet n Verona, made famous by a British, William Shakespeare. The third most famous one, they told me, is located not far away from San Lorenzo Guest House and it's a normal balcony of a normal condominium that has been made famous by a very successfull movie. You cand read about it here (in Italian).

Aracoeli Insula

Leaving Piazza Venezia and getting Via del Teatro Marcello, on the left you will see the remains of an insula, an apartments building of the ancient Rome.
Immediately after there are the stairs leading to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli and the the stairs leading to the Capitol Hill (Campidoglio), the sacred hill of ancient Rome, now the headquarters of the city admistration.
The design of the square is by Michelangelo Buonarroti, and that's enough to explain its insane beauty.
At the center of the square there is the equestrian staue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. That's a copy, the original is kept inside the Capitolin Museums that are hosted in the two side buildings.
While there, I saw a couple going to be married and I thought how lucky are the Romans that can marry in Campidoglio. And my mind went to Janet that had already gone back to UK.

Piazza del Campidoglio by night

THE FAN

P.S. Thinking back to those few hundreds meters from Piazza Venenzia to Campidoglio, so full of art and history, I realized that, when in rome, the best place to stay is really a b&b or a guest house. Since they do not offer any laziness inspiring place like a spa, one is forced to get out to discover any single corner of this incredible city.

Link to part 11