Lazy Sunday in Rome & the Vatican

For our last full day in Rome before heading down south to Puglia, we started with some more off-the-beaten path sights, including a morning visit to the Quartiere Coppedè on the north side of the city. We took a bus to this small but enchanting neighborhood, built in the 1920s by a Florentine architect. It's basically just one block in each direction, with whimsical ornate structures and a fountain of frogs in the middle. It might not be on the top of the tourist list, but it's worth a visit if you have a long stay in Rome or you're interested in unique architecture. The surrounding neighborhoods are leafy and pleasant. 

From there we took a bus to the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia. This is a large museum in a former pope's villa, focusing on Etruscan history from the first millennium BC. It's an excellent museum, with a TON of pottery, some interesting funerary and temple sculptures, and even a whole relocated tomb. It's a bit out of the way and less visited than other museums in Rome, but provides an interesting perspective on an often overlooked period of Italy's history. The villa itself is from the 1550s and there are still some interesting mosaics and murals remaining.

Pleasant neighborhood around Piazza Buenos Aires.

The church of Santa Maria Addolorata on Piazza Buenos Aires.

The Quartiere Coppedè and fountain of the frogs.

Neat architecture.

Whimsical building complete with seahorses.

Villa Giulia, home of the Etruscan museum.

An intact Etruscan tomb.

The museum's most famous piece, the sarcophagus of the spouses.

Detail on a statue from a temple in Veii. Pretty impressive for the 6th century BC!

David in the courtyard.

From here we took a long meandering walk, enjoying the mostly sunny day. Heading south, our first stop was the Piazza del Popolo. This area was pretty lively, with people taking in the atmosphere of this touristy area. We ducked in to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, checked out the fountain in the square, and continued on to a nice lunch at PizzaRe. Continuing south after eating, we passed the Augustus Mausoleum, and visited the Ara Pacis museum. For some reason entry was free on this day. It's a small museum but houses an impressive altar in a cool modern space. From here we began walking toward the Vatican, crossing the Tiber River and passing by the Italian Supreme Court.

Porta del Popolo, a gate built in 1475 leading into the city of Rome at the time.

The basilica is more plain than some in Rome, but still impressive.

One of 13 ancient Egyptian obelisks in Rome.

Yum!

Outside of the Augustus Mausoleum.

The Ara Pacis Museum.

Italian Supreme Court.

We weren't totally sure what to expect at the Vatican. The last time we went (in the summer several years ago) it was packed - the square was overflowing with people and the queue for the museum was blocks long. This time, were just a few random groups and people wandering around the square and the queue to enter St Peter's itself was less than 10 minutes long. Our primary objective this visit was to climb to the top of the dome, which has 550 steps and amazing views. Afterwards, we spent a little time wandering around the Cathedral itself, which was not at all busy.

Sunny afternoon at St. Peter's.

Bernini's statues line the square.

View down into St. Peter's basilica.

David climbing in one of the narrow windy staircases to reach the top of the dome.

The 360-degree view at the top is amazing!

Sunset views across the city.

The view down to St. Peter's Square overlooking Rome.

This is the core of the old city - can you spot the pantheon?

One of the side domes on the roof.

David inside St. Peter's. You can see it's not very busy today.

Every inch of the inside is decorated.

An amazing Bernini sculpture with marble draped over a bronze figure of the angel of death.

After wandering around St. Peter's for a bit, the sun was setting so we went back towards the AirBnB near the Pantheon. Along the way we stopped by the Turtle Fountain and got some gelato at Frigidarium (which was very yummy). For dinner that evening we opted for some quick take-away since we were packing up and getting ready for our train ride to Bari the next morning. We found a kebab place near the Jewish Quarter called Oriental Fonzie. The food was great and we'd recommend it if you're in the neighborhood and want a break from pasta or pizza.

Mmmm. Shawarma. 

Next up - our travels to the south of Italy!