My Rome Diary -4

Castle Angelo, Piazza venezia and piazza novona are three monuments that needs to be mentioned , which covers most of the places worth mentioning that I visited. Rome full of monuments and ruins with unique history. I need many more visits to cover all that .

Castel Angelo

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo. It is a towering cylindrical building initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the Popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in 138 AD, together with those of his wife and his first adopted son, who also died in 138 AD. Following this, the remains of succeeding emperors were also placed here.

 

Ponte Sant'Angelo, is the beautiful bridge on river Tiber that facing the castle .It was also called the Aelian Bridge or Pons Aelius, meaning the Bridge of Hadrian. The bridge dates back to 134 AD and was build by Hadrian, to connect the Tiber, from the city center to his newly constructed mausoleum. The bridge is now solely pedestrian, and provides a photogenic view of the Castel Sant'Angelo. In times past, pilgrims used this bridge to reach St Peter's Basilica, hence it was known also with the name of "bridge of Saint Peter”. In 1535, Pope Clement VII allocated the toll income of the bridge to erecting the statues of the apostles saint Peter and Saint Paul to which subsequently the four evangelists and the patriarchs were added to other representing statues Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses.

 

 

Piazza Venezia

Piazza Venezia is a big square with lots of hustle and bustle with people from every nook and corner of Rome. It has Monument of Victor Emmanuel and Palace of Bonaparte.

The Altar of the Fatherland which is also known as the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II is another eye catching building in Rome .The monument was built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. The monument is built of white marble, and features stairways, Corinthian columns, fountains, an equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel and two statues of the goddess Victoria. Even if one doesn’t have this monument in ones itinerary, one does come across this monument because of its central location. The white marbles provide it a shining look that catches attention of anyone and one is instantly inclined to take out the cameras to click the building.

Looking down from Il Vittoriano towards Piazza Venezia, one  can see the Palazzo Venezia on left. The building that gave the square its name and was built between 1455 and 1464 by cardinal Pietro Barbo who went on to become pope Paul II. It is one of the oldest civil Renaissance buildings in Rome. The palace was used as a papal residence until pope Pius IV handed the building over to Venice, who used it as their embassy. In 1916 the Palazzo Venezia was acquired by the Italian government. Benito Mussolini used the building as his headquarter and addressed the people from the palace's balcony.

On the right of the Palazzo Venezia is another palace, the Palazzo Bonaparte. It was named after Letizia Bonaparte, mother of Emperor Napoleon I.

Piazza Navona -Fountain of the Four Rivers

The main attraction of Piazza Navona is the trio of fountains that adorn the square. The central and largest fountain is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers). It was constructed between 1647 and 1651 on request of pope Innocent X.. The fountain features four figures, each representing a river from a different continent - the Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio de la Plata. The statues are at the base of a rock supporting an obelisk. It was exciting for me to see the Ganges in Rome.