As it goes with the 2300+ photos I shot whilst in Italy, I sort thru, and sort thru again, and again…. well, you get my point. I have enough to post on my blog for months perhaps, but wouldn’t want to overdo it on Italy (is there ever such a thing, I wonder??) 🙂
For today’s doors, a few from Rome. While I focused on Trastevere, a rione (district) of Rome, in a previous post, I’ve not visited my overall Roma collection of doors. Here, a diverse mix.
My last two hill towns of Italy left me with a sense that surely nothing could surpass them (though, my friend Manja tells me that’s just not so – I’ll have to believe her, for now 🙂 … )
Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio, the last of my Italy destinations, dished out a lovely assortment of doors (and more).
Civita di Bagnoregio. Here, you can see thru its sole ancient entryway.
Civita di Bagnoregio
Church of Sant’Andrea, Orvieto, dates back to the 12th century and adorns a decagonal bell tower.
Orvieto. Love the door, wish I had the full shot.
Civita di Bagnoregio
The Duomo of Orvieto. Both Roman-esque and Gothic styles. Majestic. There’s not one photo that truly conveys its magnificence.
Orvieto, Duomo main doors
Orvieto, the Duomo reflection.
Chiesa di San Donato in Civita di Bagnoregio, founded in the 7th century, though built on a former Roman temple. Oh how the ancient history here makes one woozy!
Civita di Bagnoregio
Looking out to the small piazza from the Chiesa di San Donato, Civita di Bagnoregio
The main entrance to Civita di Bagnoregio is a huge stone passageway, built by the Etruscans some 2,500 years ago.
Looking back out through the passageway; friends adding to the loveliness 🙂
Orvieto
Civita di Bagnoregio
Civita di Bagnoregio. A favorite: wood, keyhole, arch, horseshoe and art adornment.
Civita di Bangoregio footbridge, Umbria, Italy.
Civita di Bagnoregio. Love the asymmetric curve of the doors.
Orvieto
Orvieto
Orvieto, Duomo side doors.
Civita di Bagnoregio. Nap time.
I can’t imagine a better group of women to chill out with (literally, it was a hot 90+ degrees in Civita!) Oh, and our pal Fonzie too. Amazing day in our two lovely towns
…but just be sure to speak it in Italian, not American…
I had read about Trastevere before we left for our trip – so when Marco and Manja suggested it part of our day long trek around Rome, I knew it wouldn’t disappoint.
I should mention, all of the places we I visited had scrumptuous street art – including doors and windows, that qualify as art to me. I’ve decided to post most street art, door, and window captures separately. They each deserve their own.
However, a good bit of it speaks to the flair and verve of each of the neighborhoods, towns, and cities we visited. So I’ll include ones that were standouts.
Street art.Trastevere.All over Italy, water fountains run freely (some, have a spigot), which you can rinse your hands off, fill your water bottle, or water your dog. The water in Italy – not surprising as they know how to do water, historically – was delicious.Charming Trastevere (if you find me using the word “charm” in any form on Italy posts too much, well, get over it. 🙂Piazza di Santa MariaI sure wish hanging laundry out windows to dry looked like this at home!
Trastevere also has a spectacular church – you’d never know it by it’s relatively plain Jane exterior: The Basilica of Santa Maria, stunning. After seeing St Paul’s huge glorious-ness, we shifted gears to a more modest (well, not really) size. The basic floor plan and structure dates back to the 340’s. Yes. That’s the year three hundred forty.Â
Basilica di Santa MariaBasilica di Santa MariaBasilica di Santa Maria
We ate gelato. I should mention that. By the end of our trip, we had a ranking for our top five places.
Oh Gelato, we love you so.
Manja snuck in a picture of me doing my thing. It was a treat having a fellow photographer with us!
Emily, Me, Manja and Marco (Shawn behind the camera). Can you tell we loved our gelato? Marco is the only one taking his time 🙂
Who’d have thought we’d get the royal treatment from two people we’d never met in person? And yet, here were Manja and Marco (now our good friends, I should add) spending a delightful day by driving us all around to some off the beaten path, and amazing, sites in Rome.
First up was the Protestant, or Non-Catholic, cemetery (“Cimitero Acattolico”)…
The “Angel of Grief” is an 1894 sculpture by William Wetmore Story which serves as the grave stone of the artist and his wife.John Keats is one of the more well-known people buried here, though his tombstone, paired with this nearby plaque, is a riddle that requires both to identify him.Very lush with trees, shrubs, flowers; tiered with eclectic nooks and crannies all around the grave sites.
The cemetery is also a cat sanctuary.
After the cemetery, Marco using his mad Rome driving skills, we headed for Gianicolo Hill, as every day at noon a cannon fires. We didn’t make it in time, so instead went to Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls. The 25 or so churches we saw were phenomenal – there are more than 900 in Rome alone!
Girls with cameras rock!Entering St Paul’s thru a gorgeous, massive marble columned walkway.The Basilica, built around the 4th century AD (finished ~1800)Small font – most baptismal fonts we saw were large and elaborate.Beautiful art and architecture.Basilica selfies 😉
I almost forgot – the most important highlight of the day (and every day): FOOD!
We ate at a yummy Sicilian restaurant (serious dining here, can’t you tell), Marco’s work lunch digs!And conveniently, where we ate lunch was a pasticceria too (pastry shop!)Macchiato. Â I broke the golden rule of having milk in my coffee in the afternoon. It’s all about digestion in Italy (espresso/alcohol after a meal) Â Aside from a cappuccino or the like at breakfast, it’s espresso or bust after that! Also, there is a very clear reason why Starbucks doesn’t exist in Italy. Â I’ll speak more about Italian coffee in a future post, as it clearly deserves its own accolades!Granita for Emily and me – Shawn – fancy iced coffee I think!Chillin’ with the best world travelers one could find.We ate gelato. Oh, did we eat gelato. But walking 7-10 miles a day warranted it!We finished a long and awesome day with pizza. It was delish!
Fetching the World 