January 8, 2026

January 8, 2026

We left the hotel walking north leaving the old city of Rome at the Porta Princiana Gate. It is not raining but it is an icy 29F. We both have multiple layers on. Across the street we entered the large park of Borghese Gardens. It once was the villa of the wealthy Borghese family. Down a long park road we reach the former Borghese mansion.

We made reservations weeks ago getting tickets at the opening. We are first in line. As a result we experience this stunning site initially all by ourselves. I am glad we did. I thought the Venetians were wealthy. Papal families make Venetians look like paupers. The main floor of this palace is decorated to the hilt with best of the best sculpture by Bernini as the centerpiece of each room. The highlights include the Rape of Persephone, David, and the Apollo and Daphne. All three would individually be the major draw of any museum. They are classic Bernini filled with emotion and intricately carved.

But even the periphery of every room is decorated with gobs of statuary, paintings, and mosaics.There is a mix of ancient Roman, and later Baroque art. If you like sculpture, this is the venue to visit.

We circled the main floor taking photos and then circled slowly soaking in the extraordinary art. It is overwhelming, but so rewarding. The hand prints on the thigh of Persephone are extraordinary.

We circle a third time to look at the secondary art. There are several famous Caravaggio paintings and three very high quality Roman sarcophagi, and lots of ancient mosaics.

We take a break and move to the upper floor painting gallery. It is nice but not as stunning. Yet I wonder if these were the bedrooms of the family. Afterwards we return to the main floor for another cycle. Visitation is strictly limited to two hours; but we are ready to leave as the gallery is now packed with more visitors detracting from the experience. The Galleria Borghese is better than I could have imagined.

From the Galleria, we crossed the large park only stopping to photograph a large equestrian statue of Umberto, second king of united Italy. It is a few degrees warmer but still chilly.

Just west of the park, we entered Piazza del Popolo, via another gate in the Aurelian Walls. Another large obelisk stands in the center. The large piazza is flanked by two fountains.

We turn around and enter the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo. It is decorated with fine art, but the highlight is a side chapel flanked by two Caravaggio paintings. My favorite is the “upside down” Crucifixion of St Peter. Interestingly, instead of charging an entrance fee, there is a coin box to turn on the chapel light. We have seen this now in most churches. We need to figure out a way to get coins in this cashless economy.

From the Piazza we walked southwest along a main boulevard until we reached the Tiber river. There we paid to visit the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace), set inside a modern glass building. Built by Emperor Augustus, the film story of its sinking into the mud, dispersal of pieces to museums across Europe, and then reassembly is fascinating. The actual visit of the Altar was kind of a letdown. It seemed too much of the structure was modern fabrication.

Next door is the Mausoleum of Augustus. This large round building never made it out of antiquity and was repurposed many times until Mussolini restored it. It is still under construction.

We walked east through a luxury shopping district still mostly lit up with Christmas decorations. Some are very artistic and creative.

We briefly stopped at the base of the Spanish steps before turning south. Our next stop was the iconic Trevi Fountain. It has that name because it is on the side of a building at the corner of three streets (Tre Via). Not surprisingly it is packed with tourists. There is a long line of tourists waiting to get a few feet closer to toss coins and take better selfies. I laugh but I am secretly glad this keeps the tourist horde away from sights I care more about.

We work our way west making lots of interesting stops. This part of Rome became the center of the city after the Middle Ages. We stop at Galleria Sciara and Galleria Alberto Sordi, two interesting indoor malls.

Our next stop is the Temple of Hadrian. The only thing left of this Roman structure is one set of columns that was incorporated into the side of a modern building. A better repurpose of the temple than tearing it down. It is interesting to see how much lower the ground level was two thousand years ago.

We next visited the Church of San Ignazio. Every Jesuit church we have visited is ornate and this one is no slouch. The highlight is the stunning ceiling fresco. There is a large mirror to make studying it easier. Shockingly there is a long line of young Tiktokers waiting to use the mirror to take a selfie with the ceiling.

This Jesuit church is not lacking. Another highlight is a very cool funerary monument to Pope Gregory XV. It reminds me of the splendid sculpture-filled tombs we saw in a couple Venice churches.

My feet are starting to get sore, so we stopped for lunch at a nearby Pizzeria. We each had a salad and shared a Margherita Pizza.

Around the corner we made a brief visit to the Casanatense Library. This cool looking library has two enormous globes that I would love to have in my home office.

Our next stop was the Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This is one of the few Gothic churches in Rome. Rome was a tiny town during the Middle Ages and the papacy had even been moved to Avignon, France for a while. For a Gothic church it is a stunner with a Michelangelo Jesus carving. Under the altar is the sarcophagus of St Catherine of Siena. In front of the church is an unusual elephant topped by an obelisk.

After these minor sites we finally reached the Pantheon, probably the finest Roman relic anywhere. It is timed entry now, so we have to wait in line to buy a ticket. The outside looks thousands of years old. The interior is a technical marvel containing a circular dome ceiling that even after two thousand years is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. The center oculus is open to the air. The only reason it still exists because it was turned into a church.

The periphery of the interior has the tombs of the first two Italian kings. It also has the tomb of Raphael, because he was so impressed with its beauty.

We are getting tired so we make one last stop at ruins of the Curia of Pompey. This was where the Senate was meeting temporarily when the Senators all got together and stabbed Julius Caesar to death.

We made our way back to the hotel climbing over the Capitoline Hill again. I read on a storyboard that this is where the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957 marking this spot as the birthplace of the European Union.