sky light

OH Rome! my country! city of the soul!
The orphans of the heart must turn to thee,
Lone mother of dead empires! and control
In their shut breasts their petty misery.
What are our woes and sufferance? Come and see	5
The cypress, hear the owl, and plod your way
O’er steps of broken thrones and temples, ye!
Whose agonies are evils of a day—
A world is at our feet as fragile as our clay. —Lord Byon

I went for a walk in Borghese Park, just north of my hotel, because I'd read there was a Diana statue. Seriously, this is Rome. Look how green and peaceful it is.

I found an outdoor cinema dedicated to Anna Magnani, and a place to rent surreys. But the statue of Diana was missing. Just a pedestal and a couple taking wedding photos.

It was brisk, still a gorgeous day in the park. The Borghese estate lies just beyond the old city walls. Tomorrow I'll visit the Borghese gallery, but today, I had more walking to do.

Why yes, that is Lord Byron, whose Childe Harold is set here.

Onward. Rome is full of these inscribed obelisks. I haven't looked up what they mean yet.

I came down the Spanish steps and found all the tourists. Everyone was posing for selfies. 

Okay, it's famous for a reason. A far cry from the crush of people most guidebooks describe. Come to Rome in December!

It really is gorgeous. I entertained myself with free designer wifi courtesy of Christian Dior.

It was really well done. Tasteful ads you could browse in exchange for looking up where to eat lunch and how to get to the Pantheon.

Via del Condotti is full of designer stores and adorable chandelier-shaped holiday lights.

Dolce & Gabbana has fake cannoli in the window. Guess that's how you fit into their clothes.

Finally. Everyone's favorite antica building in Rome. Hard to believe the Pantheon is 1900 years old, built in 125 AD by Hadrian. In 609, it was the first pagan temple to be converted to a Catholic church. It is enormous.

Everywhere you look, fountains.

The Pantheon is a temple that's survived the fall of civilizations and earthquakes. Like the Colosseum, its marble was looted for the Vatican.

Once you're inside, all that matters is the oculus. 30 feet of open air. The only source of light. Apparently the best time to visit is when it's raining, or snowing, to watch the rain come in and quickly drain away.

The Pantheon has perfect proportions. The cement dome is as high as it is wide. It doesn't seem possible that it could still stand. All other domes, in Rome and beyond, are based on the fact that this one stands.

I don't pretend to know what this modern art is doing in the Pantheon.  I was delighted at the signs requesting silence; above all, this is still a temple.

I would love to hear a service with music there.

Tazza d'Oro (cup of gold) is famous for one thing: espresso granita con panna (whipped cream). It was about twice the cream I needed, but man, that granita is good. I might have to make another visit, when I return to the Pantheon in a few weeks. Best 3 euros I've spent so far.

I also ran across this handy vending machine. You can buy anything you want: condoms, ginger toothpaste, diapers.

 I strolled over to Piazza Navona, where I'd heard they had the best Christmas market.

Lots of happy people loitering and a few selling nougat. As always, Italian police with machine guns are a little unnerving.

Most of the happy tourists are Italian.

 Holiday sweets

And the holiday light show at the mail.

Next stop was lunch at Retrobottega. What a funny place. It's somewhere between casual and formal, all black, with a lot of odd food combinations. Some of them are amazing (lamb tartare with chopped cuttlefish and fragrant leaf, the delicate green pasta above served with an overly pungent ragu). Others were merely weird. There was a gorgeous roast pork with apples and chestnut cream; but some of the pork was rare, and I wasn't hungry enough to eat pink pork. I tried a glass of Schioppettino, a grape varietal I'd never heard of. On the plus side, restaurants all offer delicious fizzy water for a price, and I've been drinking twice the water I drink at home.

Afterward, I found the crowds at Trevi Fountain. No one jumped in, but a few people looked tempted.

Tibor Kalman left NYC for Rome. I hadn't realized he and Maira lived here. His advice: try to eat at least four meals a day. I have my work cut out for me. Fortunately I walked 15,000 steps (6 miles) again. Combined with jet lag and wine and a complicated multi-course meal, I decided to head back to embassy row and contemplate infinity.

Tomorrow: Galleria Borghese and its collection of Bernini sculptures