The Pantheon – Rome – 126 AD

A temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD.


HISTORIANS, believe that Emperor Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa built the first Pantheon in 27 BC, with  masonry walls and a pitched timber roof. It burned in the great fire of 80 AD, and was rebuilt by Emperor Domitian, but was struck by lightening and burned again in 110 AD.
Whatever the reasons, the Pantheon is the only structure of its age, size that has survived the test of time and is intact in all its splendor and beauty.

Michelangelo first saw the Pantheon in the early 1500s, said it was of “angelic and not human design.” At that point, this classic Roman temple, was already more than 1350 years old.
What’s even more surprising is that the Pantheon, Michelangelo admired, still stands today – another 500 years after he saw it.




Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain ( Fontana di Trevi) is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. It is close to the Pantheon, about 5 minutes walk through narrow cobbled streets.Standing 26 metres and 20 metres wide. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. It has become an iconic attraction that most visitors invariably   make a trip to it. At all times a lot of people can be seen sitting around the place; perhaps a good resting place after the hectic walks from site to site. People always like to  sit aside running water, right?

In 1730 Pope Clement XII organized a contest for the fountain in which Nicola Salvi initially lost to Alessandro Galilei – but due to the outcry in Rome over the fact that a Florentine won, Salvi was awarded the commission . Work began in 1732, and the fountain was completed in 1762, long after Clement's death, when Pietro Bracci's Oceanus (god of all water) was set in the central niche.
Salvi died in 1751, with his work half-finished. The Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini, today it is a must see tourist attraction.





No visit to Italy is complete unless you have a Gelato
Gelato is Italy’s version of ice cream, -as paayasam is to മലയാളി , with three major differences.First, gelato has significantly less fat than ice cream's ; but, less fat does not mean less taste. Second, gelato has a much higher density than ice cream. The result is a higher quality dessert with a richer, creamier taste.Third, it is served slightly warmer than ice cream. so gelato’s taste is further enhanced as it melts in the mouth.
There are numerous outlets near the Trevi.



Day end. Basilica of St. John Lateran.