We arrived in Rome a couple of days ahead of the start of our Italy-Croatia Tour and checked into the elegant Grand Hotel Palace on the Via Veneto, a street famous for the film La Dolce Vita. This location is ideal with easy access to the Borghese gardens and a short walk down to Piazza Barberini and on to the Quirinal, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps.
But for our first morning in the Eternal City, we decided to immerse ourselves a little deeper into Baroque art and architecture.
Twenty-one people on the tour opted to come with us to Rome early to get over jet lag. I invited them to join us on our little walk and 15 came along.
We started by walking down Via Veneto to Piazza Barberini where we took time to get a closer look at the beautiful Fontana del Triton, the striking Bernini work built in 1644 with four dolphins supporting a seashell and Triton (Neptune), the god of the sea at the centre.
From there, we walked up the hill to the Quirinal area – the highest point among the city’s seven hills – to visit a couple of very special churches.
First, we stopped at San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane with its fabulously elegant interior designed by architect Francesco Borromini, a sensitive soul who had an intense, sophisticated concept of the stylish use of space. The ceiling in San Carlo is especially breathtaking with its pure white patterned oval that frames the superb yellow-lit cupola above.
The beauty of visiting many of the top churches in Rome is that entry is free and, as yet, there are no rigid security systems in place.
We also popped into another magnificent Baroque church, Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale, just down the street, just a few minutes walk away.
This was designed by Bernini in the 1600s and and it is a lot more flamboyant with a golden-domed ceiling with superb sun yellow cupola with a white dove at the centre.
We also saw many wonderful statuary pieces used to decorate the sanctuary, giving it a particularly lively, dramatic, inspiring interior.
From Sant’ Andrea, we walked slowly along to the Quirinal to see the Quirinal Palace, official residence of the president of Italy.
Georgia Johnson at Trevi 
Paul and Linda Levelton at Trevi 
Out front, we admired the giant white statuary of Castor and Pollux taming wild horses.
From here, it was a leisurely walk down the hill to the Trevi Fountain. It was crowded, as you would expect on a busy Saturday morning, but we still managed to get down to the front and again toss coins into the water – ensuring that we will yet again return to Rome one day.
From the Trevi, we wandered on to the Pantheon. But before we went in the Pantheon, we popped into the last of the terrific Baroque churches we had on our list to visit – Sant ‘Ignazio di Loyola with Bernini’s spectacular fresco ceiling showing Saint Ignatius ascending into heaven.
This is the 17th century equivalent of a blockbuster movie with stunning special effects; the ceiling, even today, is a wondrously captivating work, dazzling in its energy and exciting, dramatic imagery.
On our way to the Pantheon, we came upon a media scrum of TV and radio news reporters waiting for some political event to happen. They looked bored, so I got chatting and we had some fun with them pretending I was the one they were interviewing. It got a few laughs from onlookers. Fun in the sunshine.
From here, we wandered into the piazza with the Pantheon, which is now well guarded, forcing line-ups.
In the past, you were able to just walk in the building but today there is high security with bag checks. Not quite the same experience.
Lunch in the Piazza della Rotonda was, as usual, excellent and we spent the rest of the afternoon on our own wandering and pondering, although by this time the temperature had soared into the 30s and we were happy to return to our hotel for a welcome rest.
Sunday morning, we started the day with a casual walk to Piazza Navona where we enjoyed sitting in a cafe with Bernini’s beautiful Fountain of Four Rivers in front of us and the magnificent facade of Borromini’s Sant ‘Agnese in Agone.
Many of the streets were closed because of a marathon which meant less traffic and a quieter downtown.
In the afternoon, we toured Villa Borghese, enjoying the lovely art collection of terrific statuary by Bernini and Canova plus famous paintings by Caravaggio and Titian.
The Borghese park was teeming with families enjoying their Sunday afternoon, having picnics on the grass while children got to ride ponies.
In the evening, we went to the Trastevere district for dinner followed time in the atmospheric neighbourhood with its charming and ambiently lit cobblestone streets and delightful honeycomb of cafes, bars and restaurants.
Monday morning we are going to the Vatican to see the Pope’s garden.
