Città del Vaticano, Castel Sant'Angelo, Piazza Navona e Pantheon
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1. CITTA' DEL VATICANO
St. Peter represents the largest Christian church, built by Bramante, retouched and extended by Michelangelo in 1547 and then stretched by Carlo Maderno, taking the final form of the Latin cross; the altar was officially consecrated in 1626.
Once arrived at St. Peter's Square, the most impressive element you will find is the size of the square outside St. Peter’s Basilica, surrounded by the magnificent four-row colonnade masterpiece of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, then Michelangelo’s Dome, which rises 136 meters high and is 42 meters in diameter.
Inside the church is Michelangelo’s famous Pietà, the Tomb of Clement XIII by Canova and the Mosaic by Giotto, the Canopy, which surmounts the main altar, the true visual fulcrum created by Bernini with bronze taken from the Pantheon, and the bronze statue of St. Peter Arnolfo di Cambio.
See the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.
2. CASTEL SANT’ANGELO
There is a short walking distance from St. Peter's square to the second stop of our itinerary, through Via della Conciliazione:
Castel Sant'Angelo, home to the National Museum with its collection of ancient weapons. Originally mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian (2nd century AD), Castel Sant'Angelo was then transformed into a fortress to resist the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths. It became famous as prison and then magnificent papal residence.
See the Papal Apartments.
3. PIAZZA NAVONA
Crossing the Tiber from Ponte Sant'Angelo and heading left, you arrive in Piazza Navona.
Seen from above, the square follows a design that resembles the outline of an arena.
In the square you can admire three fountains; the fountain of the Moor, the Fountain of Neptune and, most important, the central fountain of Four Rivers (the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube and the Rio de la Plata) designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It served as amphitheatre in the period of Nero, after which Domitian built an ancient stadium in 86 AD, which became a place of games and tournaments.
The square is surrounded by restaurants, pizzerias, pubs, clubs where young people gather from all around the world. Via di Tor Millina (behind the square) should be mentioned, as it is considered the center of the nightlife.
4. PANTHEON
From Piazza Navona we head towards the Pantheon.
Conceived as a temple to all gods, built by Marcus Agrippa in 25 B.C. and later rebuilt by Hadrian around 120 AD, the Pantheon has undergone various transformations; Christian church in 609 AD, and fortress in the Middle Ages, the Pantheon is the result of the most exquisite architectural technique of ancient Rome.
The simple and harmonic structure is obtained by the insertion of a spherical skylight oculus, which from the height of the pavement is equal to the measure of its diameter.
Inside you can find the tombs of important artists ( Raphael is buried there), and Rulers of the Kingdom of Italy.
In front of the Pantheon is the Piazza della Rotonda, which houses a fountain designed by G. Della Porta.
There are many places to rest and eat here, too.