{"id":769,"date":"2026-04-12T19:37:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T19:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/?p=769"},"modified":"2026-04-15T21:00:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:00:31","slug":"rome-day-1-exploring-centro-storico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/?p=769","title":{"rendered":"Rome Day 1: Exploring Centro Storico"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While we planned an early morning originally, jet lag got the best of us and the morning started very early indeed with both of us up by 4:30am. We took our time getting ready and eating breakfast then set out just as it was starting to get light at 6:20am. It\u2019s about four blocks from where we ares staying to get to the metro. Predawn it was chilly and a little foggy as the streets were just starting to stir into life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish Steps<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first stop of the morning was the Spanish Steps, which we have heard can get extremely full of tourists. At 6:40am however, we were both able to get pictures with no one else in view other than a few pigeons. We climbed to the top and had a beautiful view of the sunlight starting to hit the rooftops as the fog gave way to a blue sky. On the way back down we passed some more people, including a wedding photo shoot, but it was still peaceful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trevi Fountain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about 7:15 when we reached Trevi fountain and there was already a decent crowd gathered. The paid queue for going to the fountain edge doesn\u2019t start until 9, but we were easily able to get close enough for photos from several different angles. Arriving early was worth the effort! It was much more chaotic when we passed through the square again in the afternoon on our way back to the metro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Churches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took a walking tour of churches around the south and east side of the Centro Storico based on our research and some help from Google Gemini to plan the path. Historical information below is based on information I found on church websites or the Rome official tourist information site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basilica di San Silvestro in Capite<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first church was built on this site in 761, on the site of the paternal home of Popes Stephen II and Paul I and was dedicated to Popes St. Sylvester I, Stephen I, and Denis, hence the San Silvestro retained in its name today. The in Capite refers to the Catholic relic \u201chead of St John the Baptist\u201d housed in the church, which was first recorded in the late 1100s. The church in its modern form was constructed around 1600, which decoration and elaboration in the interior added throughout the 1600s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chiesa di Sant\u2019Ignazio di Loyola<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The history of this church is linked to the Collegio Romano, a seminary that was founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1551. The current church was consecrated in 1722. The internal artworks are by Jesuit artist Andrea Pozzo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we entered, the first thing we encountered was a line. There was a mirror positioned so that you could see the full scope of the massive fresco on the ceiling, which creates a strong 3-D optical illusion. Apparently it is now a social media trend to use the mirror to take a selfie with the ceiling as a background. It was astonishing how many people came in just for that brief look at the mirror and then left. While the ceiling was impressive, there was so much more to see as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you proceed to about 3\/4 of the way toward the alter, there is a small disc marked in the tile. While you stand there and look up, you see a painting of a false dome. We overheard one of the tour guides say that the church ran out of money to complete the dome, so the false dome was painted instead. It was created with so much care that even the light from outside creates an illusion that it is coming from the painted dome. Overall, throughout the church the details that make it 3-dimensional continued to emerge and inspire awe the longer we sat and studied the art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Basilica of Saint Mary of Minerva<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we were heading toward our next destination, Mervin suddenly pointed and said \u201cthere\u2019s an Egyptian obelisk!\u201d And indeed, in the square ahead was an elephant with an obelisk on its back, one of two surviving obelisks that used to be in the Circus Maximus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the obelisk was the Basilica of Saint Mary of Minerva, a church built in the gothic style in the 13th century. Although it was renovated during the Renaissance, it had a distinctly different feeling to the colors and art from the churches built in the Renaissance. The art was less ornate, more focused on figures than scenes. The dark blue of the central ceiling felt like looking up at a starry night sky rather that the bright daylight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chiesa del Gesu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Jesuit church was constructed in the 1570s. The main nave fresco is by Gaulli, and has a 3-dimensional effect of heaven opening, breaking through the roof above. The dome has a scene of a spiral of saints ascending to heaven, the bright light at the top of the dome. While you might think we were getting tired of churches by now, we found that the longer we sat in this one the more details we noticed. Everything is so ornate and elaborate that it is easy to get overwhelmed, and only by sitting and contemplating can you fully appreciate the whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Campo de\u2019 Fiori<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before lunch – yes it was still barely noon despite all we had already done! – we walked through the Campo de’ Fiori market. Honestly it was rather underwhelming. It was very touristy and most of the stalls were repeats selling the same or similar products. Perhaps there are some good finds but we were too tired at that point to try to figure it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lunch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally it was lunchtime! Except this is Rome and lunch starts late. Emma Pizzeria, the place where we were hoping to eat lunch, wasn’t open yet when we arrived so we waited another 10 minutes for 12:30, then a few more until they actually did fully open. We got a table without any problem, but it filled up really fast. It seemed everyone there was a tourist. It was a relief to take a leisurely break and enjoy our first pizzas in Rome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pantheon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After lunch we headed for the Pantheon for our timed reservation. Compared to the sites we visited in the morning this was a real zoo of people filling the piazza and standing in lines. Once we found our line it moved quickly. The Pantheon is the most complete surviving piece of Roman architecture in the city, saved because it was turned into a Bascillica. The dome is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That wrapped up our touring for day one. We hiked back to the subway, which was actually quite a distance and it was getting quite warm and busy, then another half mile from the subway back to the apartment. When got there we couldn’t figure out how to open the outside door! We put the key in and it wouldn’t turn. Fortunately someone came out and we were able to take a much needed rest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While we planned an early morning originally, jet lag got the best of us and the morning started very early indeed with both of us up by 4:30am. We took our time getting ready and eating breakfast then set out just as it was starting to get light at 6:20am. It\u2019s about four blocks from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-italy-2026"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1.jpg",1342,2000,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1-201x300.jpg",201,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1-768x1145.jpg",640,954,true],"large":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1-687x1024.jpg",640,954,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1-1031x1536.jpg",1031,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1.jpg",1342,2000,false],"blogarise-slider-full":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1-1280x720.jpg",1280,720,true],"blogarise-featured":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1-1024x1526.jpg",1024,1526,true],"blogarise-medium":["https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_3988-1-720x380.jpg",720,380,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Elizabeth Soule","author_link":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/?author=2"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"While we planned an early morning originally, jet lag got the best of us and the morning started very early indeed with both of us up by 4:30am. We took our time getting ready and eating breakfast then set out just as it was starting to get light at 6:20am. It\u2019s about four blocks from…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=769"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":885,"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769\/revisions\/885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wander-with-me.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}