ROME
 Rome is the best place for sights and sounds.
Correction: Rome is all about sight and sounds. From the St
Peter's Dome to the ruined glory of the Forum, from the city's
silhouettes to the undulating skyline, the sights last for a
lifetime. But, sounds grow on you equally. The peal of the church
bells and the roar of the traffic. Horns blare and housewives
bargain at the shops. The din increases as office-goers, motor
scooters and the general traffic blare in unison in a wonderful of
cacophony of urban symphony.
But Rome is much than just sights and sounds. It's the ultimate
seat of religious power for the Roman Catholics everywhere. And
yes, the Pope resides over an entire within a country- the Vatican
-that is as powerful as a temporal power and even more
resplendent.Capetolene
The Capetolene hill of the famed 7 Roman hills is traversed through
Michelangelo's perfectly sloping steps. It rises to, Piazza del
Campidoglio, laid down again by the master. Standing cheek and jowl
are the senatorium- town council, Palace Conservatori and the
Capitoline Museum. Enter the Museum to witness perhaps the greatest
treasury of art. Be enchanted by The Dying Gaul, a work of
majestic skill that's actually a copy of a Greek original dating
from the 3rd century B.C. Let your love for the cupid overflow at
the Capitoline Venus. Marcus Aurelius' 'statue' is also been stored
here. Your thirst for artistic delights will definitely be
satiated.
Michelangelo also designed the Palace of the Conservatori filled
with artistic delights. Get enthralled by Lo Spinario (a little boy
picking a thorn from his foot)- a Greek work of incomparable beauty
dating from the 1st century B.C. and one of the most notable
bronzes.Castel saint Angelo
Its chief claim to fame is that it was papacy's safe house. For, it
is linked to the Vatican by means of a secret passage and allowed
the Popes to flee any attack. Reached by one of the world's most
beautiful bridges - Bernini's billowing, angel-clad Pont Sant'
Angelo - this spectacular circular tank- like building was
originally constructed as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian.
But the castle also has a darker side - it gained notoriety as
Rome's chief citadel and gaol. It also once became the official
residence of the popes who patronized the Renaissance luminaries as
well as the Pope Alexander VI- the man with the famous mistress.
All this is soon forgotten, as you ambulate through the interiors
that epitomize lavish ostentation - what with done-up ceilings and
overflowing decorations. But you may like to pause for a while and
imagine the times when it was the most terrible dungeon with
screams piercing the walls from the prisoners of conscience lodged
here.Forum
It was once the center of Roman civil life, but the vicissitudes of
time had turned it into a pasture. Imagine eminent speaker after
Prima Donna debate on matters of vital importance here. The Forum,
in fact, was some sort of a temple complex .Walk along the Via
Sacra to witness Julius Caesar's curia that became Roman senate's
main seat. Revere the arch of Septimus Severus that once depicted
the mighty emperor's victories. The prosaic cylindrical lump of
rock that is placed near the arch was once the Umbilical Urbus -the
center of the mighty Roman and in fact the entire Roman Empire.
Your trip to destination Italy has taken you to the power
center!Pantheon
Only the Pantheon (House of Gods) has withstood the elements
-perhaps as a measure of divine justice. The ingenious building is
actually a perfect sphere resting on a cylinder and was once the
abode of marble Roman gods. The glory of the Golden Dome may have
faded but it still is the largest piece of concrete constructed.
The ribbed dome actually appears as a series of cantilevered bricks
from the outside. Animals were once sacrificed and incense
scattered here. But posterity will gratefully remember it as the
place where inspiration struck Michelangelo!
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