All Roads Lead To Part 3

The plan had been to get up early and go to the Vatican to see if the Pope was in, however they had rather underestimated the effect of the day before and did not rise until 11.15am so the Pope shall have to be patient and wait another day. (Rumour had it, that he’d been feeling a little under the weather anyhow). So what was the revised plan then? Having missed breakfast they headed for the Piazza del Popolo on the underground. The system seemed a little run down and overcrowded, much like the tube really, though unlike the tube, air-conditioning was provided. Piazza del Popolo, 4 stops on Line A (there’s only two lines, and oddly enough the other one is called Line B).

Tourist site 4: Piazza del Popolo

History: Since the Middle Ages, this was the main entrance to the city from the north, encouraging a gathering of foreigners to the square. The place was turned into a square by Pope Sixtus V, who erected a 24m high Egyptian obelisk in the middle, making it the junction for Via del Corso, Via di Ripetta and Via del Babuino. Under Pope Pius VII, two semi-circles, a slope to the Pincio terrace and symmetrical constructions on the cornersof the square were created. Several fountains were put in place, the middle one having been placed in 1818 by G.Valadier. Piazza del Popolo for centuries wa also a place for executions, the last one taking place in 1826.

Martin’s comments: A beautiful square, far superior to Navona, a fabulous oval shaped piazza, mirrored by two identical churches and an obelisk in its centre, overlooked by Pincio gardens which provide a fabulous city view with St.Peters right in the middle.

A staircase leads from the piazza up to the Pincio gardens, which look far more daunting than they actually are. The gardens are simply stunning, full of mature woodlands, a tranquil lake (boats could be hired but a little too small for boats), even Keats, Ghandi and Mussolini had been known to stroll up there. These shaded gardens join onto Villa Borghese, another vast area of parkland owned by the state since 1901.

Rome’s most popular park, divided by avenues of trees, hedged walls, flower beds and gravel paths. It also holds a zoo, the Bioparco.

The small zoo ( 8,50 euro per adult) provided some much needed tranquility; parrots, monkeys, mouflon, birds of prey, tigers, crocodiles, hippos, a whole Noah’s Ark. The female lion seemed to have a bee in her bonnet as she began to roar at the top of her voice, encouraging the male lion to join her in the chorus as it echoed through the zoo and park. The baboon enclosure had several generations within, including some incredibly cute baby ones who could hardly get up to the level where the others dwelled. The hierarchy was obvious and there was no disputing that the alpha male’s arse was definitely the reddest of the bunch. The bioparco and its surrounding parks really does give one a gentle relief from the Roman traffic and if you have time to chill out, then this is definitely the place to do it in.
Having refreshed, they headed towards the Piazza di Spagna where they would find the famous Spanish steps.