(εδώ θα βρείτε την ανάρτηση στα ελληνικά)

Our second day in Rome (you can read all about Day 1 here) began with a healthy and nutricious breakfast because we had planned a visit at Vatican. As I'd read that during the weekend there is a long waiting line for the Vatican Museums, I had booked our tickets online to skip the line. I wasn't sure wheather or not to buy the audio guide, but since it does support greek language I skip it. The day was rainy and was ideal to start with the Museums, hopping that until our tour ended, the rain would have stopped.

We passed by St. Helen's (mother of Emperor Constantine) and her daughter's Constantina sarcophagus and we took a look at the Porphyry Basin, Nero's bathtub which dominates the room of the Rotonda.  It's one of the most precious works in the Vatican Museums, and is invaluable beyond calculation. Of course it is huge but it's not the size that makes it so valuable. It's the material, the deep reddish-purple porphyry stone. This stone came from a single source in Egypt and no other deposits of it have ever been found, meaning you would be unable to recreate the tub if you wanted to. 

We crossed the Hall of Tapestries with its magnificent ceiling. This Hall holds a wide secection of tapestries which were made at the 17th century, based mainly on Raphael's students degigns. 

The second hall - with a glowing ceiling - was the Gallery of the Maps. It is a 120 m. long hall and holds the maps of all the Italian teritorries, islands and main cities.

At the begining the frescoes were tasked to a group of artists but Pope was confinced to asign the project to a young painter named Raphael, that was starting to become famous at that time. When Pope saw his first artworks, he tasked Raphel to paint all the walls and ceilings with all the rooms and gave permition to cover the works of the previous artists.  

By no doubt the most famous artwork is located at the first room, that served as Pope's study and library. I'm talking about one of Raphael's masterpieces, the "School of Athens". An incredible fresco that places all of the greatest minds of antiquity into a single, perfectly-balanced scene. Some of the most prominent scientists, artists and philosophers in acient Greece along with scholars are gathered around Plato and Aristotle. Raphael also included himself in the painting – he’s the second figure from the lower right corner. Raphael died suddently at the age of 37 years old and the rooms were finalized by his students.

We passed through the Collection of Contemporary Art, which holds some interesting paintings, and sculptures by some of the most famous artists like Auguste Rodin, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso etc.

Our walk ended at the famous Capella Sistina. Perhaps the most famous room in the Vatican Museums. Its frescoes - painted by some of the greatest Renaissance artists, like Michelangelo, Botticelli, Rosselli, Perugino - is breathtaking. The decoration of Capella Sistina was made in stages. At the begining, only the three walls were painted with rectangle frescos and the ceiling was depicted as a starry night. 

The main subject of the 8,600 square foot ceiling is the "Genesis". It is divided into nine panels, each depicting a Biblically historical scene.

So following the "secret path" we found ourselves in St. Peter's Basilica, one of the largest churches in the world. It took 150 years to be completed and its build at the exact spot where St. Peter was killed. Inside there are hundrends of marble and bronze scalpures. The most impressive of all, and the first that you see once you enter is the "Pieta". 

The "Pieta", is one of Michelangelo's masterpieces, the only one that the artist ever signed. It depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his Mother Mary after Crucifixion. The sculptrure has survived many attacks and its showcased behind buletproof glass.

One thing that catches everyones eye - due to its size - is Bernini's "Baldacchino". It is made by bronze and it stands exactly unter the center of the dome and right above St. Peter's grave. It is a stand that only Pope can use during the mass. 

We skipped climbing to the Michelangelo's dome despite the fact that the view is amazing from there. Getting to the dome you have to use the elevator until the base of the dome and then an extra narrow staircase. This staircase is so narrow that in same case you have to use a rope as extra hanlde. (if you are claustrophobic like me, DON'T even think about it). 

The rain was still heavy and having nowhere else to go we stay inside the Basilica. There was a mass in progress at the time and we attended for a while. After a lot of thought, we visited the Grottos. Positioned just below the Renaissance basilica and above Constantine’s 4th century basilica, the grottos contain chapels dedicated to various saints and tombs of kings, queens and popes, dating from the 10th century. The holiest place is Peter’s tomb, containing the "memory", built in the 4th century by the Emperor Constantine, on the spot were the Apostle’s tomb was venerated. At the first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to visit Grottos - due to my Claustrophobia - but the space allthough low-ceilinged, was very bright lighted and all the walls were painted white. Overall, there was a sense of peace and calmness. This place is the holiest place I've ever been.


Due to the rain we didn't see any Swiss Guard members nor we took a glimpse at their uniforms, designed by Michelangelo. With all the rain was difficult to walk at St. Peter's Square, that is in front of the Basilica and we took only some photos quickly. Surrounded by two semicircular colonnades, that are linked to the Church with two rectangular buildings. In total there are 284 columns on which 140 statues are placed. The Square - a work of Bernini - took 12 years to complete. On each side there is a fountain while in the center of the square stands the - 4,000 years old - Vatican Obelisk, which is derived from Nero's Hippodrome, place where St. Peter was martyred. It is said that at the base of the obelisk holds Caesar's ashes and on its top are fragments of the True Cross. The square has a great allegorical meaning, as it symbolizes the embrace of the Church.

We had planned to visit St. Angelo Castle and have lunch at Trastevere but were to tired to walk and as the rain continued, we took the Metro and returned back to the Spanish Steps. 

We had spotted very close to our hotel a tiny Caffe that was always full of locals and people from the nearby stores, drinking coffee or eatting paninis. So we gave it a try, we sat at Il Baretto by the bar and we selected our paninis for the desplay. Everything was looking yummy and they were! After lunch we went back at the hotel to rest. At the afternoon, the rain had finally stopped and we went back to Il Baretto for our afternoon espresso. It is a great place with great coffee and delicious paninis. If you ever find yourself near the Spanish Steps, give it a try, you won't be disappointed.



Before starting our afternoon walk, I had to try Pompi's tiramisu. We had passed by this place so many times, that it was a shame not to taste its tiramisu. Almost all the Romans comes to Pompi for it's tiramisu, that they serve in 3 flavors: Classic, Strawberry and Forrest Fruits. I had a classic one but Elias prefered to skip it and go for the Sacher Torte, which he hated (honestly not a great one at all).

We started walking around and window (mostly) shopping at Via Condotti, where almost all the Italian - and not only - designers have their shops. 

All the Italian fashion gathered in one street. We saw almost everything! Dior, Dolce & Gabanna, Tiffany's, Miu Miu, Salvatore Ferragamo, Burberry, Armani, Prada, Giuseppe Zanotti ... In this street is located the Bvlgari flagship shop, which opened in 1905 by the creator of the "empire" Sotirios Voulgaris.

Desighner Boutiques are not the only ones that you find there, you can find stores like H&M, Nike, Zara, Intimissimi, Calzedonia and beauty stores of famous brands like Kiko Milano and Kiehl's. Don't forget to visit the accessories store Parfois, which carries a great selection of handbags, jewellery and accessories in amazing (low) prizes. You can't imagine how happy I was seeing the Disney Store on Via del Corso! Incredible, especially the stuffed animal section! 

We wondered almost in all the streets of the historic center but we were unable to locate PizzaRe on via di Ripetta, because we wanted to have pizza for dinner. The second one on the pizza list was Pizza Ciro, that the hotel receptionist had suggested.

We had pizza Romana with tomoto, mozzarela, grana, olive oil and anchovies and pizza Capricciosa with tomato, mozzarela, ham, mushrooms and artichokes. We weren't amazed by the food. I prefer my pizza less juicy. The service overall wasn't much although I notice that the locals were treated better (during writing the post I've found out that this exact restaurant was closed by the Italian Police as there were information that was owned by the Mafia!). 

After dinner we walked around and ended up for coctails at  Salotto 42, on Piazza di Pietra, just across the street of Handrian's temple. It's a great place with nice music and beautiful decor. They serve some amazing coctails. We had Herb Gin Tonic and Perfect Martini. Although, it is located in a unique spot, prices are pretty normal. The only think I didn't like was that it was very crowded. I think it will be great at Springtime, when you can sit  at the tables outside.

After some coctails, we walked up towards Piazza di Spagnia and renewed our date with Rome for the next - and final - day.

To be continued ...

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3 Days in Rome - Part 1
3 Days in Rome - Part 3: Acient Rome