The photos above show the beginning of my day.  They are the Quattro Fontane, the four fountains, one at each street corner of an intersection.  Up the street from them are the churches of San Carlino and Sant'Andrea al Quirinale.  Quirinale being the name of the hill on which the church is located.

The church above is Sant'Andrea al Quirinale.  The ones I took of San Carlino (called -ino because it's so small--little Carlo) I took vertically.  So won't include them, and you won't have to stand your computer sideways.

Well, yes I will, because lots of these photos from today are sideways.  Sorry.

Geographically further on are the Quirinale Gardens and Piazza Del Quirinale with its view of the dome of St. Peter's and the fountain of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) with obelisk.

The top two of this batch are the wallpaper art and some of the as-yet-to-be-hung wallpaper.  The next is the view through sun banning screen from the cafe and the bottom one is the entrance.

Tues., Nov. 20 Roman Houses & S. M. in Ara Coeli

These are the Roman houses at the foot of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli.  The lowest level of the four levels is nine meters below today's ground level, and were discovered in the 1930s during construction work.

Seen from the steps up to S. M. in Ara Coeli, this is one of a pair of lions flanking the Cordonata, the 122 shallow steps up to the Piazza Capitoline.  I'm using photography as an excuse to take a rest from walking up the 124 steps up the Ara Coeli staircase.

This is the Theater of Marcellus as seen from the Ara Coeli steps.  My perspective is getting higher!

Now I can photograph a medieval window and the top stair.

Whew!  Inside!  Look at all the beautiful chandeliers. 

Mon., Nov. 19, 2012 Chiostro del Bramante

The top photo is my two mini quiches with zucchini and basil and side salad of something leafy (shaped like long, skinny maple leaves) with walnuts and oil & vinegar dressing, pinot grigio and water, all good. 

The bottom photo is the upper level of the cloister, where I was sitting, grass growing on the terra cotta tile roof and brick exterior of the church of Santa Maria della Pace.

Sun., Nov. 18, 2012 Piazza Navona, Rome

After exiting the church of S. Agnese in Agone in the Piazza Navona, I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the colorful purses on the ground in front of Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers.  My eye seems to have caught more of the color than the camera.  Story of my photographic life.

Fri., Nov. 16, 2012 Villa Civette (Villa of the Owls)

This is Art Nouveau meets an eccentric wealthy person.  Why didn't I go to see this before? Of course I had to buy the book.

Fri., Nov. 16, 2012, high water mark on church

The top two photos show the Tiber Island.  The top one shows part of the pavement at the end of the island is dry, but with submerged trees in the foreground.  The middle photo shows S. Bartolomeo church on the Tiber Island, with the damp lower part clearly visible.  The bottom photo shows the riverwalk pavement on the west side of the river.

Fri., Nov. 16 flood waters receding

Sorry you have to turn your computer sideways.  I'm too tired to figure out how to get these right side up.  The bottom photo shows the water is almost up to the big spotlight.  The top photo shows that the water has gone down enough that part of the riverwalk pavement is showing.  Many tree trunks are still submerged.

Nov. 15, 2012 Tiber River Flood

The piers of the bridge are totally under water.  The water is all the way up to the springing of the arches.  I wonder what this is doing to the structural integrity of the bridges.   Can't be doing any good.

Nov. 15, 2012 Tiber River Flooding

The Tiber is 13 to 14 meters above normal.  In the distance are trees at the tip of the Tiber Island.

Lunch at Cafe Capitolini Sat. March 10, 2012

The Chiostro del Bramante is my favorite place at which to eat and/or drink.  The Cafe Capitolini is my second choice.  It's got a wonderful view, to which these photos don't do justice.

Seeking Santa Maria delle Sette Dolore church, Fri., March 9, 2012

This photo sums up my church-seeking this morning.  A lovely location, but is it the right path?  Can't see the bottom of the path and certainly can't see a street sign down there.  This one worked, but there was a better one.  Typical of my path-choosing abilities!  The church I sought was supposed to be open.  It wasn't, but the hotel personnel next door let me in!  Hooray!

The big round "world" sculpture at the Vatican Museums---March 8, 2012

And don't forget the big pine cone (symbol of welcome), from which the Pine Cone Courtyard (which also has the big round world sculpture) takes its name.  I took these three photos while sitting, eating cannoli (The cannoli shells were lined inside with chocolate.), and drinking white wine and fizzy water.  While I was looking at the world sculpture, several big kids stepped inside the chain and made it spin!  How many times have I looked at that sculpture and not known it spins?  (When I was done eating and drinking I made it spin myself.  It's really heavy, which is why it took three big teenagers to really make it move.)  So, picture me sitting, looking straight ahead at the world and if I turned 90 degrees to my right, there was the pine cone.  The dome in the background of the "world" photos is St. Peter's dome.

St. Paul within the Walls, Rome March 7, 2010

St. Paul within the Walls was designed by a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and was a startling surprise to my eyes!  It's an Anglican church that looks like it left England on a vacation and decided to stay in Rome.

AU affiliates can read the article "Burne Jones' Roman Mosaics"  http://www.jstor.org/stable/879100   (And Yes, the proxy server's working!!)

Tituli Equitius underneath San Martino ai Monti

A titulus was an early Christian place of worship, which was in some cases, a home donated by a wealthy Christian.  As time went by and the church itself became wealthy, congregations larger and the liturgy changed, churches as we know them were built above the tituli.  I asked the sacristan if I could see the titulus. He asked me to tell him when I was leaving, so he could turn off the lights!  If only these types of areas could have the same technology applied as is applied to the Roman domus underneath the Palazzo Valentini!  (Google Palazzo Valentini; their website is great.)  Nothing of the reconstruction would then be left to the visitor's imagination.