Rome: old masters, Trevi Fountain, street food, Caravaggio and gelati

Having spent many weeks in Rome you might think that there wouldn't be much left for us to do, but we had a full day planned and we set off early.

First stop was Palazzo Barbarini - the National Gallery of Ancient Art. Our special interest was the Caravaggio collection but some of them were holidaying elsewhere. We saw two of his works but a whole wider range of Italian art than perhaps we have seen before. After two hours it was time to move on.

Over the last two years the Trevi Fountain has been closed for major renovations. In fact, it was closed for 516 days as 2 million euros was spent on the work. This was financed by the Italian fashion house Fendi. It was money well spent as the Trevi looks stunning. 

We always toss our coins to guarantee our return and this time we were quite a way from the water. As Kel wrote in his journal, 'Sadly, Eleanor won't be returning to Rome as her coin stuck to her finger and fell short.'

Then it was off to the church Santa Maria della Pace, one rarely found open and only before noon. We managed to call in on the Caravaggio works at San Luigi on the way, and arrive in time to see the Raphael sibyls and the two storeyed cloister by Bramante at S. M. della Pace.

We were working up a hunger by now so the plan was to eat street food - cibo di strada, at a place recommended by our American fellow blogger friends Janelle & Johnny. 'Supplizio' is a cute little spot where they recommend you sit on the couch and eat in your hands, with Prosecco if you wish! Being a hot midday we opted for local beer and Kel's was (amusingly) called Pig Floyd. But back to the suppli ... crispy coated rice balls with a surprise mozzarella centre. Mine had a hint of chilli and was delicious.

Next stop was to walk through the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica. The day was in the high 20s and coming from an Australian winter we were begining to feel the heat with all this walking.  To see about this segment of our day read the next post.

There was no better way to finish off this planned day than to visit the # 1 rated gelato shop in Rome, Gelateria del Teatro. It is so good that you need to take a number from the machine at the door and be prepared with your money so they can get through the crowds. They had many new flavours so I opted for white peach and lavender and an old favourite that eases sore throats, limone.

They deserve their rating. Wow!

As we were sitting on some stairs beside the shop I noticed people stopping to take a photo. Later I found why ... a stairway full on gelati licking people engrossed in pure pleasure!

We had earned our bus tickets home where we took a short 'pausa' and then began our journal writing.

Later we ate at nearby  Ristorante Mino where the pasta was a treat.

Oh, we do love Rome.