Altemps Museum and other Roman pleasures

This morning we took the dreaded no. 64 bus to The Vatican. It used to be almost a certainty that you would experience some gypsy interference, if not outright robbed. However the authorities have really cleaned up the city in this regard and now you rarely see the gypsies.

The queue at St Peter's Basilica snaked right around the outside of the piazza. The large bronze statue is called Refugees and Immigrants and is the first new addition to St Peter's Square in 400 years.

We were actually heading for somewhere else close to the Vatican but we stopped by just to see this amazing landmark. The crowds were incredible, they stretched longer than we have ever seen, going right around the piazza and more. With almost no tour buses and only one Italian cruise ship group, it was unbelievable.

We got to the church we wanted to see but a Mass in Spanish (maybe) was in progress so we couldn't go in. So we wandered on, crossing the Tiber, past Villa Farnese, through Campo dei Fiori market, through Piazza Navona and came across one of the museums of Rome for which we have tickets allowing us to enter four museums in a week. There had been a few rain drops and it was hot and humid, so we headed into the Altemps Museum.

Not in the country but right in the city of Rome.

A funny sight, the restaurant all set for Sunday lunch and the chef and his staff busy on their mobile phones.

An elaborate personal shrine high up on a wall.

Villa Farnese with some unusual scaffolding on its exterior.

Coffee pots at Campo dei Fiori market.

In Piazza Navona.

The National Museum of Rome Palazzo Altemps. A 15th century palace with Renaissance artworks and Greek and Roman sculptures. It was the residence of Cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps from 1568, it became a museum in 1997.

A somewhat unpretentious palazzo on the outside but amazing inside. Huge rooms set around a central courtyard, it even has its own church dedicated to a saint, Pope and martyr Sant' Anicetus. It was built in 1603.

The Palazzo houses a large collection of sculptures, or marbles as they call them. Some date from B.C. and others are more modern, often reproductions, which was apparently a common thing.

Some of the rooms still show the decoration by renowned artists, some show several updates where the walls were painted over or ceilings lowered.

The collection was very good and the house particularly interesting, made better by the audio guide rented from rhe reception desk. It was nearly 3 pm by the time we left and food called.

 The threatening thunder storms did not eventuate so we spent the late afternoon on our terrace enjoying the sounds of Rome.