We started the day at Circus Maximus. It was once the ancient Rome’s largest stadium in the valley between Palatine and Aventine hills and could hold 300,000 spectators.
The Temple of Hercules (round) and the Temple of Portunus are the best preserved of Rome ’s Republican temples.
We continued to the river and from the bridge we had a nice view of the remains of Ponte Rotto
and Isola Tiberina, an island on the River Tiber.
We crossed the bridge and found ourselves in the area called Trastevere which literally means "at the other side of the Tiber. We walked along the river for a few blocks enjoying the views and then crossed the Tiber at Ponte Cestio to Tiber Island and from there across the Ponte Fabricio to the Ghetto. Ponte Fabricio is the oldest original bridge across the Tiber that is still in use.
We visited Synagogue and Jewish museum.
Then we had a lunch of traditional Roman-Jewish cuisine that included suppli (fried rice croquettes) and battered and fried vegetables and codfish (filetti di baccala).
After lunch we walked to Campo de’ Fiori (field of flowers), once a meadow, and now a home to a colorful market. In the center of the square is the statue of Giordano Bruno burned here at the stake for heresy in 1600 for contending that the universe has no center.
From there we walked to Piazza Navona. The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) in the center represents four rivers: the Nile, Ganges, Plate, and Danube. Two other fountains - Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of the Neptune and Fontana del Moro (Fountain of the Moor) are not as famous but very lovely. We stopped at a café on the piazza for a tiramisu and coffee and enjoyed the view.
From there we went to Pantheon - the most complete Roman structure on earth, having survived 20 centuries of plunder, pillage and invasion. The Pantheon stood as the largest dome ever for 1400 years. It’s still the largest masonry dome in the world. The opening at the top of the dome, oculus, is the only source of light. It also contains the tombs of Rafael and several Italian kings.
We ended our day at Trevi Fountain.
