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Rome - May 18, 2006

With my trusty map in hand, I did a slight detour to see the famous Spanish steps.
Tourists were beginning to accumulate on the Piazza di Spagna, so I took a shot from a distance. The stairs were completed in 1725 with money provided by a French diplomat because he thought the muddy slope up to the church of Trinita dei Monti
(built with money of a French king) needed to be upgraded. They got the name of the
Spanish Steps because the square takes its name from the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican (for several centuries).



The boat shaped fountain (1627 Bernini) at the foot of the steps has delicious aquaduct water flowing into it. I watched people fill their empty Evian bottles there.




I managed to make it back to my neighborhood (the Vatican) before lunch and took a few shots of St. Peters Square. I had no intentions of ever standing in the line to access the Vatican Museum. I know, I know. But I don't do lines voluntarily.


The Vatican apparently has its own police force (or gofers?) and looked right cute
in their uniforms.















One gets the distinct feeling in these environs that the Pope IS Catholic.

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