Day 2 - Going to the Vatican
November 20, 2007
Via Della Lungara
Remember when I said that we were told just to walk straight down the
from the archway at Jonathan's apartment and it will lead us straight to the
Vatican?
Well, that is correct as long as you stay to the left when you come to a Y
intersection. That is coming up later. We began walking along
Via Della Lungara. That is the via name as soon as you pass
through the arch (picture below). On this side of the arch, where
the above picture was taken, it is Via Della Scala. Confused yet?
The first intersection is via Corsini. The big yellow building at its corner is Palazzo Corsini,
which means Corsini Palace. It was built between 1730 and 1740 for the Corsini family. On the
first floor is a prominent art museum. A majority of the works have been donated by the Corsini family.
Directly across the via from the palace is this building called Villa Farnesina.
A little further down Via Della Lungara, on the left is via dei Riari.
And right at that intersection is a... gelateria. Remember that word -
gelateria - shops that serve gelato. We'll see more
of those later. Our mission is to find the Vatican.
This is two doors down from the gelateria.
While walking down Via Della Lungara, we turn left to look down Via Della Penitenzal.
A church on Via Della Lungara.
As with the other walking, even walking this via gives you a flavor of everyday life in Rome.
While walking along here, you'll quickly notice that you are below
the main via level. There are steps along the way if you ever care
to go up to the main via, which runs along and above the Tiber river.
Here's a closer look at the steps from the above picture. They lead up to Lungotevere Gianicolense
and Lungotevere della Famesina. It is the same roadway with two names. Lungotevere Gianicolense,
which we will be walking, leads us towards the Vatican. Lungotevere della Famesina goes back
to Trastevere.
There is a tiny sandwich shop we stopped at later in the week on
our way back from the Vatican. The food is fantastic as well as the
Hot Chocolate. The Hot Chocolate is thick. You can't drink it as you
do coffee. You must use a spoon as if you were eating pudding, but it is
Sooooo Much Better than pudding. Is your mouth watering yet? The picture
below is a snack bar. It is the Lorli Snack Bar on Via Della Lungara, 31.
That long wall opposite of the snack bar is the Regina Coeli Prison, built from 1880 to 1882,
and is still active. It is the oldest, active prison in Rome.
You can see what peeks out from that prison above the wall.
Continuing on Via Della Lungara...
I believe this Caffe' Latteria is the place where we had the wonderfully thick hot chocolate.
A block and a half down from the prison is a church.
Via Della Lungara is coming to an end. We have to continued on Lungotevere Gianicolense.
Go to page 15 - The Long Walk from the Roman Forum.
Go to page 16a - Going to the Vatican - Lungotevere Gianicolense.
Jump back 10 pages to Page 6 - At Jonathan's Apartment in Trastevere.
Jump ahead 10 pages to Page 26 - The Pantheon.