3. Rome - Circo Massimo, The Aventine and Protestant Cemetery

Above: The Circus Maximus - once Rome's largest stadium. It was begun in the 4th C BC, and the last races were held in AD 549. The grandstands held 300 000 spectators. It is located in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine Hills.

Above: I came across this shoe on the wall on the Via dei Cerchi side of the Circus Maximus. A few days later when near the Vatican, I spied these police and wondered whether a female copper had lost it when pursuing crooks??

Above (and detail below): Municipal police near the Vatican. Note the woman officer's shoes!


Below: The Palatine from across Circus Maximus.

I walked an enormous distance on Sunday 25 May - from Barberini Metro and Palazzo Babeini (to see Caravaggios), past the Quirinale to the Trevi Fountain, to Piaza Venezia and the Vittorio Emmanuele building, on to the Capitoline museums (more Caravaggios), then skirting the Forum and Palatine to Circo Massimo, up to San Gregorio (where the view of the Palatine was not as good as this), up to the Aventine, visited Santa Sabina and San Anselmo, and back home via Via Marmorata. Piero and Ben were at home; both were off-colour.
Below: Parco Savelli on the Aventine, with its view of St Peters from the terrace

Below: View across the Tevere (Tiber) from Parco Savelli

Below: View to the Vittorio Emmanuele II monument from Parco Savelli

Below: "It's forbidden to trample upon the meadows" . Obviously.

Below: The Cimitero Acattolic0 (Protestant Cemetery):

Below: "The Guardians of the Departed". There are many cats living in the cemetery. A woman named Matilde Talli finances the feeding, neutering and medical attention of the cats, many of which are abandoned kittens. A small group of volunteers assists every day between 2:30 and 5:00pm.
For more information about the cats of the cemetery and Piramide area, click here.