Best Places In Rome - The Termini And Via Veneto Districts

There's a good chance that you'll arrive in Rome via its famous train station

, the Stazione de Roma Termini, often referred to simply as Termini, just across the street from the similarly named Termae, the Baths of Diocletian, to be described below. Did you expect to get off the train in Rome and not be within a hop, skip, and a jump from a historic site? The original train station was completed here in 1874. It was scheduled for replacement as part of the 1942 World's Fair, unfortunately never held. The current building was completed in 1950 but is quite modernist. Its nickname is the Dinosaur.

Diocletian was Emperor of Rome from 284 to 305. He started his life in a modest provincial family but had a successful military career that projected him to become Emperor at age 40. His government was the largest in Roman history. He is known for persecuting the Christians and keeping the Empire from disintegrating. They tell me he had trouble with inflation, way back then. Perhaps part of the problem was his baths, the most pretentious of all Roman baths and, believe you me, he faced serious competition. These baths were able to accommodate 3 thousand people or more at a time. The baths included cold water areas, hot water areas, and perhaps surprisingly, poetry reading areas among the many, many rooms. Many of the original building materials are preserved in nearby buildings.

The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs is a church built within the cold water area of the Baths of Diocletian, in part by Michelangelo. This magnificent edifice was the official state church of the Kingdom of Italy from 1870 to 1946 and hosts the tombs of the victorious Italian army and naval commanders of World War I. Make sure to see the sundial completed at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century that was designed to verify the accuracy of the Gregorian calendar.

One of the high points of the Piazza della Repubblica, one subway station northwest of the railway station, is the late Nineteenth Century Naiad fountain at its center. Decide whether or not you want the children to see the four bronze nymphs representing the lakes, the rivers, the oceans, and the underground waters.

Very close to Rome's center, just to the northwest of the railroad station you'll find Via Veneto is one of Rome's most famous, and most expensive, streets. Its official name is Vittorio Veneto, named for a victorious battle that marked the end of the Italian front in World War I. This street and its attractions played a leading role in Federico Fellini's 1960 film, La Dolce Vita. It declined in the 1980s but has undergone a renaissance. You'll want to stop by, even if you choose not to stay in one of the many nearby upscale hotels.

At the south end of the district, close to its only subway station, Barberini, is the Seventeenth Century Barberini Palace, constructed by three great architects each of whom left his mark. You'll love its frescoes ceilings and secret garden. This building houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica (National Gallery of Ancient Art) along with the Palazzo Corsini across the river. Its list of great artists is too long for this review.

This district is home to several historic churches. The Baroque early Seventeenth Century Church of Santa Susanna is the national church of the USA. The contemporary Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria contains one of Rome's greatest Baroque sculptures, Bernini's Ecstasy of St Theresa of Avila. The Church of San Patrizio, as you might guess from is name is the national church of Ireland. It was built in the early Twentieth Century, in the Nordic Neo-classical style. The Embassy of the United States of America is located in the Neo-classical late Nineteenth Century Palazzo Margherita.

by: Levi Reiss

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