Rome : The City of Unsurpassable Grandeur

Rome was not built in a day. And three days are far too less for visiting Rome, but we had our constraints and decided to make the best of whatever time we had at hand. We arrived on Rome at close to noon on September the 29th and spent the Saturday, Sunday and Monday admiring the most beautiful city in the world.

After checking into our hotel, we found the first good news of the day, a Bangladeshi restaurant nearby which in 5 Euros gave a stomach filling Desi meal combined with free tea and paani. We rushed to watch the sunset after our satisfying lunch, but our unfamiliarity with the directions and bus system led to our not reaching the spot in time. We did manage to capture some photographs and then proceeded towards our next destination.

Vettorio Emanuel is situated at the Piazza Venicia and we got off at this grand building. After taking some snaps we decided to proceed further. Our plan was to make for the Trevi Fountain and then to the Spanish Steps, but as we were walking towards it, we found that we can as well cover the Panthenon. When we reached the Panthenon, few of us, were more delighted to see a MacDonalds near by than seeing the Panthenon. After our Pet Pooja, we proceed towards the Trevi Fountain.

While walking through the streets, we found beautiful columns of the old era, which were now a part of a hotel. The Trevi Fountain is built at a strategic location. The concept is that if you arrive at the fountain from any direction but one, you will not be able to see the fountain until you arrive at the square. This feature puts you in a situation where a grand view emerges in front of the eyes all of a sudden.

The fountain is a 17th-18th century structure dedicated to Neptune, the God of water. This pagan marvel was inaugurated by none other than the Pope himself. After spending a lot of time and taking numerous snaps at the venue, we attacked an ice-cream shop and four scoops of Gelati (Italian for ice-cream) ne sone pe suhaga kar diya. It was also the first time we mastered the art of getting our bottles/glasses filled with tap water from pubs.

After the Trevi, we proceeded towards the Spanish Steps. To an extend, they were a disappointment compared to what we had seen before. Anyway, we still had a great time watching the people from Bangladesh selling toys, flowers etc to tourists. Pushan da even did some PR and helped us obtain some useful information time to time. This brings us to the end of day one.

The best thing about day 2 was that we could sleep one hour more due to the daylight saving effect. Little did we know ki ye sona itna bhaari padhega. We missed our breakfast to start early for Vatican. We had planned our trip so as to visit Vatican on the last Sunday of the month so as to save us 14 Euros on the ticket of The Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chappel .

After taking few snaps in front of the St. Peter’s Basilica, we proceeded towards the line. After standing for 3 and half hours in the line (and then doing some line fraud) we managed to get inside the museum. While in the line, we learnt that we were not the only smart ones who saved 14 Euros as we met about 7-8 IIMCians from various parts of Europe. Many of them were scared of the (2 km long) line and decided to give The Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chappel a miss, they do not know what they have missed.

The biggest collection of Pagan art in the world lies in the Vatican. After watching the Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, we proceed further into the marvelous hallways. The beautiful frescos, the amazing tapestries and the works of the greatest artists of all times made our jaw drop at every step.

A special mention is required for the residences of the pope which had works by the best Italian artists. Raphael’s work was captivating due to his amazing sense of perspective, his ability to bring the focus of the viewer to the center of the image and interplay of colours.

By the time we reached the Sistine Chappel, our neck was so tired of looking at frescos that for some time we were not excited by looking at Michel Angelo’s masterpieces, namely The Creation and The Final Judgement. What disappointed us the most was that we were assuming that the Sistine Chappel houses Leonardo da Vinici’s Last Supper but that was not the case. Anybody, who has read Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown has to see Last Supper by Da Vinici.

After spending a lot of time in the museum, we proceeded towards a Sri Lankan restaurant (Rani Mahal) where we had a good Indian thaali. Then, we proceed to the second line for entry in St. Peter’s Basilica the highest seat of Christianity. The Basilica might look grand from outside but when you enter the building, the term Grand gets redefined. High ceilings, beautiful statues, paintings and woodwork and a pedestal where the clergy sits with the Holy Trinity depicted above them.

After getting out from the Basilica, I got separated from the group and then changed a couple of buses to meet them again at the central station 2 hours later. We were physically exhausted and aesthetically overwhelmed at the end of day 2.

Our final day in Rome started with a trip to the Collosseum. Initially we debated among ourselves whether or not we should pay for the guide, but we will never repent our decision for going for the guide. The package included guided trip of the Collosseum and the Palentine Hill overseeing the Romus forum.

Our guide in the Collosseum was a funny man who told us interesting stories about the place. The stories of Gladiators, Animal fights and other form of bloodshed which took place for close to 1000 years in the name of public entertainment. More then One million humans and many million animals were killed in this place. The roman idea of fun was indeed weird to say the least.

The Collosseum was built over an artificial lake that was built by Nero. For a 1000 years it was the most easily available source of construction material as invaders continuously took metal, stone etc out of it for building houses, churches, palaces etc. This lead to a weakening of the structure and the collapse of a section in an Earthquake. The building also served as a church for a small period.

After the Collosseum, we went to the guided tour of the Palentine Hill with an English guide named Claire. She is undoubtedly the wittiest and the most entertaining guide I have come across. She told us stories about the birth of Rome, the aqua-ducts and how they lead to insanity, the construction of the palace, the royal feasts which lasted 14 hours and consisted of over 20 courses, the circus minimus, the Romus forum etc.

The word Palace comes form the Palentine Hill. Along with palace of ancient Rome, the hill also has the ugliest building in Rome that was constructed in the 1930s by Mussolini. The building was not brought down but converted to an art gallery.


Descending from the Palentine Hill, we moved towards the Circus Maximus, the place where chariot races were held. Then we moved towards Vettorio Emanuel after a closer view of the Romus forum.

After a second session of photography at Vettorio Emanuel, we proceeded towards the Panthenon again. Panthenon from inside is way different from what it looks from outside. It was the first dome bilt in Rome and it has a hole in the top from which daylight enters the building. After numerous failed attempts to properly capture the dome, we left the building and proceeded towards Piazza Navona, a huge square with an Obleisk in the center surrounded by Roman buildings.

After having our Pizzas, we proceeded towards the Trevi as we wanted to see Trevi by the day. We had walked for 15 minutes when we realized that Pushan Da’s camera is missing. All the stories of Italy being unsafe flashed through our mind. Thankfully the camera was recovered as the owner of the pizzeria had kept it with the reception.

Trevi at dusk was as beautiful as it is in the night and watching the artificial lights take over from the natural light is a treat to the eyes. After spending an hour and half at Trevi we proceeded towards the Spanish Steps to pass our last hours in the city. We then had our dinner and the proceeded towards the railway station taking with us memories to last a lifetime.