Rome, Italy

It's been 43 years* since we last visited Rome. We're back for another visit – together with a gazillion other tourists. Talk about overtourism. (Yes, I realise we are part of the problem.)

While the stunning sights are still stunning, everywhere we go we have to fight our way through crowds. Other problems are construction and renovation projects with large hoardings in front of famous buildings, detours through narrow uninteresting roads, and massive traffic jams. Apart from these grumbles, Rome is still a fabulous place to visit because there is just so much to explore. Give us a few weeks, and I'm sure we'd feel very relaxed. But we have three days and it's been a whirlwind.

The weather has been perfect: around 25 °C. We're staying in the Villa Borghese area, up on a hill, close to the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon.

We wandered down the Via del Corso to the Roman Forum for a tour with a local guide called Leo (like the Pope). Entry to tourist attractions not only have long queues but also require security scanning and ID checks. Every. Single. Time.

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I feel comfortable-ish with my knowledge of Ancient Rome. In summary: Rome was founded around 750 BC, the Roman Republic was established around 500 BC, and the Roman Empire was in full swing by 25 BC. It dominated Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for centuries, until it fell around 400 CE. There you go: more than 1000 years of signficant world history in two sentences. There's still a debate about why Rome fell but modern historians say that repeated epidemics of plague, climate change, political instability, economic inequality, the rise of Christianity and Islam, and mass migration from the east were the main causes. These civilisational threats all sound very familiar, yes?

I enjoyed our tour through the Forum, but I particularly liked climbing the Palatine Hill and seeing the Forum spread out before us, as well as the more modern – i.e. medieval and Renaissance – creations such as the Theatre of the Great Fountain. Rome sits above multiple aquifers of water, and there's water everywhere, hence the proliferation of fountains throughout the city. Multiple guides kept telling us that Rome is the greenest city in Europe, because of all that water. (This 'green' refers to botanic life rather than to politics. On the latter subject, one guide described Italy's current PM as 'the young blonde lady'.)

I would have liked to spend more time wandering around the Farnese Gardens on top of the Palatine Hill, but we had to move on to the Next Great Sight.

And this is where it dawned on me that the next time I visit Rome, I will narrow my focus more intensely. There is so much history, and so many significant buildings and so much significant art, that you can't possibly visit it – never mind make sense of it – in a short time. As one of our guides said, you need at least a year to to tour Rome.

More security scanning, more ID checks and we're allowed into the Colosseum, the largest ancient amphitheatre in the world. In its day, it could accommodate 80,000 spectators.

Think of the sophisticated technology of the Ancient Egyptians and the Ancient Greeks, and what those civilisations were capable of building. When the Ancient Romans conquered these societies, they absorbed their knowledge. So it's not really a surprise that the Colosseum (built around 80 CE) uses sophisticated construction methods. The bricks used to build the walls were triangular (you can see the rear pointy bits sticking out in the last photo above). Even more fascinating is the way that pulleys and levers opened trapdoors in the stadium floor to lift stuff onto ground level.

Thanks to Russell Crowe, we can all now imagine the gladiator contests. But the most upsetting (to me) aspect of the Colosseum shows was the venationes. Wild animals were captured in Africa and the Middle East, and transported to Rome: rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, lions, panthers, leopards, bears, tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. These poor creatures were caged below the stage and lifted up to ground level, only to be (a) confronted by another wild animal, or (b) slaughtered by gladiators or (c) faced by naked prisoners who'd been sentenced to death. Thousands of animals were killed during each performance. As depressing as modern life can be, at least we are no longer staging spectacles where wild animals are killed en masse.

One evening we were invited to tour the Church of San Martino di Monti, in the Rione Monti district, including a visit to some subterranean excavations that are closed to the public. (But opened specially for us!) We were also treated to a buffet of ancient Roman foods in the crypt. Sadly we were not allowed to take photos of the underground sections or historic food. Did it actually happen if we don't have photos?

Rome is famous for stripping old buildings of valuable materials like marble and reusing them in later constructions. None more so than the Vatican. Our morning in the Vatican City drenched us in art, politics, religion and history, and we saw an apparently endless array of artistic achievements by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Caravaggio. I can't possibly include everything here. Two things stood out to me: (1) the complicated litany of popes that succeeded one another through the centuries and (2) how the Vatican Museum represents wealth, power and each pope's desire to outshine his predecessor. The last pope may be the exception.

Within the first few rooms, among sculptures looted from Ancient Greece, are two of the most significant sculptures of ancient times: Apollo Belvedere and the Laocoön.

And this was just the start of a multitude of treasures ... every room more lavish than the previous. It becomes quite intoxicating quite quickly. I did like the tapestry and map rooms. I think it calms the emotions to have a category imposed on the opulent chaos.

It's awesome to see truly famous paintings in situ, like these by Raphael. But there are so many.

The Sistine Chapel was awe-inspiring, but as you know, no photos are permitted. We took a short cut through the Gallery of Contemporary Art – a revelation (no pun intended) – I would have liked to spend more time there to see more of the Matisse, Dali, Picasso, Chagall, Bacon.

But no, onward, onward to St Peter's Basilica. Sadly we didn't see Pope Leo but happily he is doing what true leaders do and visiting poor countries in Africa. What a beautiful church, this one, the biggest one in the world. What religious power it represents. And what wealth and historical political clout it has taken to create. It's all ... very weighty.

And of course there's Michelangelo's Pieta. Worth all the trouble just to see this sculpture again.

Another walk through the crowded city to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon ...

... and then we can think of Rome's excellent food. I am particularly fond of stuffed pasta: the ravioli and tortellini were stuffed with cheese and spinach, another with fish (grouper) and yet another with pistachio and burrata.

Rome's pavement restaurant culture is seductive ... until the crowds arrive.

So many Smart cars in Rome! Tiny little two-seater cars being very creative with the parking availability.

Our final day takes us to Tivoli, a small town about an hour's drive from Rome, on the lower slopes of the Apennines. Tivoli was a holiday town from the Roman period until the Renaissance. (It reminds me of Sintra near Lisbon.) We visited Villa D’Este, known for its fabulous gardens, and on the UNESCO World Heritage list. After the crowds in Rome, the idea of a day out in the country was very appealing!

What a magnificent garden. It is a collection of fountains, over three levels, all driven by natural water pressure from the water in the mountains. We were blown away.

One avenue is called the One Hundred Fountains. Each of the small fountains has an individual head.

Lunch was provided at a nearby restaurant, high on the side of a hill, overlooking a waterfall.

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Antipasti to start, followed by vegetable fritto misto, then cacio e pepe, made with home-made tonarelli pasta – the best cacio e pepe I have ever had. How fitting is that, being a classic Roman dish. Veal scallopini, potatoes and tiramisu, all served with local wines. A feast.

Time to board the ship, and head south. We'll be sailing around the boot of Italy, making our way through the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea. We'll be keeping our distance from the war to the east of us.

Next stop: the Amalfi coast.

*I was five years old when I first went to Rome with my parents and grandparents in 1965. My sister took these pics with her little box camera.

Twelve years later, in 1977, I was back in Rome (with my favourite Moon Boots) as a teenager travelling with a girl friend ...

... and then again in 1983 with a very young Ken. (The black and white prints from the 60s are in far better nick than the colour prints from the 70s and 80s!)

This really looks better on a bigger screen. www.julie-anne.online