"Not that I loved Caesar less, but . . .

that I loved Rome more."

Origin of this phrase . . .

from The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (Act III, Scene II) by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, his assassination and the defeat of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi. It is one of several Roman plays that Shakespeare wrote, based on true events from Roman history.

The phrase is spoken by the character Marcus Brutus, a close friend of Caesar and a praetor, a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men who servedin twocapacities: commander of an army and as a magistrate. Brutus allows himself to be cajoled into joining a group of conspiring senators because of a growing suspicion that Caesar intends to turn Rome into a monarchy under his own rule.

The senators assassinate Caesar by stabbing. The last is Brutus and Caesar utters the famous line "Et tu Brute'?"

BRUTUS

Be patient till the last. Romans, countrymen, and lovers!

Hear me for my cause, and be silent that you may hear.

Believe me for mine honor, and have respect to mine

honor that you may believe. Censure me in your wisdom,

and awake your senses that you may the better judge.

If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar’s,

to him I say that Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his.

If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar,

this is my answer:

not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.

Rome is certainly a place to love. Even the most mundane things are sometimes interesting.

Here's where Ross and I spent about an hour one morning. You may remember that Ross had been backpacking for a couple of weeks before we joined him in Italy so he was running low on clean laundry. We hand-washed his essentials at the hotel, but realized quickly they were never going to air dry.

So we went in search of a laudromat (lavanderia) to dry them. Fortunately we were directed to this one as we would never have found it on our own.

The lady was really nice and even gave us an Italian newspaper to pass the time. It was clear she had all the essentials for a busy day of doing laundry. Just watching her busy herself was worth the trip. It was an hour we won't soon forget.

The Piazza Navona

You can see from the map it runs beside the Tiber River.

Central to the piazza is this huge Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumior) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini . The whole area is surrounded by restaurants. The square is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian. Built in the 1st century AD,the ancient Romans came here to watch the "games".

In the background you can see the Baroque church Sant'Agnese in Agone. No photos are allowed and it was dark at that time so we heeded the rule.

The guy in the far right gives you an idea of the size of this fountain.

Documenting we were actually there :)

At one end of the square is this Fountain of Neptune. At the other end is the Fontana del Moro, which unfortunately we did not see.

As we walked back toward the hotel we passed another little church, stepped inside and took this photo. Another beautiful place not even on the map. I don't even know the name of this church.

One afternoon we went out for a walk with no particular destination in mind and came upon this nice fountain which also serves as a roundabout. We have a lot of roundabouts in Belgium, but none quite this elaborate.

It's actually the Fountain of the Naiads (Fontana Delle Najadi). In Greek mythology, naiads were a type of nymph who presided over fountains, wells, and streams.

At this same juncture was this church. It doesn't look like much on the outside, but we decided to peak inside just to see what might be there.

Naturally, it was another beautiful church with a famous architect - Michelangelo. It is the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (Basilica of Saint Mary and the Martyrs).

This is a sundial by astronomer and mathemetician, Francesco Bianchini. There is a small hole in the wall that casts a light on it. It was used 1) for the Pope to check the accuracy of the Gregorian calendar, 2) to accurately predict Easter, and 3) to give Rome a meridian line.

The Piazza Colonna is another of the many squares in Rome.

Earlier in the day we'd walked by here and I snapped this photo. I didn't do a very good job of capturing the bronze statue of St. Paul on top.

The square is named for this massive Column of Marcus Aurelius which has stood here since 193 CE (Common Era - traditionally identified with AD).

The intricate spiral picture tells the story of the Danubian and Marcomannic wars waged by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius from 166 until his death in 180.

All Roads Lead to Rome

Origin of this phrase . . .

Modern wording of medieval sentiment; apparently originally a reference toRoman roads generally and the Milliarium Aureum (Golden Milestone) specifically.

Appears in the form Mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam (A thousand roads lead men forever to Rome) in Liber Parabolarum, 591 (1175), by Alain de Lille.

The earliest English form appears to be "Right as diverse pathes leden the folk the rightewey to Rome." in Treatise on the Astrolabe (Prologue, ll. 39-40), 1391, by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Although we were unable to drive to Rome as originally planned, we did finally make it there spending 5 full days and enjoying every minute of it. It is unlike any other city we've visited thus far and full of true Old World charm.

Rome is the capital of Italy and has nearly 3 million residents. The Tiber River runs through the city and there's archeological evidence of humans in Rome from at least 14,000 years ago.

This map shows the areas most visited. It's about 3 miles east to west and 3 miles north to south. Our hotel was near the Piazza di Spagna (top center). It was nice and most importantly, it was an excellent location.

This is a safe area, close to a metro stop, lots of restaurants and shops. We felt very comfortable and safe in this area. Thanks, Jim, for picking this hotel.

Upon arrival, we checked out the closest landmark to our hotel - the Piazza di Spagna.

There are piazzas all over Rome - huge squares, usually with a large column signifying something important to Roman culture. The one pictured above was erected in 1856 to commemorate the Immaculate Conception, found in the basement of a monastery in 1777, it is topped by a statue of the Virgin Mary.

These are the Spanish Steps (Scalinata della Trinita' dei Monti). It is the widest staircase in Europe and the 138 steps are a very popular place to sit.

At the top of the stairs is the church of Santissima Trinita' dei Monti. Louis XII of France, began construction of the church in 1502 to celebrate his successful invasion of Naples.

When you climb to the top, there's a really nice view of the surrounding area.

At the base of the steps is the Fountain of the Old Boat (Fontana della Barcaccia), a fresh-water fountain, completed in 1627 by Pietro Bernini.

We saw several people standing on these ledges that jut out into the water appearing to drink the water coming from the fountain.

All over Rome there are fountains like the one pictured below with fresh water to drink.

We didn't try any, but we often saw people drinking it and filling water bottles so I assume it is safe to drink.

Our next stop was this huge landmark which stands 85 feet high and 65 feet wide. The fountain marks the junction of three roads (tre vie). With the Roman custom of building a fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct, work began in 1732 by Nicola Salvi, but he died before it was completed in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini.

The theme for the fountain is Taming of the Waters. The triumphal arch houses the Greek Oceanus/Roman Neptune (by Pietro Bracci). Neptune was god of water and sea (all water) in Roman mythology similar to the Greek god Poseidon. The Greek Oceanus was titan of the oceans.

We stopped back by the fountain that evening and it is just as beautiful at night.

Legend holds that throwing a coin in the fountain will ensure a return visit to Rome. It is estimated that 3,000 Euros are thrown in each day. The money is used to subsidize a market for the needy. Of course, we did our part to help the needy.

Firenze L'ultimo Giorno

This was our last day in Florence and we tried to make the most of it.

We had noticed little wooden Pinocchios all over Florence. Turns out the author who wrote The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1883, was Carlo Lorenzini. He used the pen name, Carlo Collodi, and he was born, lived his life, and died in Florence.

So we bought one of the little wooden characters to hang on our Christmas tree.

On our way to another famous Basilica, we stopped in the Piazza della Signoria. It's a huge square with statues everywhere.

You can see the size and scale of these things compared to the people walking around. I think this may also be the square where Ross was surprised to get the check for a €6.50 ($9) Coke. I thought Belgium was expensive (and it is), but Italy may take the cake.

In this same square is the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) which looks more like a fortress. It's actually the Town Hall of Florence.

The entryway on the side of the building was really beautiful though.

This is the Santa Croce Basilica in the Piazza Santa Croce. It doesn't seem so big until you have a look at the people standing out front.

It is no less beautiful than the other basilicas we've visited.

It is full of frescoes and sculptures . . .

like this one, Annunciation, by Donatello.

Donato di Niccolo' di Betto Bardi, known as Donatello, (1386-1466) was an Italian artist and sculptor. He also had a Ninja Turtle named after him.

This basilica is also full of tombs. This is the tomb of Giovanni Battista Niccolini (1782-1861), an Italian poet. This monument was sculpted by Pio Fedi (1815-1892) to honor the poet.

Look familiar?

Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, creator of the Statue of Liberty lived in Florence in 1870, the same year Pio Fedi created a plaster sample of his monument to Niccolini.

Pio Fedi's completed monument was placed in the Basilica in 1883. Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty was placed in the bay in NY in 1887.

Coincidence? Or perhaps Bartholdi just knew a good design when he saw it.

The Santa Croce Basilica is also home to the tombs of some very famous people including . . .

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), an Italian historian and philosopher best known for his work, Il Principe (The Prince).

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), an Italian poet and prose writer best known for his epic poem, La Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy).

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564), an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, and architect. Best known for the sculptures Pieta' and David, frescoes of scenes from Genesis in the Sistine Chapel in Rome and he was also one of the architects of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. We were lucky enough to get to see all of these masterpieces.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), an Italian physicist, mathematician and astronomer. He is best known for improvements to the telescope and astronomy observations that supported Copernicanism (that the Earth and other planets orbit around the Sun).

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas. He is best known for his operas Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) and Guillaume Tell (William Tell).

Of course, probably most renowned for the overture finale.

Our very last stop on the way to the train was this market. We were dragging our luggage so we didn't stay long, but I wish we'd had several hours. So much to see!

Florence. I would go there again.