The Best of Italy Tour 2016

Rome

Our first stop in Rome was the Spanish Steps. However, they were closed for restorations so we were not able to fully see the steps. The Spanish Steps are called the Spanish Steps because they are situated directly outside of Spain's Embassy.

After the Spanish Steps, we walked to the Trevi Fountain, which was completed in the 18th century having been designed by Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci. This fountain is known for the three coin tradition. Legend states that you should stand with your back to the fountain and throw three coins over your left shoulder with your right hand. The first coin symbolizes a wish to return to Italy, the second is to be happily married and the third is to marry an Italian man or woman.

Thankfully we were able to go to Trevi when we did, because the following day, the fountain was drained and in the process of becoming a fashion show runway for the 100 year anniversary of Fendi show, which occurred two days after we headed back home.

After our trip to Trevi and completing our three wishes, we headed to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus. This building was completed roughly around 126 A.D. and is the best preserved building from the Roman Empire.

Probably the most impressive part of the Pantheon would be the concrete dome with a hole at the very top to provide natural light to the inside.

The Pantheon is also the home to the burial site of the first and second Kings and Queens of Italy.

After our tour of the Pantheon, we headed over to the Pittsburgh Bar, which is located directly off of the Piazza Nuovo. This bar was a nice taste of home for us Pittsburgers on the tour. The bar was labeled a "proper" bar because they sell alcohol and have a very similar setup to a normal bar in America. In Italy a bar is a place where you go for an espresso, not a drink. This "proper" bar was also the only place where we were able to find ice in Italy. Along with having ice, this bar also stays open for any Pittsburgh sporting event and streams the games onto a large screen in the back of the bar, despite the 6 hour time difference.

Up next was the Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheater, constructed in 70 A.D. This is where many gladiator fights were held. The bottom floor of the Colosseum was also home to alligators and lions, which were commonly put up against gladiators for the entertainment of the people.

The Colosseum was believed to roughly have had a maximum occupancy of 80,000 people. This building was in use for almost 400 years and roughly 400,000 people were murdered and nearly 1,000,000 animals were slaughtered during games, hunts and executions.

However during Medieval times, the purpose quickly switched from entertainment to workshops, housing and religious quarters.

Italy has now abolished capital punishment and uses the Colosseum as a symbol against capital punishment by changing the spot lights on the building from white to gold every time a capital punishment is revoked or a country outlaws this punishment.

From here we had free time to walk around the markets to grab our pastas, wines and olive oils to bring back with us.

From there we had our last traditional Italian dinner: pasta, tomatoes and mozzarella. This was absolutely delicious and the perfect way to end our grand tour of Italy.