November 28, 2023
Rome to Fiumicino
Heading back to the airport hotel
It was my last full day in Italy and I had one thing left that I really wanted to see, so headed to the Pantheon on foot first thing.
On my walk, I stumbled upon the Largo di Torre Argentina which is a beautiful large open space below street level with the remains of four Roman temples. Julius Caesar was assassinated here. Too bad I didn’t have time for a full tour.
I arrived at the Pantheon shortly after its 9 am opening. I bought my 5 euro ticket on a big touch screen - the fee is new in 2023. I didn’t mind paying one bit.
What a building. I won’t provide a long description since Wikipedia does a better job. Here’s the 25 cent version: it is a former Roman temple and, since 609, has been a Catholic church. It was built on the site of an earlier temple commissioned in about 25 BCE, then after that burnt down, the current building was commissioned by Emperor Hadrian in about 125 CE. For me, the most spectacular bit is the 43 m diameter cupola. The 8 m oculus in the spherical roof is the only source of light other than the door. The oculus isn’t covered so also lets in rain. It was the connection between the temple and the Roman gods.
The Pantheon is the only Roman building intact after so many centuries. Almost 2000 years. Contrast that with the deadly collapse of a 20th century bridge in Genoa in 2018. We’ve known how to build good stuff for a very long time, but we don’t always do it.
The Pantheon has been modified over the years. The artist Raphael was buried there in 1520. Two kings of the united Italy are entombed there, as well as the popular Queen Margherita (of margherita pizza fame).
It wasn’t busy at the Pantheon, and I’m so glad to have seen it.
I headed back to my hotel, routing past a famed kosher bakery in the current Jewish quarter. Their ricotta cake good, but pricy,and no better than this one from Bon Appetit. There were armed military guards in the area and traffic barriers that weren’t in use today. I assume this is a result of the current terrible issues in Israel and Palestine.
There was a thunder shower on my way back to the hotel. It was intense, but short. Once again, I got good value from my umbrella purchase. The forecast said that was the last of it. So rather than taking the 30 minute train, I decided to bike back to Fiumicino to the airport hotel where my bike bag was stashed. I didn’t want to arrive too early, so enjoyed a final cappuccino in Rome and checked out of my hotel just before noon. The hotel desk clerk was speaking Portuguese- I asked, and she speaks six languages. Wow.
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I walked the first bit to get past the Trastevere train station. Then it was an easy trip west, reversing my route from day one, except I chose a paved option for the last 5 km because I thought my day one route would probably be muddy.
I got my bike taken apart without difficulty. In the bag, I found all the stuff I thought was missing. 😀
It was an early night, since tomorrow will be a long travel day.
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Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 1,186 km (737 miles)
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Safe travels home, time to get the skis tuned now ⛷️!
1 year ago