We arrived in Rome after a short plane trip from Venice. On arrival at Rome airport we caught the Leonardo Express train into Rome Termini and walked to our hotel. When we caught the first glimpse of our hotel we knew we were in for something special. The hotel is magnifico! Housed in one of the buildings that makes up the Piazza Della Repubblica. Based on original roman buildings, the porticos around the piazza, built in 1887-98. The basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri was designed by Michelangelo on the piazza is based on a wing of the baths. There is also a large fountain in this square, the Fountain of the Naiads, which was originally the fountain of the Acqua Pia (connected to the aqua Marcia aqueduct). Which was built in 1888. There are 4 Nymphs represented in the fountain ; Nymph of the Lakes, the Nymph of the Rivers, the Nymph of the Oceans, and the Nymph of the Underground Waters. It is a beautiful fountain.

When we got to our room we were pleasantly surprised to see that our room looked directly out to the fountain and basilica providing us with a birds eye view of the Piazza. The room itself is massive and very opulent Italian. There is detailed cornicing, fabric padded walls and luxury furnishings... We couldn't think of a better base for our Italian leg of our tour.

We found a small bistro around the corner from the hotel and enjoyed a little pasta and house red whilst we soaked in little Roman atmosphere on the busy streets of Rome. From our viewing position across the Piazza in the late afternoon we watched the locals dip their feet into the fountain on such a hit day. We were inspired to hit the rooftop pool ourselves, and spent a few hours in the afternoon in the pool.
In thee evening we had a delightful dinner at La Matriciana Ristorante where the waiter enjoyed our attempts at Italian!

What a great welcome to Italy. We can't wait to see more.