No matter how many times I visit the city of Rome, or Roma, as it is called by the Italians, as soon as my feet hit the soil, I fall instantly in love with both, the place and the people that live there!  It is a beautiful city!  Like any large urban center, Roma has…

The Chiesa di Sant’Erasmo, or the Church of Saint Erasmus, as we see it today, dates back to the 1500’s.  Saint Erasmus, also known as Saint Elmo, was a Christian martyr who died in 303.  He was the acting bishop of Formia.  When the prosecution of Christians began, he fled to Mount Libanus, but returned…

Founded by the Laconi in ancient times, the Romans gave the city the name of Formiae.  It became a popular tourist destination, luring both those in political power, as well as those in the arts, to its coastline, as well as to the Historical Center, which at the time, had an arena, theater, and everything…

We couldn’t check into the apartment in Formia, our next destination, until mid afternoon, so we decided to take a last walk around Gaeta.  History is everywhere, in Italian towns and cities.  All one has to do is to walk through a town center, and you will come across something that is worth seeing, and…

Whenever I walk through the centro storico, or historical center, of an Italian town, I feel as if I’ve been taken back in time.  And Gaeta is no exception!  Near the Cathedral is Palazzo Arcivescovile.A little further down Via Bausan, you will find the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista a Mare.  This church dates from…

I awoke the next morning to the sound of, first the American, and then the Italian National Anthems.  Wondering what was going on, I looked out the window, to see that across the street from the hotel, in the naval yard, the sailors were beginning their day, and this was how it apparently started.  The…

The Ex-Chiesa di San Biagio or, as it was known before, the Chiesa di Sant Antonio Abate, was destroyed during World War II.  Today, all that remains of this ancient structure is a sole altar wall.  Those of us living in places like the United States read about the great wars in our textbooks, and…

Not having a car ourselves, we arranged for a driver to pick us up in Sperlonga, and then take us to our next destination, the city of Gaeta.  There, once again, we had booked a one-bedroom apartment to stay in, right in the historical center of the city. For the first part of the day,…

Tiberius reigned over the Roman Empire from 14 to 37 AD.  Like most Romans today, he sought to escape the summer city heat by heading to the shore.  He chose the tiny coastal city of Sperlonga, to build his summer residence in.  Now, as I said before, with paid admission to the Archaeological Museum, visitors…

On our second day in Sperlonga, we awoke to find the sun shining down, the temperature perfect, and it wasn’t long before we were out, beginning our next adventure.  Our first stop was going to be Bar Tropical, as we woke up late, and missed the breakfast in the hotel.  After a bit of nourishment,…

Dating from the fifteenth century, the lovely Cappella di S. Rocco Extra Mura was built just outside of the old city walls.  Today, surrounded by other buildings, it remains a tiny jewel set on the road that leads up to the Centro Storico.  As we climbed higher, towards the old town, the view before us…

I had arranged for a car service to pick us up in Castel Gandolfo, and take us to our next destination, Sperlonga.  I did that because it was the quickest way to get there, without having a car of one’s own.  If you do have your own auto, or choose to hire a taxi, the…