Piazza Navona And The Spanish Steps

Still suffering from jet lag, we undertook another light day, visiting the Piazza Navona and then the Spanish Steps.

Entering the Piazza Navona; we often wonder whether there are any
obelisks left in Egypt

Unusual dorsal view of Neptune in the the Fountain of Neptune

Standard view

The Piazza was originally the Stadium of Domitian in classical times,
then the city market in the later Renaissance; later the giant and
beautiful piazza it is now; the extreme Baroque church of Sant'Agnes
in Agone is on the right

The major attraction is Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers,
the obelisk rising from the sculpture

The River Nile veiled because its source was
unknown at the time (1651); "Dr. Livingstone,
I presume?"

Other fountain: the Fontana del Moro, (1575), with a later

addition by Bernini (the standing figure: to balance the one 

at the other end...)

Longer view from north side

Moving right along, we are now at the foot of the Spanish Steps,
at the Fountain of the Long Boat (1629), attributed to Bernini's
dad, who happened to be the Pope's architect

Looking up the 135 steps to the Trinita dei Monti church; the city
has covered much of the stairway with shrubbery ("bring us a shrubbery!"),
presumably to discourage loitering by tourists

And every now and then a member of the local constabulary
arrives to get tourists on their feet and out of the way

A nice smile a moment later suggested she enjoys her job

And now, we are doing something we've never done: climb the 

Spanish Steps

Vicki, resting

And now at the top

The reason for all the unusual exertion: Vicki
wanted to see the Zuccari Palace with its monster
doors and windows

Mission accomplished! And now, tired puppies, back home...