10-Dec-22
We crammed everyone into the car to go downtown to Piazza Navona for their Christmas Market. It was a bit rainy.
KC and the Tiber River.
Shortly after parking and making our way downtown, the rain really started to come down. We hid under a restaurant tent for a little while waiting for it to ease up.
We tried a few places for lunch, but they either only had outside seating, or even that was full despite the rain. We finally found a little enoteca that also had some food options.
Had this artist ever seen a lion? I think yes.
We made it to Piazza Navona!
Fontana del Moro (Fountain of the Moor) - completed in 1654 by Giovanni Antonio Mari.
There was a carousel and it's ALL KC wanted to do.
So we did.
Several times.
This is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It represents the four major rivers of the four continents through which papal authority had spread: the Nile representing Africa, the Danube representing Europe, the Ganges representing Asia, and the Río de la Plata representing the Americas. Thanks Wikipedia!
We were there!
It also has this armored alligator man thing.
It was starting to rain again, so we popped into this church.
St. Agnese in Agone was started in 1652 and finished in 1859. Apparently St.Agnese's skull is on display in here somewhere.....which is not unexpected, but still weird. Agnese is usually depicted with her hair down and holding a lamb and sometimes a sword. She is the patron saint of those seeking chastity, purity, young girls, and the girl scouts.
I liked the suspicious dove mosaic on the floor.
Looking up into the dome.
St. Agnese (Agnes) had a sister named Emerenziana, who is also a saint. I feel like it's unfair to have one child be Agnes and one be Emerenziana. Emerenziana is usually depicted with stones in her lap and is invoked for colic and stomach aches.
The rain stopped so we went back to the carousel. This time with a lollipop.
Statues of saints, popes, and other religious figures are often on top of buildings.
They also make excellent bird stands.
Walking back to the car we passed this statute. It's of Nicola Spedalieri an Italian philosopher and presbyter aka priest.
His crest, or whatever, has a giant snail on it.
The face with three legs is a symbol of Sicily.
The sun came out a little bit on our walk back.
The market wasn't as interesting as we had hoped, but we got out and did a thing, so that was good.
