Rome Day Three. An Afternoon Exploring Rome With The Crowds After Pope Francis’s Funeral

I was in Rome last week to pay my respects to Pope Francis. I walked past his coffin as he lie in state  on Friday and attended the funeral mass Saturday morning. The solemn and emotional funeral mass  ended around noon. It was a very moving spiritual experience for me. It was a warm sunny April day and I  decided I would  back to my  hotel near the Termini Metro station. I watched the funeral  on  one of the large screens that were set up all around the Vatican . I was  in the crowds that lined  both sides of Via della Conciliazione,   a few blocks from Saint Peter’s Basilica and near the Castle of  The Holy Angel.

After the mass I  walked with  the crowds   around the Castle of Angels.

I saw these mounted policemen on the way.Thankfully there was no need for the heavy security that was present for the funeral. The crowds were peaceful and I did not witness a single  hostile action or  word.

I walked  through  the crowded streets and through the Piazza Cavour

and then crossed the scenic Tiber River. 

I followed the tree lined river a few blocks.

I walked on some side streets through a quiet residential district.   There were not many people  in these  areas.

Following the  desereted  side streets  I soon    came to the Via di Ripetta .  Here I again encountered the crowds of people returning from the funeral mass at the Vatican. I walked along the shops and restaurants on this street and

came to the Piazza de Popolo. I had visited this  beautifully laid out historic  piazza on  both of my prior trips to Rome. Three magnificent  churches  are located here , Santa Maria del Popolo,  Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesant. This is a photos of the later two.

This was once the main interest into Rome  through the Aurelian Wall that surrounded the city. They were built in the 3rd century A.D.  The piazza was is now called the peoples piazza but was originally named for the poplar trees that grew here. A large Egyptian obelisk  towers over the piazza. I wasn’t going to explore the churches on this visit.

I was going to hike in  The Pincio (Pincian Hill) which is located in the gardens of Villa Borghese overlooking the Piazza de Popolo. I wanted to enjoy the beautiful view  of the Vatican from  atop the hill and do some  hiking and  birding in the surrounding park.  I followed the crowds of people up the steep  hill,

past this lion statue.  The Pincian Hill was not one of the original Seven Hills of Rome It was located outside  the original walls of Rome. But,  it had a long history of being the site of beautiful gardens. One of the the famous gardens on the hill was owned by the famous general Pompey. It became part of the city when the Aurelian Wall was built in the 3rd century.

I reached the terrace  on the top of the hill where  I was greeted with  the loud music from a rock band entertaining the  crowds of people walking past. I enjoyed the music as did the large crowd of people gathered around the band on the terrace overlooking the piazza  belwo.  This terrace was built in 1834 when the Piazza de Popoko was built below.

I walked over to the edge of the hill and took in the view of  Saint Peter’s Basilica below. I watched the sunset here on my last visit.  I had a feeling the Pope Francis was glad so many people gathered in the park to celebrate the beautiful day.

I walked into the park, and under some tall trees.

Here I  heard the cries of the two species of parrots that can be seen  in the treetops throughout Rome, monk parakeets

and rose-ringed parakeets,  Neither  of the birds is native to  Rome. The monk parakeets are  from South America and the monk parakeets from Africa. They were introduced here and have become very common in the city.

I also saw this yellow legged seagull spreading it’s wing on a post  in the park.

I walked past a pond with this water  clock,or hydrochronometer.

where I saw another common bird seen throughout the parks in the city of Rome, a hooded crow.

I coninuied my hike  through the  trees and meadows of the Borghese gardens. These gardens were developed  by the famous family in the early 17th century. Under the many trees  I found  some people resting  in the shade whike others  sat on the grass  and enjoyed  the beautiful April sunshine.

I heard some birds in the trees but it was hard to photograph them with the steady stream of people walking past.

A trail led me down to a small pond,

where I saw  this mallard duck, which I just learned is native to both Europe and North America,

I also heard, then saw this native  great tit singing loudly  in a tree near the pond.

There were sone flowers blooming along the trails including common daisies,

and common mallow flowers.

I continued my hike  under the large trees in the gardens,

and past this monument.

There were many trails in the large gardens. I followed one which  took me past this gelato. or  Italian ice cream stand,

and  this building surrounded by flowers.

I walked into another part of the  park looking for a trail down to the Spanish Steps or Spagna.  I remember hiking down a trail on my first visit to Rome 20 years ago.

While looking for the trail I heard and saw a few birds in the tree tops including a short toed tree creeper,

a European blacktop and

this I am not sure if it is an Italian Sparrow or a common house sparrow, 

I continued to try and find a trail down  to the Spanish Steps, but they were all closed. I decided to  walk along busy Viale del Muro Torto ignoring the  “no pedestrian” signs.

This was a mistake. At first I was able to walk on a trail along the busy highway and below the ancient and massive  Aurelian Wall.

I was hoping to walk back up  to the Pincio.   However soon realized that there was no road back up. The Pincio and  Borghese  gardens was now above. There was no way up to the bridge that crossed the busy highway.

I had to follow the highway.  I soon found there was no trail or sidewalk in some areas and I had to dart ahead of the fast moving oncoming traffic.  It was interesting.

I had to walk about a mile out of my way and ended back where I started form, at the ancient entrance to Rome through the Aurelian Wall.

and back onto the Piazza de Popolo. It was a spectualer view.  I had now walked almost 7  miles and I was exhausted, It was still a 2 1/2 mile walk back to my hotel.

I was near the Metro but I still wanted to see the Spanish steps I decided to walk on through the even more crowded Piazza de Popolo,

and then the crowded Vis del Babuino. The street was lined with restaurants and shops.

I walked about a mile  through the crowded streets,

and joined the even more crowds  at the Spanish Steps. 

I pushed my way through the crowds and walked down to the crowded Metro,,

It was late afternoon when I made it back to the Termini metro station. I had left 11 hours earlier . It was fitting that images of Pope Francis were still displayed on the large video screens on some of the commercial buildings.  I was hungry and tired. Here is a link to a website to a gallery with more photos from my  walk back from the Pope’s funeral mass. Here is a link to a website to a gallery with more photos from my  walk back from the Pope’s funeral mass. Rome Day Three. Pope Francis Funeral  Pincio and walk , April 26 2025. 

I made a 6 p.m reservation at  a nearby restaurant, Luigi Cantina e Cucina  and returned to my hotel  I  showered, edited some photos and and walkin  another half mile to the restaurant. I had now walked over 9 miles.I was greeted by a friendly hostess who’d seated me. My waiter Alif was also friendly and recommended this delicious pumpkin soup,

I had the spaghetti and clam sauce as my main course and it was excellent.

For dessert I had this pistachio cheese completing an awesome meal.    I was full and very tired. It was another long day, but a fulfilling one.   Attending the beautiful mass and recieving the Sacraments was very meaningful. I thought of and offered my prayers for family, friends and everyone  living on our small planet right now.  I fell asleep quickly, but was up again  a few hours late, editing photos. I fianlly fell asleep looking forward to another day exploring the Eternal City.

 

“All that is good, all that is true, all that is beautiful brings us to God. Because God is good, God is beautiful, God is the truth.”  Pope Francis 

“Big cities bring together all the different ways which we human beings have discovered to express the meaning of life, wherever we may be.”  Pope Francis