Classical Italy Day 6: Sperlonga, Terracina, and Rome

All roads lead to Rome...

After spending 5 days exploring every site and scene of the Bay of Naples, we embarked on a bus headed to the capital of Italy. Along the way, we stopped at 2 ancient Roman sites. The first was Sperlonga, a cave in which the Roman emperor Tiberius spent a majority of his time; he was known to have especially enjoyed bathing with fish. Mr. Hochberg tried to recreate this experience by jumping into the grotto and swimming around. We all enjoyed a picnic lunch inside the cave before hopping back on the bus to continue our journey.

Sperlonga

                                

We then stopped at the Temple of Jupiter, which offered breathtaking views of the Italian coastline and countryside. After taking in the magnificent views and walking around the ruins, we all climbed back onto the bus and drove to Rome.

Tiberius' grotto at Sperlonga

                            

Despite everyone on the bus being exhausted, we all felt a sudden burst of energy as the bus pulled to a stop near our hotel in Rome. After dropping our bags off in our quaint rooms, we had almost 2 hours to explore the nearby neighborhood, which included delicious gelato and pastries, as well as jewelry and fashion boutiques.

Piazza Navona in Rome

We then had pizza for dinner, after which some students split off to walk around nearby areas of Rome under the night sky; we visited Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona, and concluded with a spectacular view of the Pantheon.

At the end of a long day packed with travel, touring, and treats, we went to bed to rest up for another day of exploring Rome.

-Elliot Karsten 3/21/18