We arrive after an overnight Delta flight and are taken by Stefano's Rome Cabs to the Albergo Sole al Pantheon. Few hotels in Rome can boast a more perfect location. The Albergo is situated in front of the Pantheon in the Piazza della Rotunda. Other famous sights including the Trevi Fountain, Piazza de Spagna and Piazza Navona are just steps away!
The Albergo is a wonderful 4-star boutique hotel, and our favorite "go-to" whenever clients are in Rome. Each room is different - several are two stories and some even boast amazing views of the Pantheon! Their daily hot breakfast is bountiful and the perfect start to each day, and the proprietors and staff are always warm and welcoming! Today they gifted me with a complimentary book detailing the 500-year history of this amazing Roman property where even the accommodations have historical significance!
Commissioned by Marcus Agrippa, the famous general of Augustus Caesar, the Pantheon is a 2000-year-old temple rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in 126 AD and converted to a Church, preserving most of it intact to this day. A marvel of imperial Roman architecture, it boasts a concrete (that's right, concrete!) coffered roof with a clever oculus in the center. The oculus affords three essentials of ancient design: stability, light and self-cleaning gratis the rain which flows freely through it, thereby continuously rinsing the stone marquetry floors - pure genius! It now holds the Tombs of Vitorio Emanuelle and Raphael Sanzio, the renowned Renaissance master. Still an active Church, visitors should time accordingly, but can enter with no fee after Mass on Sundays.
The Piazza is adorned by a famous 17th Century Bernini elephant that serves as a pedestal for one of the numerous Egyptian obelisks looted subsequent to the infamous fall of Antony and Cleopatra. There are few more poignant examples of a mosaic of millennia than exist in this square! The piazza serves as our own private dining enclave during our time in Rome, and we will be sure to sample each of the cafes and restaurants during our stay here where at night, people-watching includes everything from families to couples and marching bands to wedding parties!