This is the Bisenzio River in Prato, as seen from the Porta Mercatale bridge, with one pixelated nutria swimming in it. There were many adorable nutria, who generally got along well with the many ducks and geese:
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This is the Colosseum and nearby Arch of Constantine:
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This is the view from inside the Colosseum. You can see the intricate multi-level structures under the Colosseum floor, where all sorts of sophisticated staging took place:
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This is Italy’s Gay Street, which is basically just two bars right next to the Colosseum:
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Italy has a lot of colorful graffiti. Pretty much every single subway door looks like this:
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The Pantheon, from the front (in twilight) and the back:
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This is Corto Circuito, an eco-friendly, anti-fascist squat with a good amount of land, featuring permaculture, a sports center, a school, and a bar.
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They were in the middle of celebrating their 26th birthday, so I got to see a samba-type street band and Titubanda play there. Some heavily pixelated bands:
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“Immigrants are not Terrorists,” banner hanging at Piazza dell’Indipendenza:
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Police car (at Roma Termina, which is Rome’s Grand Central):
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There are tons of these adorable, seemingly-24-hour fruit and pasta stands all over Rome:
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There are random ruins scattered all over the city:
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Naomi finds out that gluten-free pasta in Italy tastes much like gluten-free pasta in NY (The restaurant that had gluten-free pizza was out both days that I went there):
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This is Trevi Fountain, with so many tourists in front of that you can’t see the fountain or large pool:
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Tortoise Fountain, dating back to the 16th century. According to my research, the fountain originally had dolphins at the top, but problems with low water pressure led to them being removed. The tortoises were added in the 17th century to complete the picture:
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The Jewish Quarter

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Cobblestones in memory of people taken to concentration camps:
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Artichokes were plentiful and a big part of people’s diets in the Jewish ghetto (and still are):
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It was hard to figure out which wall was “the” wall, but I believe that this wall is the last remaining piece of the wall of the original Jewish ghetto:
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This is the oldest facade left in the Jewish ghetto. These buildings still house Jewish families, restaurants, and stores:
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Here is a closeup (my cellphone camera is terrible at taking pictures that encompass dark and bright segments) of the bakery/gelateria:
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There were no bakery products (the problem with being in Rome’s Jewish quarter during Passover), but I did have this delicious pareve (dairy-free) gelato:
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And of course, a fried artichoke to go:
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The waiter very nervously asked me twice if my gelato was pareve before he would even throw out the cup in their outdoor garbage can. While I was waiting, I met Sarah, whose family has lived in the Jewish quarter for generations and who gives tours of the area for a living. She was there to have a kosher-for-Passover meal with friends. We talked about American politics, and she did not understand how a Jewish person like Bernie Sanders could be so unsupportive of Israel. We didn’t have time to go beyond that, but she was smart and thoughtful and was working with a different set of experiences surrounding Judaism and anti-Semitism than me. I would like to go back and take her tour one day.

The Great Synagogue, which houses the Jewish Museum:
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Jewish bookstore:
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I went back to the Jewish quarter another day to go to Nonna Betta, where I had a traditional meal of beef and artichokes. Apparently this place is no longer a kosher restaurant, as you can see (hence Sarah was at the other one):
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The Vatican

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There are a shocking number of statues. There’s no way, with my teeny cellphone camera, to capture the gigantic hallways upon hallways, and chapels upon chapels, with hundreds and hundreds of brilliant statues:
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Or floors:
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Or ceilings:
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And, of course, THE ceiling (photography not permitted, so feel free to judge):
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The Belvedere Torso, 2nd century BC, which provided inspiration for many famous artists and a model for Michelangelo when painting the Sistine Chapel:
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Ostia Antica

This is the ruins of a large town near Rome, with ruins dating from 3rd century BC to 1st century AD. It’s not a major tourist destination and the site is very large, so you can literally just wander through ruins by yourself for hours:

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The site contains the remains of one of the oldest synagogues in Europe. It was a bit of a hike away from the rest of the site, and I was rushing to get back (about a 20-minute walk) before they locked the gates. There are much better pictures, from better angles, in full daylight, where you can actually see the Torah ark, if you look online:
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