Walking Through Rome

I saw loads of different things while I was walking through Rome, not all of which were worthy of their own posts, but I thought that I would post them for your entertainment.

A lamppost in Rome.  Notice the eagle, which was on the standard of Roman armies.  Also, note that the hitching rings are in the mouths of wolves, which are popular themes in city art because of the story of Romulus and Remus.

 The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
(the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs)

This was an advertisement in the metro station under the Terme di Diocleziano (the Diocletian Baths) which I wrote about previously.  It is an ad for Bavaria Beer, which is fairly irrelevant except that it is all in English, for some reason (despite advertising a German beer in Italy).  Also, I honestly cannot figure out what the point of the ad is.  It seems like a beer popping out of a blue sky, or perhaps out of the blue ocean, (or even a blueberry!) would be more appetizing. 

The front of the Roma Termini, The main central train station in Rome.

Looking toward the archaeological ruins on the Via Sacra, the main street in Ancient Rome.

One of the things that was funny about walking around Rome was the number of people
who were dressed up in costumes for the benefit of tourists.  This is actually the only
Roman centurion that I saw dressed in blue.  I looked it up and, at least according to one
site, blue was the color used by marines, because blue was the color of the sea.  That seems
a bit on the nose, but who knows?  I guess that it's good enough for most modern military
uniform color choices.  The fellow beside him, in the (very short!) white outfit (and the
bizarre purple socks, for some reason) is dressed in what was supposedly the uniform of
the average soldier, as opposed to the red outfits of those of higher ranks.

Some more typical centurions getting a drink at one of the ubiquitous water fountains.

Centurions would pose all over the place, though I think you had to tip them.  I think that that one tourist didn't tip well enough for the one fellow with the sword.  

I found Italian signage humorous.
This seems to epitomize Italians: dramatic and emphatic.
The sign says "Prohibited from Entering".  Dramatically.  

There were loads of booths of foods and souvenirs.

One of the fountains that you can find all over Italy.  This one has a large, ornate horse trough.  All of the fountains have potable water (unless they have really big signs signifying otherwise), and most of them are very ornate and old.

A lion head water fountain.