Atop the Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo) stands this monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of Italy’s “fathrers of the fatherland.”

It is interesting to note that Italy as we know it was not a unified country until the 19th century. From the end of the Holy Roman Empire, it had been a shifting collection of city-states and kingdoms. The Italian unification (Risorgimento) movement was a long process in the 19th century that ended with the capture of Rome on 20 September (XX Septembre) 1870 by the Italian army under the command of General Raffaele Cadorna, who breached the Aurelian Wall at Porta Pia.

While Garibaldi was not present during the capture of Rome, he was a central figure in many military campaigns that eventually led to the formation of a unified Italy. On the monument are the words: Roma o Morte (Rome or Death).

Isola Tiberina (Tiber Island) stands in the Tiber River, connected to Rome on both sides by bridges. This view shows the Ponte Fabricio, built in 62 BC and still in its original state as it crosses over to meet the island. Ever since the building of an ancient temple dedicated to Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine and healing in the third century BC, the island has been known as a site offering protection from disease and illnesses. Even today, it remains the site of the Fatebenefratelli Hospital (Ospedale Fatebenefratelli).

On the way down to Amalfi, we stopped at Pompeii, the infamous Roman city that, along with Herculaneum, was buried under 15 to 20 feet of ash and pumice when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, Pompeii reportedly receives more than 2,500,000 visitors a year. One can imagine the wear and tear the site receives with all of this traffic but it endures as a testament to how Romans lived two thousand years ago. Even after several visits, Pompeii never disappoints.

Similar to the drawing of the archway of the Portico of Octavia, this sketch compresses three layers of history in the heart of Rome—in the right foreground, the facade of the Palazzo Nuovo designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century; rising in the background, the Vittorio Emmanuele II Monument built in the early 20th century; and caught in between but the oldest, S. Maria in Aracoeli, a basilica whose origins date back to the 6th century, erected atop an ancient Roman insula. To the right stands the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius that is situated in the center of the trapezoidal piazza.

We’re leaving tomorrow on a week-long field trip south to Pompeii, Amalfi, Ravello, and possibly Matera, a UNESCO world heritage site. More on that later.

Here’s a view looking through an archway of the Portico of Octavia toward the Theater of Marcellus, with just a hint of the apartments built atop of the theater in medieval times. The elements on the left are of the scaffolding supporting restoration work on the portico.

What attracted me to this scene is the way it compresses space and time. Almost everywhere you walk amid the skewed street spaces, buildings, and monuments in the centro historico district, one encounters these layers of history so typical of Rome.

This past Sunday, I attended the 10 am Mass at Santa Maria in Trastevere, a basilica that feels like a normal parish church rather than one that simply attracts tourists. Compare this view from my usual position, seated in the rear and to the left, to a similar one of Blessed Sacrament Church that I did back in mid-September.

The basilica is believed to have its origins in the 4th century, being rebuilt in the 12th century and restored several times since then. Notable are the beautiful medieval mosaics, the Cosmatesque flooring, and the 22 Ionic and Corinthian columns that line the nave, which were brought from the Baths of Caracalla and other sources.

Early Monday morning, I walked over to Palazzo Farnese, but instead of drawing the palazzo, I chose this view of one of the huge granite tubs brought to the square from the Baths of Caracalla in the 16th century. You can see evidence of the raindrops that began falling on the pages and their imprints as I closed my sketchbook.