Rome and Puglia, Italy 2018
Starting off in Rome we watched three days of ATP Tennis at the Italian Open which is held at the Foro Italico venue. This sports center was built between 1928 and 1938 for the 1940 Olympics and was named Foro Mussolini and is a good example of Italian Fascist architecture. It was a terrific venue to watch Rafael Nadal beat Alexander Zverev for the Championship!
While in Rome we enjoyed amazing food (of course!) and visited some sights we had not seen, including a tour of the Vatican Museum at night, Trajan’s Market, St. Maria Spork Minerva Basilica, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo, Saint Ignazio and tour of St. Peter’s and the necropolis under the Basilica.
After leaving Rome, we headed south toward the “heal of Italy’s boot” known as the Puglia area of Italy. This part of Italy has hundreds of miles of coastline on the Adriatic Sea and on the south side into the Mediterranean . There are also 50 to 60 million olive trees in Puglia and the region accounts for 40% of Italy’s olive production. We visited several cities through out the area including; Lecce, Otranto, Ostuni, Matera, Locrondo, Cisterino, San Vito, Monopoli and Savettli.
ATP Rome Masters 1000
ATP Rome Masters 1000
Rome Trajan Market
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City
Palatine Hill above the Roman Forum
Vieste Coast looking south
Cisternino
Dry stone houses called Trulli
Our Trulli Hotel
San Vito
Monopoli
Lecce
Ostuni
Otranto
Matera
Our Hotel Room
