This is a 3D-printed study model — a stack of topographic lines standing in for a Roman portrait head. It's part of Palazzo Marignoli's restoration archive for Marcus Aurelius's bronze equestrian monument, the one still on its plinth at the Capitoline two thousand years later. An insurance company funded the research. Even emperors, it turns out, need good underwriting. RR
Via Piccolomini is an ordinary street, about 300 meters long, near Villa Doria Pamphilj. St. Peter's dome does something odd from it. Walk toward it and it moves away. Step back and it grows. The dome was finished in 1590 and still likes a prank. RR
Della Palma says it has 150 flavors. I can only vouch for the chocolate section, which takes up half the counter: Nutella, Rocher, orange, strawberry, and a Dubai chocolate, because the internet got in here too. Choosing takes longer than eating. RR
Leila has wheels, a pink nameplate and two escorts. Nobody is in a hurry; the dog sets the pace. Rome treats its dogs the way it treats its children: waved through, fussed over, and handed the whole street. Hers is the only vehicle on this road with its name on
The Swiss Guard arrived in 1506: 150 mercenaries hired by Pope Julius II because Swiss soldiers were considered among the best in Europe. The striped uniform is often credited to Michelangelo, but that's a myth. It dates to the early 1900s, in the colors of the Della Rovere