domenica 23 dicembre 2007

Piazza Navona


BUON NATALE & BUON 2008!!!!

Piazza Navona is arguably Rome's greatest square
The spot was originally a stadium built by Emperor Domitian in 86 AD.
Athletes competed here in honor of Jupiter and you can still visit the ruins under street level.

Christmas is the best moment to visit Piazza Navona!!
For the whole of December until the 6th January of the following year, you can purchase the whole range of Roman festive items!
Sweets, candies, chestnuts, sugared apples (la mela stregata!), the famous torrone, liquorice and much more.
The Befana arrives on the 6th January.
This is the day those children who have broken their promises or behaved naughtily receive a present of coal in a stocking, beware even if you are not a child anymore…….!!!!!!!

Look at the video and......Benvenuti al Natale di Piazza Navona!


giovedì 29 novembre 2007

Il Lupercale

The legend is now history.
The most famous place of the myth of the history of Rome, searched for centuries, appeared. The “lupercale”, or the place where the wolf would suck the twins Romulus and Remus, has been founded close to the walls of the Augustus’ home, in a valley at the slopes of the Palatine hill, in a never explored site between the Temple of Apollo and the Church of Santa Anastasia, 16 meters below the ground.

The structure, with a shape like a nymphaeum, seems to be a cave partly natural and partly artificial, about 9 meters high and with a diameter of 7.5 meters.

The micro camera showed a decorated caisson with geometric forms (not figurative) made in mosaic tiles and polychrome marble, further enhanced by rows of white shells and by the white eagle of Augusto placet in the center of the vault.
It seems that, the Emperor Augusto, built up his dwelling in that place to attach his villa to a so highly symbolic place of the history of Rome.

All happened the 21 november 2007

martedì 20 novembre 2007

Piazza Campo dei Fiori


The square of "Campo dei Fiori" in Rome is famous for the episode that saw the philosopher Giordano Bruno burned on the rogo by the catholic Inquisition for the accusation of heresy on February 17th 1600 after Christ.The execution is nowadays remembered by a statue built in 1889 after Christ and placed at the centre of the "Campo dei Fiori" on the initiative of the poet Pietro Cossa and which is the work of the sculptor Ettore Ferrari.
The name of the place, which some people date back to the fact that one of the lovers of the Imperator Pompeo, Flora, would have lived in this area, is more likely to be attributed to the aspect of total abandon that the square, invaded by plants and flowers, had during the 15th century.
Nowadays "Campo dei Fiori", far away from the most famous tourist itineraries, represent one of the place where Rome shows with a greater transparency its most authentic character from the early morning with the open air market coloured by flowers.....
.....up to the deepest night with the entertaining offered by the bars, restaurants and "trattorie" of the area.

giovedì 1 novembre 2007

The criminology museum

Here we are again….did you miss me?!!!

Here in Rome are about the 7 pm and this evening our tv is going to programme my favourite telefilm…CSI, i nourish a real passion toward this kind of telefim and generally for all that is macabre, obscure, mysterious (see my post about the friars... ) for this reason, and inspired by the telefilm that is going to be on air, i decided tonight to lead you to the criminology museum of Rome…..

This exceptional place certainly does not deal with an attractive subject for all, but it offer a fascinating reconstruction of the history of crime that is always interesting!
So, bando alle chiacchiere (i think in English it sounds like…banish the prattle :-/ ), the museum has two different floor:

-the first floor has a section dedicated to the studies of criminal antropology, scientific police, history of prison and birth of judical mental hospital.

Other sections show to visitors various implements used to obtain confessions, as well as instruments of every type of torture or capital punishment. Note the pillary or stocks, the torture chair, the whipping block, the decapitation axe and the sword of justice with which Beatrice Cenci was beheaded in 1599.

-The second floor has a pretty interesting section of finds from Italian prisons from the 1930s to 1990s, evidence of perverse and criminal behaviour, objects belonged to Salvatore Giuliano, Gaspare Pisciotta, Gennaro Cuocolo’s ring and Pupetta Maresca’s guns.


If you think that could be interesting to you visit this obscure place probably you need the address, while if you find this post terrific probably you need a new post so….in the first case take note and in the second wait for my new posts!!!
Around Via Giulia in: Via del Gonfalone
Opening times: Tues-Sat 9am to 1pm
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2.30pm-6.30pm
Entry price 2 euro

mercoledì 17 ottobre 2007

Non un caffè ma il caffè!

A day spent wandering in the city can not ignore what the romans call the… pausa caffè! This is not a common and banal coffee break but a real rite that the Romans love to do, over and over again, during the day. For us, the coffee is no longer just a drink, but an art that reflects a way of life and for this reason has billions of variations… macchiato, corretto, ristretto, lungo, in tazza piccola o grande, al vetro, con la schiuma e senza.....
You have to know, before entering in a bar, that:
-Caffè macchiato: is a cup of coffee with a drop of cold milk
-Caffè corretto: is a cup of coffee with a drop of liquor (generally grappa)
-Caffè ristretto: strong coffee
-Caffè lungo: less strong
-Caffè al vetro: in a little glass cup (the experts say that the taste changes…)
-Caffè decaffeinato: without caffeine
-Caffè espresso: is the one made in the bar
-Caffè moka: is the one you made at home with our cofee machine
This is the right address, for your pausa caffè, when you are wondering near the Vatican:
Castroni via Cola di Rienzo 196 Roma Vatican
We like this place much because it not only offers a really good quality of caffee, but also has an excellent range of international and italian food products as pasta, tea, chocolates, pasta dressing….
A real pleasure... not only for the eyes!

lunedì 1 ottobre 2007

The cannonball of the miracle

Chiesa di San Bartolomeo all'Isola -Isola Tiberina-
In the chapel of the church of Saint Bartholomew upon the Isle, there is a large (14cm diameter) cannonball lodged in the wall where it struck it during the siege of Rome of June 1849. When it hit the building it was full of people , who went miraculously untouched. The cannonball, known for this reason as "of the miracle" was left in the wall as a "memento" of the event.
Miraculous Rome!

martedì 25 settembre 2007

Vecchia Roma

Yesterday Rome from Alinari
When you're in Rome don't miss the apointment with the photos in black & white of the ancient Rome at the art gallery of the Alinari Bros in Via Via Alibert, 16/A. Without a doubt i think this is the best way to get a present of the Eternal City!
Yesterday Rome from Alinari
The Alinari photographs are contact printed from the original glassplate negatives housed in the Historic Archive. This manual technique of reproduction is the same used during the 19th century. The prints are made in black and white or they can be sepia toned and they can be also mounted on wood. These faithful reproductions are printed on special photographic paper and manually created in order to offer a product that is of unique quality and prestige. Is also possible to buy on line but if you're in Rome spend time there.... is not a lost time!
Tempio di Vesta as it looks today

lunedì 24 settembre 2007

The river under the alter

Some people say that Rome has not a big historical center...and i seriously ask my self "which Rome have you ever seen?! not mine sure!". Sometime i think we should have 3 life to know Rome's beauties...one in order to see what is "over" our head, one to see what is "in front" and one to see what is "under". But life is only one so, when you're wandering in this beautiful city don't forget to look over, in front and under all at once! Here is an example:
The church of Saint Clement. Over: the beautiful and restored frescos of Masolino da Panicale and the 12 th cent. mosaics of the apse.
Under: two layer of history. The older church built in the fourth century and dedicated to San Clemente, the third pope after St Peter and underneath it again, the roman buildings which are, themselves, made up of different "strati".
In front: when you look in front of you, at the alter, beware and listen....under the very ancient basilica of Saint Clement there is a small underwater river that has a little waterfall! Onetime they were both visible but in late, for reasons of prudence, they were hidden by a wall through which one can still today distinctly hear the noise of running water.
Don't forget...always over, in front and under!

giovedì 20 settembre 2007

I famosi "canterani" di Piazza Sant'Ignazio

Today, in this posts, i would like to join two of my favourite topics: the love for my city and that one for the furnishings. I didn't believe, until few moments ago, that was possible for me join these two subject, but i was wrong!
Have you ever seen that beautiful furniture characterized by rounded and delicate shape the so called style of "Luigi XIV"? Would you have never thought to find, in the center of Rome,
a district where the building have the same shape of that furniture?! Try to imagine.... giant drawers, four plan high!! And well...Rome astonished me once again....we are in the district called "Pigna", in the square of Sant'Ignazio.
The buildings that look onto the incredibly beautiful square of Sant'Ignazio are the famous “canterani”, thus depreciatively named by Filippo Raguzzini because they were made in the shape of the furniture of that time (1650-1750). Despite early critics they are now much admired.
To have an apartment in one of those "canterani" is today a sign of distinction, but few people can today boast themselves for having a similar fortune!!
Tastes change, what today is ugly will become beautiful tomorrow!

Sacra Rota Romana

Two posts ago talking about the "Rota Porphiretica" an "anonimo"reader gave me the idea for this post. I have to admit, i never known, until today, the reason why the Tribunal of the Holy See is called "Sacra Rota". Is a really serious fault for someone who lives in Rome from the birth! Today i have filled up this gap thanks to a blogger friend! :-)
The Tribunal of the Rota Romana was essentially named as such because the judges, called auditors, originally met in a round room to hear cases (look at the picture).
Thank you very much to all those who want to suggest me ideas to talking about!
WELCOME!

mercoledì 19 settembre 2007

The cathedral … that is not Saint Peter’s

Did you ever ask yourself who has been the first Pope of the history?
Who is the first ring of this long long chain of Popes?
The first was the Apostolo Simone
(later called Pietro, dead in the 69 a.c.).
Inside the Basilica of Saint Peter there is the pontifical throne said to be of him (said to be....!), the first Pope. It is placed in a colossal case that rests against the wall of the apse and was built by Bernini in bronze, marble, stucco work, gold and glass, and is sustained by four saints: St. Ambrose and St. Augustine at the front, and St. Anastasias and St. John Crisosthomus at the back. The composition is so masterful that it must be seen during a holiday in Rome!
Further to careful analyses conducted during restoration carried out by a special commission of experts nominated by Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) in 1968, it turned out that the pontifical seat – known as the Cathedral of Saint Peter – only dates back to the IX century! It is too "recent" to belong to Pietro!

It is probably the Carolingian throne brought to Rome by Carlo il Calvo in 875 when he was crowned in the basilica by Pope Giovanni VIII (872-882).

martedì 18 settembre 2007

The "Coronation Wheel"

A holiday in Rome can be the occasion to discover tucked away corners of the Eternal City. Rome is so rich in things to see, that tourists are often forced to limit themselves to visiting the more celebrated monuments.
Few are those who, having come to Rome for a holiday, notice, in the Basilica of Saint Peter, a great disk in red porphyry, set in the pavement just past the door to the aisle. This is the famous "rota porphyretica" or wheel of coronation, that comes from the old Saint Peter’s, the ancient basilica built by Constantine. It was on this stone that stood the emperors when they were crowned by the popes. On this great wheel, opportunely preserved, knelt the great Carlo Magno, king of the Franks, the eve of Christmas of the year 800 when Pope Leo III (795-816) crowned him "Roman Emperor" (so was he acclaimed by all those present), placing the Imperial Diadem upon his head.

On that same wheel numerous other emperors were also crowned, among them Lotarian I, Ludvic II, Lambert of Spoleto, Berengar, the two Ottonians, Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II.

We apologize but we were unable to find an image of the "rota" on the web, we swear you that, as soon as possible, we’ll take a picture by ourselves and we’ll put it on the blog immediately!

lunedì 3 settembre 2007

La Villa Romana

Many posts ago we talk about the meaning of "Domus" & "Insula" as a typical roman building and as the names for the A Night in Rome apartments, today we're going to talk about.... "Villa", yes because we're going to have another apartment and this is its name!!
Now we have 3 little "babies" to make your holiday an unforgettable esperience! ;-)

The ancient building called "Villa" was built in Rome in the III century B.C. and originally it was the country house of the roman highest social classes. The richest romans, who lived in the Domus when they were in Rome, in their country possessions could have one or both these kinds of buildings: the "Villa Rustica" or the "Villa Urbana".
The first one (Villa Rustica ) was a real country farm while the second (Villa Urbana), which rose near the city, was similar to the Domus building but much more sumptuous. It was used to give romans a quite and relaxing stay near the city.

The Villa rose with a great number of galleries supported by long rows of columns which guaranteed to romans long walks by feet ,in litter, or by horse on bad weather days.
It was equipped with "triclini" for the summertime in a wide open space, and "triclini" for the winter season, in a closet one, rooms for the diurnal rest (the so called "cubicula"), studium rooms, swimming pool to swim (the so called "piscina natatoria") and a bathroom supplied by calidarium, tepidarium and frigidarium as the large public terme. All the building was surrounded by a land, partially cultivated as a hortus and partially adorned with flowers, fountain games, plants and statues as a garden.

A Nihgt in Rome Villa is our small pearl in the center of Rome Testaccio, certainly it has not private gardens with water games and statues but anyway it has its public gardens adorned by plants, threes and games for the babies! ;-)
It also does not have either tiepidarium calidarium or frigidarium or the private swimming pool but is a really wide and bright apartment with two balcony from which you can see the dawn and the sunset, in one of the most beautiful “quartieri de roma” !! Do you want to see the typical and popular roman neighbourhood?! Try Testaccio.....what your ears are going to hear is not the spoken italian but the authentic spoken romanesco!!
We hope to have you as our guests soon!!!
Try the original "romanesco" taste, stay with us!

lunedì 27 agosto 2007

La fontana delle tartarughe



The Tortoise Fountain was strongly wanted by the Duke Antonio Mattei (a member of an important family of the Middle Ages that had hegemony over the entire left bank of the tiber river).
The lengend tells that the Mattei Duke wanted to marry a beautiful and rich girl but her father didn’t want because as he said: "the duke was of noble origin but he was a penniless (uno squattrinato)!"

Look at the picture: the window at the right side of the main door, the small window...
As the Mattei knew it, he decided to show to his father in law what he was able to do in only one night and… realized the Tortoise Fountain in order to say "Ecco cosa e' capace di realizzare in poche ore uno 'squattrinato' Mattei" (here it is what is able to do a penniless mattei in only one night!!). Naturally the wedding was celebrated and, in order to nobody could never show at window (that one from which he saw the fountain for the first time), the mattei’s father in law decided to wall it and........

nowdays it’s still closed ….

giovedì 23 agosto 2007

Il Vittoriano

The main topic of the monument is represented by the inscription engraved on the propilei: "PATRIAE UNITATI" "CIVIUM LIBERTATI"
(from the latin: “to the unity of the native land” “to the freedom of citizens”)


This magnificent monument was devised when Rome became the Capital of Italy in the 1871 as an attitude of gratitude to the man who makes it happen: King Vittorio Emanuele II. At that time was necessary to create a symbol that point out the passage from the Papal State (until 1870 the so called "Papa Re") to a Laic one.

Today we don’t want to spend time talking about the historical aspects of the monument (if you need look here!), we want to suggest you a nice thing to do when you are there…

take the PANORAMIC ELEVATOR!
35 seconds and you'll be on the top of the city!!
Here is what you'll see looking at your right and...
here what you'll see looking at your left!


The entrance to the monument is free but the panoramic elevator costs 7 euro. Is open all days from 10 am to 16 pm (NO on monday) and it has a forced route, look at the image below...

You'll have a great panoramic view on the city, don't miss!

martedì 14 agosto 2007

Rome's Ghetto

Rome's Jewish community claims to be the oldest in the world, as it is known to exist since the late 2nd century BC, when slaves were brought here from Palestine, under roman rule. During the early years and throughout the Middle Ages, the roman Jews had no problems in living side by side with the local Christian population; their main activity was trade. But hard times came during the late Renaissance, when the Church of Rome, following the Protestant schism, gave a sharp turn of the screw against the non-Christian population. The newly elected pope Paul IV decided to enclose the whole Jewish community within a very small enclosed area, and issued strict discriminatory laws.
Detail of the ghetto in a map by G.B.Falda (1676), featuring the three early gates (in red), the ones opened by Sixtus V (in blue) the Porch of Octavia (1st arrow) and the church of St.Gregory (2nd arrow on the right);a further gate was built in the 1800s on the spot marked with the 3rd arrow below

The neighborhood, known as the ghetto, comprised the few narrow streets located between piazza Giudea (no longer there) by the church of Santa Maria del Pianto, the remains of the Porch of Octavia and the river bank by the Tiber Island. Following Paul IV's bull entitled Cum nimis absurdum (literally "when too much is absurd", actually "when enough is enough"), issued in 1555, the 3,000 members of the community were forced to live within the ghetto's boundary, originally called 'the Jews' enclosure', whose total surface was about 8 acres. The dwellers were allowed to leave this neighborhood only during daytime, while from dusk till dawn the entrances to the district were closed by huge doors, watched over by guards, whose wages the same community had to pay for. Originally the gates were three, but only a few decades later, when pope Sixtus V had the ghetto slightly enlarged towards the river, their number rose to five. Neither the gates nor their doors exist any longer, but old maps still feature them quite clearly. Those who were left outside after the closing time were to face the implacable papal law court. Outside the ghetto all Jewish men had to wear a piece of yellow cloth on their hat, while women had to wear a yellow veil, or a scarf of the same colour, so to be easily recognized.
They could not own any property, the houses where they lived belonged to non-Jews, who rented them to members of the community and the only job they could live on was to sell rags.
On Saturdays, the adult members of the community had to attend the so-called compulsory preaches, sermons whose purpose was to convert them to the Christian religion; only within the ghetto's boundary, the Jews were allowed to follow their own religion.
Besides the discriminations, the ghetto's dwellers had to endure several humiliating traditions and rituals. For instance, during the celebrations for Rome's Carnival, usually held in February, a number of elderly Jews was forced to race along the central high street, while the crowd mocked them, and threw all sorts of trash; this custom was later turned into a horse race.

Nowdays the ghetto's gates no longer exist, but the hinges of one door (far left) are still visible in via della Reginella

Only in 1870, when the papal rule over Rome came to an end, the doors of the hideous enclosure were finally opened. The roman Jews were then let free to leave this area, and were given once again the same civil rights as the Christian citizens. A few restaurants in the neighborhood keep alive Jewish-roman cooking, a very old tradition which blends typical Jewish dishes with roman ones, such as the famous fried artichokes. The so-called "fagottari", patrons who used to carry their own food in a bundle (fagotto), thus ordering only wine, are no longer seen, as this custom has died out (since the moment that a tradition never dies totally......you can still today carry your own food and ordering wine in some wine cellars in Frascati).

Old houses in via di Sant'Ambrogio: the streetwas annexed to the ghetto around 1830

By the turn of the 20th century, not long after the ghetto had been opened, some of the original houses of the district were taken down, the streets were enlarged, and new buildings rose. But the surviving lanes of this neighborhood, a silent nook embedded in the heart of bustling Rome, have maintained their magical atmosphere, a very particular blend of history, architecture and tradition (too see photos look here).

Via del Portico d'Ottavia on one side still hasa row of ancient houses (15th-16th centuries)

Take time to visit the Ghetto & eat kosher is a really nice experience to have!
OPS...don't forget to try the most appreciated pastry called "Il Forno del Ghetto"!

lunedì 13 agosto 2007

La Meridiana di Augusto

Approximately seven meters under the street level in Via del Campo Marzio 48, under ten centimeters of limpid water illuminated by appropriate lamps, appears a great slabs of “travertino” marble on which, in horizontal and vertical bronze lists, like parallels and meridians, are reproduced the zodiac signs of the constellations of the Ram, the Taurus, the Lion and the Vergine. Draft of a “slice” of the great solar clock (a sundial), realize from the Emperor Augusto in the 10 a.C. that extended itself in a wide zone of the Campo Marzio (included between Via della Lupa and the public square of S. Lorenzo in Lucina).
Piazza Montecitorio
The great obelisk, that you can now see in Piazza Montecitorio, served as “gnomone” (the part of the sundial which showed its shadow on the the face indicating hour, day and month).
In the past, every year during the sunset of the 23 september (in the day and at the hour of the Emperor Augusto’s birthday) the sundial projected a shadow on the “Ara Pacis”, as a homage to the Emperor of the peace. The great and magnificent “clock” worked for approximately 50 years then it was ruined by earthquakes and by the alluviums of the Tiber river which, in those circumstances, deposited wide layers of mire on the wide slabs of the clock-calendar.
Ara Pacis

venerdì 10 agosto 2007

Domus Romana

Here we are again with the 2nd part of our yesterday post about the Domus and the Insula.
A domus was the form of house that wealthy families owned in ancient Rome (the middle classes and the poor were housed in crowded apartment blocks, known as insule, while the country houses of the rich were known as villas). The domus included multiple rooms, and an indoor courtyard: the atrium, which was the focal point of the domus, off which were cubicula (bedrooms), an altar to the household gods, a triclinium where guests could lie on couches and eat dinner whilst reclining, and a tablinum (living room or study) and celle (shops on the outside, facing the street).
Glass windows weren't readily available: glass production was in its infancy, and the cost would have been prohibitive, but this exterior blankness did give the occupiers the advantage of protecting themselves from outside noise, intruders, and the elements. Homeowners tended to view their exterior walls as public property, and they quickly became filled with political graffiti. Wealthy homeowners often rented out the two front rooms of their homes to merchants if they lived on busy streets. Thus a wealthy Roman citizen lived in a large house separated into two parts, and linked together through the tablinum or study or by a small passageway.
The house would not face the streets to protect the family from burglars. Because of this, the entrance to the house was directly on the street, providing more room for living spaces and gardens behind. The atrium was the most important part of the house, where guests and dependents (clientes) were greeted. The atrium was open in the centre, surrounded at least in part by high-ceilinged porticoes that often contained only sparse furnishings to give the effect of a large space. In the center was a square roof opening called the compluvium in which rainwater could come, draining inwards from the slanted tiled roof. Directly below the compluvium was the impluvium, a shallow rectangular pool to gather rainwater, which drained into an underground cistern. The impluvium was often lined with marble, and around which usually was a floor of small mosaic.
The back part of the house was centred around the peristyle much as the front centred on the atrium. The peristylium was a small garden often surrounded by a columned passage, the model of the medieval cloister. Surrounding the peristyle were the bathrooms, kitchen and summer triclinium. The kitchen was usually a very small room with a small masonry counter wood-burning stove. The wealthy had a slave who worked as a cook and spent nearly all his or her time in the kitchen. During a hot summer day the family ate their meals in the summer triclinium to stave off the heat. Most of the light came from the compluvium and the open peristylium. There were no clearly defined separate spaces for slaves or for women. Slaves were ubiquitous in a Roman household and slept outside their masters' doors at night; women used the atrium and other spaces to work once the men had left for the forum.
Welcome to our Domus!

giovedì 9 agosto 2007

Insula Romana

Today i want to explain you the reason why I’ve chosen, for A Night in Rome Apartments, the name of “Domus” and “Insula”.
Do you know who has invented the modern “condominio” (the building with more plans) ?
The Romans, obviously!
They were the first civilisation to utilise flats and apartments. Let’s see how…
In Roman architecture, insulae (derived from the Latin for islands) were large apartment buildings where the lower and middle classes of Romans (la “plebe”) dwelled. They were called so because of the way they looked from a bird's eye view. It would appear these buildings were spaced out like islands (hence the name), while being surrounded by road. The urbanization of the larger Roman cities caused a great demand for housing which was within a comparable vicinity of the city center and real estate was therefore at a premium.
Insula Romana a Piazza dell'Ara Coeli (Piazza Venezia)
As such, private houses were a luxury which only the wealthy could afford. This led to a majority of the inhabitants of the inner city living in apartment and tenement housing called insulae. The floor at ground level was used for tavernas, shops and businesses with living space on the higher floors. These houses were often constructed at minimal expenses for speculative purposes and for this reanson they dindn’t have running water or sanitation. The insulae were therefore of poor construction and prone to fire and collapse, as described by Juvenal.

Because of the inherent unsafety and extra flights of stairs, the uppermost floors were the least desirable, and thus the cheapest to rent. The insulae could be up to six or seven stories high (some were even 8 or 9 stories high- these very tall buildings were being built before the height restrictions). A single insula could accommodate over 40 people in only 400 square meters (4305 sq. feet), however the entire structure usually had about 6 to 7 apartments, each had about 200 square meters (2152 sq. feet). Because of the dangers of fire and collapse, the height of the insulae were restricted by Emperor Augustus to 70 Roman feet (20.7 m), and again by Emperor Nero down to 60 Roman feet (17.75m) after the Great Fire of Rome. There may have been up to 50,000 insulae, as compared to only 2000 domus in the late 200 A.D, when the city was in decline, and the population was smaller.

We have to say...our Insula apartment is decidedly better !! ;-)