Roma parte due (Rome Part Two)

So this post will be a little bit more brief than originally intended, because literally right before I posted the finished product, Blogger ate it. From much frantic googling apparently there is no way to restore it. So glad I stayed up late the other night to get it finished! Argh.

Picking up from where Justin left off, we headed to the Spanish Steps. This is a famous staircase which connects two main plazas, and it is normally filled with flower stalls and people. It's being renovated right now (as someone wrote online about another landmark: 'The favourite pastime of the Roman people: renovations during high tourist season!') but this let us appreciate the size and scope of the steps. This staircase was made famous in the movie Roman Holiday (with Audrey Hepburn), as well as tons of other movies, shows and songs.

At the bottom of the Steps is this fountain, which is called La Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Ugly Boat). The English poet John Keats, who died at 25 from tuberculosis (more on in him later) spent the last few weeks of his life in the building to the right of the stairs in the picture above, and was supposedly lulled to sleep by the sound of this fountain. He asked for his gravestone not to have his name on it, so his epitaph refers to the fountain by saying 'here lies one whose name was writ in water.'

And, like all fountains in Rome, this one has potable water! We had a few goes at this fountain to fill the bottles, drink them, and refill. It's a miracle we didn't get heatstroke in Rome with the heat and sun bouncing off all of the stone!

Another fountain that is a bit more celebrated than the poor Fountain of the Ugly Boat is the famous Trevi Fountain. This is in a main square and is surrounded day and night. It was being refurbished for the last few years, so I was really excited that the scaffolding came down a few months before we arrived! The Trevi Fountain was built in the 1700s and took almost 30 years to complete. It is the end point of one of the main aqueducts (the Aqua Virgo) which supplied water to Rome for more than 400 years from a source 15 km outside the city. I'll let Justin geek out about the aqueducts later on.  Back to the pretty fountain!

One of the superstitions around this fountain is that if you walk up to it, turn around and throw a coin over your shoulder into the water, you can be assured you'll return to Rome. Although it was crazy busy as usual there, we both managed it without beaning some unfortunate stranger in the face!

Doesn't mean I was also able to get a good picture of it!

We also came back at night - it's even prettier when lit up!

Between these fountains are a couple of neat churches that we visited (as usual, pulling my scarf over my shoulders and sweating profusely for a few minutes). One had a courtyard that really gave me nostalgic feelings for rock climbing and bouldering!

 

Next up was Trajan's Column, a huge monument to the 5-year-long war between Rome and Dacia (I'll let you guess who won that one). It is 30 meters tall, and the carvings are one continuous frieze with scenes from the war wrapping around the column.

Near the column is the Pantheon. This church was completed in the 100's AD by our good buddy Emperor Hadrian (he of the Wall in the northern parts of England, and the arch in Athens) and has some pretty interesting specs. The interior is circular, which is obvious when you walk in, but the diameter of the circle and the height to the top of the roof are exactly the same at 43.3m, meaning you could fit a perfect sphere inside. It is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world (a 1900 year record!) and to help it stay up, they used concrete with materials that became lighter as you rise in the dome (travertine more than 6m thick at the bottom, terra cotta in the middle, pumice stone less than 1.5m thick near the top). At the very top is the oculus, which is a circular window that is open all day, every day, and is the main source of light inside. It is still an active church and you can go to service and even get married there.

As the sun moves through the sky, the light beam from the oculus moves across the floor and up the wall. It also lets in birds - we saw a bird flying continuously around and around in a circle, about 10 meters below the oculus, because there was nowhere to land and it couldn't fly vertically enough to get out. It was very dramatic and a bunch of us were standing watching and wondering what to do. After a while the bird tired and kept flying lower and lower until it found a place it could perch, just above the false windows in the picture below. Yay!

If you're having trouble picturing the Pantheon (it's pretty hard to photograph without a fisheye lens), I made quick video by turning in place at the centre of the dome, seen here.

After the Pantheon we did a little window shopping and found some nice things! From beautiful pasta....

...to very expensive balsamic vinegar...

 ...to slightly less beautiful pasta!

Direct quote from our resident Italian friend when we sent him this picture. "Ah yes...i cazzi (the cocks). I think they make one of boobs too." Such a cultured people! Thanks Lenny!

These guys were everywhere, making rapid spray paint art within 10 minutes. They used the same stencils and many of the same tricks, and it was interesting to think about them going to 'street art school.' We saw one doing what looked like an 'internship', moving a bit slower and with less panache, while a more experienced painter looked on. More detail later on!

Another famous square is the Piazza Navonna, home to the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers). It's meant to represent the four largest rivers of the four continents that the Roman pope controlled - the Nile (Africa), Danube (Europe), Ganges (Asia), and the Rio de la Plate (Americas). It's also the fountain that the one cardinal was thrown into in Angels and Demons (spoiler alert for seven-year-old movie!), which we watched on the flight to Rome. It's also full of neat restaurants, painters, and dancers. It was stunningly beautiful as the sun set.

 

Once the sun set, we headed to a patio for dinner. We chose Da Pancrazio, whose claim to fame is that it is built on the ruins of the Theatre of Pompey, where Julius Caesar was murdered (Et tu, Brute? and all that). The food was really good, we were no longer at risk of heatstroke, and there were musicians playing in the square. We also saw their cellar dining room, which was very cool. 

Sweaty but happy!

Over dinner we decided we wanted one of the spray paint art pieces for ourselves, so we then headed out to find our painter. This gentleman was fantastic - I don't think we ever heard him make a sound, but he would have been at home in any flare bartending competition, and he certainly knew how to work a crowd. Justin and I have been watching a lot of Bob Ross videos on YouTube lately (you're welcome/sorry!) and this was similar in that 'oh no, you ruined it... holy crap, that looks amazing!' kind of way.

Can't quite figure out how this art was made? Check out this awesome video (not mine) here! Our guy had music going as well, and it was quite a performance! I can't wait to hang this on the wall at home, and remember the hot summer night in Rome that we watched it being created for us. Cool souvenir!

After a much-needed sleep (and some Tylenol to counteract the 25,000 steps the day before), we got up to enjoy another 40 degree day. In Rome, AirBNB's aren't allowed to serve food, so they gave us vouchers each day for a cafe. We ate breakfast as the locals do - standing up at the counter, enjoying our cafe freddo (iced latte) and croissant before heading out.

Our bus stop was right beside this old city wall! What a picturesque commute! The bus was a way better choice than the subway (more on that later) and you get some pretty awesome views as you drive around.

Our first quick stop was to the Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth), which supposedly bites off the hand of anyone who tells a lie with their hand it its mouth, making it a sort of ancient lie detector. It was made famous in Roman Holiday (note to self - apparently we should have watched Roman Holiday before the trip?). We didn't feel like waiting in what looked like a 30 minute line, so I snagged this picture through the fence and we moved on!

Our walk took us through some beautiful neighbourhoods on our way across the Tiber river to Trastevere, which was a medieval working-class area and housed the Jewish Ghetto (it's interesting to me how many Jewish Ghettos there have been in these old cities, seeing as we don't have any at home).

The parking space is to the left of this picture - the driver absolutely cannot see this sign. Seems pretty sneaky!

This picture below is of the Fontana di Piazza Santa Maria (Fountain of Saint Mary's Square). It's the oldest fountain in Rome and dates back to the 8th century. Imagine having a centralized, decorative source of free drinking water in the 8th century? Roman engineering was pretty amazing!

This is a picture of the River Tiber. Mom had asked me if I was bringing my bathing suit. Glad I didn't!!

We visited another Franciscan monastary and saw the order's logo, which we had learned about at the Capuchin Crypt. The naked arm is supposed to be that of Jesus, and usually you can see a nail in the palm. The arm in the sleeve represents Saint Francis, and his hand bears a stigmata mark, which the saint was said to have. Saint Francis of Assisi founded his order of monks, is the inspiration for the current Pope's name, and is the patron saint of animals and ecology. I remember my grandma had a statue of him in the garden at the cottage, with a birdbath for little songbirds.

Our biggest mistake of the trip concerns our next stop. Every guidebook is clear that you should visit the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill early in the day, as there is little shade and it can get blazing hot. But we were smarter than that and thought 'aha! If everyone else goes at the start of the day, we can go midday when it's quiet!'.

Dummies.

I've never been so hot in my life - we basically walked from water fountain to water fountain, repeatedly filling the bottles and trying to cool ourselves off. I barely even enjoyed what we were seeing, which is a shame because of all the cool history. So if you go there yourselves, don't go midday, okay?

Palatine Hill is the most centrally located of the ancient 'Seven Hills of Rome', and the site of human occupation since the 10th century BC! If you don't know the foundation myth of Rome, a very brief explanation follows: Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of the leader of their people. Their father was killed by a usurper and he left the babies out in the elements to dispose of them. They were nursed by a female wolf, then taken in by shepherds and raised into adults. They overthrew the usurper and decided to found a city. They argued over where it should be located, and for some reason Romulus ended up murdering his twin brother. He then founded Rome and named it after himself.

Here are the twins suckling from the she-wolf. SPQR stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus, translated as The Roman Senate and People.

The site is full of ruins of old mansions, gardens, and even a possible racetrack. The first picture is of a high-density area where they think shopkeepers lived above their businesses!

Justin taking engineering credit for an aqueduct. Much more on those from him later!

Someone thought that adding modern art to these ruins would be a good idea. I really hated all of them but this one, hidden away in a dark room.

Am I the only one who enjoys badly translated directions? Personal favourites: It is forbidden to 'go every barrier beyond' or 'engage in any kind of business'

As you walk up Palatine Hill, you get a great view downwards into the Roman Forum, which are the remains of many important temples and political buildings from the time of the Caesars of Rome. Julius Caesar is buried here, and there are other buildings you've heard of, like the Temple of Vestal Virgins. The big structure to the right in the picture below is the Basilica of Maxentius, which was the largest building there. The central halls had 40 meter high ceilings and it was built in the 300s AD. It's just basically the wall with the entrance arches now, but there are still events held here. Just like the Odeon on the slopes of the Acropolis in Athens, can you imagine seeing your favourite band here?



[Travel Tip: Seeing the three major archeological sites in the centre of Rome (Palatine Hill, Forum, Colosseum) in that order seems to be the best idea. You skip the ticket lineup at the Colosseum which can be hours long because all sites are on one ticket, and you have a great view of the Forum as you walk down the hill. Just be sure to take lots of water and maybe an umbrella. In a pinch, the old wives tale about submerging your wrists in cold water seems to help!]

Also, holy thunderheads Batman! We got no rain - probably the only time I've ever wished for rain on holiday

What's that there? You'll have to wait for the next post!