November 11
We have arrived and are settling down in our Trastevere apartment. Two rooms – living room / kitchenette and bedroom and of course bathroom. Sparse but adequate and our nice landlord lives upstairs. He is a German with an Italian wife.
We took his advice for a low key lunch place, small and inexpensive. Hostaria da Corrado. It was all locals, I think, and bustling with workers. After that, it was time to buy groceries. We went to a mini supermarket because the small stores close for several hours midday. Then we had coffee at home using one of those coffee pots that you heat on the stove – the kind Joyce used. Richard was able to figure it out!
We went for another walk and bought ready cooked artichoke hearts from a deli. It’s the season. And we went into a church that has a display of dresses for their statue of Mary. Very Fellini-esque!
We also discovered small crafts shops (carpentry, dressmakers) and art galleries plus heaps of bars and restaurants.
I think we are going to enjoy our stay here!
November 12
A lazy day – a late start today after getting up at 6:30 most days on the ship – and then a wander across Fabricio bridge and a small island in the Tiber and into the old Jewish Ghetto. We used Rick Steves’ guide.
Some interesting points – it was settled in 1555 on land prone to flooding because of the pope – the Jews were forcibly moved.
Then when Italy was unified in 1870 and there was a secular government, the Jewish people were given full rights and were free to move elsewhere.
Still a Jewish area though with a school, synagogue, restaurants, and foods.
We had lunch at a kosher “style” restaurant- milk and meat were in separate parts of the menu – and had Jewish style artichoke starters. Very good. Deep fried but not breaded, and sort of like those blooming onions. Evidently Anthony Bourdain says this restaurant, Nonna Betta, does it best! We also had pasta. Very good too.
We also saw the same type of “stumbling stones” that we saw in Berlin – brass plaques set into the pavement engraved with the names of Jewish people and their arrest and death dates. Shocking that many died so far away in Auschwitz.
We also spent some time visiting a Roman archaeological zone, Portico d’Ottavia that included part of temples and a theatre.
And then a wander back with a stop for gelato in spite of the cool day!
Btw, about the noise – it is only obvious in our living room / kitchen and it comes from the street. We are in a very lively area. There are two doors between this sitting room and our bedroom so it is quiet in bed. Good thing!
November 13
We walked to and along the Appian Way – a total of 14.8 kms according to my iPhone.
Saw a pyramid tomb from 1st century BC – evidently Egyptian style was popular! And we walked along the Roman walls and past the baths of Caracalla. Huge site. We opted not to go in and save our strength for the Appian Way.
We saw the Quo Vadis church where Jesus is said to have appeared to Peter. Where are you going? Quo vadis? And Jesus said, to Rome. To be crucified again. An early chapel (9th C and rebuilt in the 17th). There are some footprints supposed to belong to Jesus.
We were going to visit the catacombs of St Calista but it closes for two hours for lunch (12-2). We ate our emergency energy bars and drank our bottled water on a bench in the grounds.
Lots of ruins and the highlight for me, stretches of the original Roman stone roads. We also saw the ruins of the villa of Maxentius and the chariot race track – Circo Massenzio.
Last we saw the ongoing excavations at Capo di Bove where they have uncovered part of the bath complex from a large villa. A couple of mosaic floors and the hypocaust – where the underfloor heating ran.
We took the city bus back to just across the river from Trastevere and walked back past two temples and the fountain of the tritons, the temple of Portunus, god of keys, doors, livestock and granaries. It looked over the river and watched over the cattle barges from Ostia. The final one in the group is the temple of Hercules. (Millennium celebration renovation).
Stopped for fresh milk, bread and two tiny nutty bars. Three different shops!
Some tips – buy bus tickets ahead of time. We had bought some last night at a tobacco shop. There was no place to buy where we got on the bus coming back today.
Download offline maps on some device with GPS. Richard uses OsmAnd Maps on his Blackberry and iPad. I use CityMaps2Go.
Supper tonight in a frenetic genuine Trastevere pizzeria, Pizzeria ai Marmi. Tables jammed together, hurrying waiters, bright lights, hot flaming pizza oven. Richard’s was capricioso – air dried meat, lots of mushrooms, hard boiled egg and a piece of artichoke. Mine was ortolano (vegetarian)- eggplant, red peppers, zucchini, tomato, cheese, and raw lettuce.
We got gelato on the way home – very small container to share.
November 14
Today we did a load of laundry at the laundromat a couple of streets away. The streets are so narrow, twisty, and require doubling back on occasion that “a couple of streets” is not really a good description. It is through a square and a small square and several alleyways – about 5 minutes away! There was a guy in charge who did your laundry for an added fee and he helped navigate the central payment console. Richard tootled off to do our small grocery shop while I minded our laundry.
Then lunch at our apartment (and put most of the clothes on the folding clothes dryer. James and Joyce, remember Lucignana?!)
Then we walked from the apartment, across the Tiber, via the teatro of Marcellus (ancient ruin) to the Capitoline Museums which was open until 7:30pm. Tons of gems there – the boy with the thorn in his foot, the dying Gaul, the real statue of Romulus and Remus and the she-wolf, the real equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius (copies of these last two outside in the plaza), and chunks of a giant statue of Constantine. This lady was interesting because we saw a special exhibit about this statue while in Amsterdam last year. And much more!
We took a coffee break partway through our visit and viewed the city from the rooftop terrace in the cafeteria. On our way to the second building via an underground tunnel, we took a detour for a view of the Roman Forum. It gets dark early here but some great pillars were lit up.
Walked back home – about 20 minutes and enjoying a glass of red wine from the slopes of Etna – bought on our winery tour on the cruise!
November 15
Today we visited St Maria Maggiore church. One of the most important churches in Rome and retaining an older layout and some mosaics. The best was the one over the altar – photo attached. One guidebook suggested bringing binoculars. Good idea or a camera with a zoom lense!
We ate outdoors – with our coats on though. Good food but a trifle pricier than we have been paying.
We also visited the National Museum of Rome. It features wall paintings from about 200BC – 200AD. A hundred years or so after the date of the Pompeii eruption. It also has some great sculptures, some of which are fine copies of famous Greek works. The ancient Romans like Hadrian liked Greek art so got artists to copy them.
The garden room of Livia’s villa at the National Museum of Rome (Palazzo Massimo) has frescoes from a house owned by Augustus’s wife. The “garden” goes all the way around the room.
We had walked to these two sites via the Victor Emmanuel monument and Trajan’s Column and “his” market – the ruins of it, at least. The column celebrates his success in the Dacian wars.
We braved the rush hour buses instead of walking back. We jumped off when we got within a reasonable walking distance – near the Theatre of Marcello. We walked back across the little Tiber island. It is neat to be so aware of the river. We haven’t been on previous trips to Rome.
Supper at home – we have been enjoying wonderful soft mozzarella and cooked vegetables from a deli. And wine!
November 16
A low key day close to home. But that’s the benefit of having more time in the city!
First we visited the Basilica of Santa Maria, Trastevere, one of Rome’s oldest church sites. Our guidebook says the building stands where early Christians worshipped illegally in a home until the year 313 – this makes sense because this area across the river was settled by foreigners.
A church was built here in the fourth century and was probably the first church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Of course it’s been rebuilt over the years but that was in the 12th century! The portico is covered with ancient stone fragments some from the early church. Inside there are granite columns from earlier Roman buildings (pagan!) and some fine mosaics from the eighth to tenth century. See photo.
We decided to have a bite of lunch before we left the restaurant area of Trastevere. We decided to have pizza slices from the bakery, Renella – sold by weight and they were delicious. We perched on stools to gobble them. Cheap – 5 euros total!
We took the #115 bus up Gianicolo Hill to Piazalle Giuseppe Garibaldi where there was a statue to Garibaldi and his heroes. Evidently an important battle was fought here in 1849 against the French. There is a large Italian independence war memorial. And there is a tremendous view over the city. We could easily spot the Victor Emmanuel monument and less easily, the Pantheon.
Before walking down, we went to see a city gate in the Aurelian walls. (Built between 271-275 AD).
We also saw an ornamental fountain in Baroque style (Acqua Paola) that, like the Trevi fountain, commemorates the restoration of an aqueduct that brought water to the city. It also has some columns from the original St. Peter’s Basilica. (More early recycling!)
We visited a small beautiful chapel (tempietto) in a courtyard. Supposed to be a Renaissance jewel, designed by Bramante and is lovely. It is owned by the Spanish embassy (attached) and is part of an art school for Spanish students. The small dome influenced design of St. Peter’s. Next door was an even more ancient church – San Pietro in Montorio.
On our way back, we stopped for gelato at a small gelateria chain, Fatamorgana, known for pushing the envelope on flavours. Richard made the best choices – especially the pecorino sardo (salty cheese!) with chestnuts, honey and orange peel. We’ll go back!
November 17
A short report today. We walked over the bridges and Tiber Island to a City of Rome history museum, Crypta Balbi. Free with our ticket from the other city museum (thank goodness!). Lots of pots. Most interesting was the description of modern archaeology. Richard was more interested than me! Btw, crypta means a building attached to a theatre. Lots of theatres in the Roman era.
Today we saw all the usual suspects! Campo de Fiori and its market, the Pantheon, the Piazza Navona and the fountain of the four rivers (Bernini), Marcus Aurelius’s column, the Parliament, and the cleaned up Trevi fountain. We also visited a grand arcade style shopping centre and a large bookstore.
We ate lunch at a chain restaurant (L’Insalata Ricca) that specializes in salads – about 30 kinds! And later shared a gelato from Giolitti’s).
Everywhere you go, you see interesting buildings and churches. A lovely quiet garden / cloister behind a church dedicated to St Mark and we went into another that, since the time of James Francis Edward Stuart (heads up, Outlander fans), has been in the forefront of trying to convert the English!
November 18
We went for a walk today to a more residential area, Testaccio. We visited the new market building and had coffee. Some good looking produce including the zucchini flowers (they deep fry them.)
We passed a hill made from broken oil pots – really! It’s now a park. Monte Testaceo is made from fragments of broken amphora. They think there are 59 million amphorae in a circumference of a km. It started to be built up in the 1stC BC. They sprinkled it with lime to stop it smelling. Most of them were 70 litre vessels from Spain – brought into the port on the Tiber (aka in Italian Tevere) right there.
Lunch today at Volpetti was a vegetable buffet – 8 euros each. Very tasty with a glass of wine and crusty bread. Thanks, Rick Steves!
We visited a Benedictine church (liturgical college) and visited a few parks with belvederes – lookouts featuring a view of St Peter’s. We also peeped through the Aventine keyhole – in the Knights of Malta building. You can see St Peter’s! (Didn’t succeed in taking a photo with my iPhone but did with my camera )
And back past the Circus Maximus and the Mouth of Truth. Put your hand in to show you are not a liar!
November 19
The other day we decided to visit Nero’s mansion – an ongoing archaeological site only open weekends (we booked online for a English language tour for today.) The tours partially fund the work.
We took the tram to the site across from the Colosseum. Domus Aurea is huge, only partially excavated, and they are still trying to solve some of the conservation issues. Just this week, they managed to remove a huge destructive tree above. Our guide who was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the project, explained they had to balance the weight of the tree with some infill so the entire structure didn’t change shape when they removed it.
Nero took the private land for his house after the big fire destroyed the neighbourhood. And so after he died, they tried to demolish the building because he was so hated. Instead the government built the Coliseum on part of it – on the lake, and a couple of large public bath complexes. This was a popular move because the building site then became something for everyone.
A few interesting points – Renaissance artists like Michelangelo and Raphael had visited the site and were influenced by the ceiling paintings and other architectural details.
There is an octagonal room with an oculus (the hole in the centre of the dome like the Pantheon), and slaves used to sprinkle perfumes down on the guests. This building pre-dates the Pantheon by about a century.
We enjoyed this visit and recommend it especially if you want to see the “real thing”!
We had a very late lunch after the tour at I Clementini and then decided to see another of the great Roman basilicas – St John Lateran (Giovanni Laterno). A bonus – the largest Egyptian column in the adjacent square – it came from Karnak- the largest standing ancient Egyptian obelisk in the world, and it is also the tallest obelisk in Italy, weighing 455 tons.
As we saw at other basilicas, we had to go through security – a luggage and personal scanner is set up in a tent outside. The church is huge and features oversize statues of the apostles and a lovely golden mosaic. We also saw a group of priests in white vestments going into a side chapel for mass – one wore a mitre, the style of hat worn by the Pope, cardinals and bishops.
It was getting dark but we decided to see Porto Maggiore, the largest gate in the Aurelian wall. And to see a baker’s burial marker – huge thing! Evidently he made a bundle selling bread to the government (at some points, they distributed it freely). Team back to Trastevere.
Some of you wondered about costs. It costs about 8-10 euros for major sites but many, like the churches are free. Bus / tram / metro tickets are 1.50 euros. You can get a pass but it doesn’t make sense for us.
Meals can be pricey but since we have a fridge and stove etc, we can eat a meal at home. We ate lunch today at a restaurant about 5 minutes or so walk from where we were near the Colosseum, sharing a 9 euro plate of delicate deep fried antipasti and each of us had pasta primo (first course size) – 10-12 euros Wine was pricey – we got the cheapest – 4.50 each for a glass of wine. The food and service was very good. They expect you to have at least two courses – starter and pasta or pasta and dessert. Desserts are pricey – 5-8 euros. Sharing perfectly acceptable!
And on our walk to see the gate, we stopped for toilets and a quick coffee. We each had caffe macchiato- small espresso with a tiny dollop of milk – standing at the bar, it was 80 euro cents per person. And they give you a glass of bubbly water for free! Sitting at a table costs more. We tend to save coffee for breaks rather than have them after a meal. And of course the more touristy the area, the more things cost. I did read though that there are government guidelines for coffees taken standing at the bar.
Of course, we could spend much much more. We use guide books and we found the lunch place through my mapping program – they have FourSquare info. (The other places we were aiming for had big queues! They probably read Rick Steves too!)
Just finished our laundry at the laundromat a few minutes walk from home. That costs 3.80 (euros!) for a small load of 8 KG and 2 euros per 15 minutes of drying. Last time, though!
November 20
Grocery shop and then a stroll along the Tiber in 20C weather! The river is full after overnight rain. We walked as far as Castel St Angelo and crossed the old Roman bridge.
Castel St Angelo was originally built by Hadrian as his own tomb. The bridge was built for a triumphal procession to the tomb. Years later, a miracle – St Michael appeared – and it became a Catholic fortress.
November 21
Richard’s brother Chris and his wife Anne met us at our apartment after breakfast and we walked to the area around the Colosseum past various archaeological relics to the church of St Peter in Chains. Two highlights – the statue of Moses by Michelangelo and chains supposed to have been used on St Peter.
Moses is seated – a massive muscular figure that standing would have been as tall as his statue of David. As often is the case in churches, the statue is positioned against a wall and you can’t walk around it, alas.
The chains are encased in a gold box. There is a story about two chains – one from Asia Minor and one from Rome being joined automatically when reunited.
Churches are closed for about three hours over lunch so we had pizza and salad – sitting outside! – and then walked to an old park past an aqueduct to while away the time.
The church of St Clement is very interesting and worth seeing if you are near the Coliseum area. There is the “new” basilica with an early mosaic design over the altar with sheep all around the bottom. And a chapel dedicated to St Catherine with art depicting her life and death on the wheel.
Down below there are three other earlier structures- a fourth century church with a lot of wall art, first century temple of Mithras (pagan) but used as a church later and an early house that may have been used by Christians. It was dark, mysterious, confusing, and damp – you could hear the underground river and in two places in the Roman house, see and hear rushing springs. Layers upon layers of history! No photos allowed though I sneaked an iPhone picture upstairs!
We took the tram back to Trastevere and will meet Chris and Anne in an hour or so for dinner. Time to video chat with our grandson P who turns 12 today! We ate for the first of two visits to Buff restaurant with some of their own products from Calabria. Delicious!
Tomorrow we plan to (re-)visit Ostia Antica. We did see it quite some years ago with James and Joyce but evidently more has been excavated.
November 22
On the commuter train to Ostia, the ruins of a sea port. We took a tram from Trastevere to Piramide Metro / train station where we boarded the train to Ostia. A 30 minute ride. Ostia is in the right zone for a single Rome transit ticket. Just €1.50 for the whole trip one way. (The cruise port and the airport aren’t.)
Later
Ostia Antica is a huge place with a theatre, tavern, mills (ingenious grinding stones for flour – photo of Richard with one), insula (apartment building), tombs, a couple of public bath complexes, public latrine -20 seater – photo, shop fronts with mosaic signs with the shipping company names and illustrations of their specialty – elephant (ivory or exotic animals?). Lovely mosaics of ships.
Ostia (meaning mouth) of the river Tiber at the Med near the current airport was at first a salt producing area, then a fort and then the major shipping town by 140 BC. By 1BC it was receiving goods from Sicily, Egypt and all over North Africa.
The city was abandoned when the harbour silted up and the land became swampy.
At one point during its heyday it had 60,000 inhabitants. And because it was a port city, it had temples and a synagogue plus religious items from other areas of the empire. We saw a mithraic statue of an animal sacrifice in the small onsite museum.
Richard and I had the free Rick Steves audio tour on my iPhone. And we bought the €2 map. Well worth a visit. Reasonable modern onsite cafe – bring water though. Worth an easy trip out of Rome.
James and Joyce, it is difficult to remember what we had seen before with you, but certainly archaeological work is still underway. Worth a re-visit!
November 23
A long day at the Vatican Museums. We picked up our pre-booked tickets at 9am and left there at 3! One coffee break and lunch break later. We saw a lot including the painting gallery, Egyptian and Etruscan collections, the Raphaels and of course, the Sistine Chapel. The Egyptian, pieces from Nimrod (Assyrian) were worth seeing too. It really is a world class museum and not just about that phenomenal Sistine Chapel!
A tip – the charcuterie portion of cafeteria has great meaty roast pork (porchetta) panini – big enough to share! (€9.50 incl a water bottle (with plastic glass!) and a dessert or yogurt)
Here are some photos including an “illegal” one in the Sistine Chapel I snapped on my iPhone by reversing the camera and just tapping – no composing. Photos are allowed everywhere but not in the Chapel. (Last photo)
The third photo is a clay tablet letter in a clay envelope.
The closeup of the man in purple was a portrait of Michelangelo, added by Raphael as a last minute addition.
November 24
A short report after a long day.
We visited the Borghese Gallery which had some spectacular sculptures – Bernini, Canova, etc. You only get two hours for your visit – they clear out visitors and then the next group enters – and you must book. Worthwhile but a mite stressful thinking about the timing! The gallery is housed in a famous and sumptuous villa set in huge grounds, now a public park. Lovely day for a walk – about 20C. From the park, we got to a viewpoint overlooking Piazza del Popolo with St Peter’s in the distance.
We visited Ara Pacis, an altar to peace and the Augustan era. The altar is surrounded by marble which is decorated with floral carvings and a procession of Augustus’ family. Evidently originally it would have been colourful, not white. It was consecrated in 9 BC.
Last we visited the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo to see some fabulous paintings by Caravaggio and other important works by Raphael, and Bernini.
Dinner at a fish place. Tasty. Richard’s brother Chris and his wife Anne head home tomorrow. Transit strike so they booked a taxi. We had a great time with them.
November 25
Relaxing day in our neighbourhood! We visit two churches – one that celebrates St Lucia and one that we stumbled upon that had chapels erected by a variety of guilds. Baroque ceiling with cherubs. And then great gelato again at Fata Morgana. One of my flavours was almond with cardamom and Richard had pear with Gorgonzola and chocolate with smokey lapzhang ?(tea!). Delicious.
November 26
Took the tram then Metro then a 45 minute bus ride to Tivoli area. Regular €1.50 ticket for the city part and then a €2.20 ticket for the Cotral bus.
The site is huge – developed around the second century AD.
Most of the art has been moved to other museums – we saw some while in Rome – but the buildings are quite something!
We were glad we brought sandwiches with us because no food was available. A cat tried to steal it though! We did give it some scraps.
For more info, see khan academy – to see what it looked like (a reconstruction)
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/middle-empire/v/a-tour-of-hadrian-s-villa-with-dr-bernard-frischer
Tomorrow is our last day. We fly Monday.
November 27
We spent the morning relaxing and packing and then after a last lunch at “home”, we walked across the river and wandered towards the church of Santa Maria di Vittoria. We had coffee in an arcade, went to the gourmet food shop Eataly, saw the protests at Republica, saw another monumental fountain and spent some time admiring the Bernini statue, St Teresa in Ecstasy at the church. Bernini managed to make the saint look soft and her draperies, flowing rather than hard marble. And the fanciful ceiling!
We walked back past yet another obelisk, and the prime minister’s residence, and past the Victor Emmanuel grand monument.
Last dinner here – my main was tasty pasta with razor clams. Scallops as a starter. And we shared a side dish of Jewish style artichoke. Bourdain was right – the other restaurant does the artichokes best! Lovely meal though.
And home!