Roma: 1st -3rd December 2022
Rome: Ah! Such high hopes of seeing everything in 3 days. Well, not everything but a few of the more out of the way places in the city like the Monkey Tower, the skull of Saint Valentine and Via Rasella. In my defence, I did see loads of amazing stuff but quite a few things slipped through the net. So this part of the blog more or less follows the order in which I moved around the city.
N.B. A note about the photos: rather than the usual practice of putting them at the end of the blog, I have sectioned them out and put them at the end of each day.
Day 1: I check into my hotel the bizarrely named Termini Binario 1&2 complete with a sink made from the front end of an old Fiat 500 (and the lights worked too). If I were able to stick my head out of the window, I could see the station. The idea was to choose somewhere where I would have access to a travel hub: which it is but there was a transport strike on the Friday. So much for that idea. I ended up doing a lot of walking.
Before heading out to San Paolo Fuori Le Mura and catching up with a friend, I took a genteel stroll around the neighbourhood of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. It's an area I know reasonably well since I spent many years as the Director of Studies for a Rome based study tour company and the Indian Fast Food restaurant in Via Mamiani was my second office. That said, I wasn't aware of The Magic Door: it's a great story about alchemy, gold and disappearing people.
One of the things that makes this area so gritty and vibrant is that it is home to large immigrant populations, mainly Chinese, Bengalis and Indians. It evokes the part of SE London in which I grew up.
San Paolo (Outside the walls)
While my friend is busy teaching some very unmotivated young men, I head up the road to the Basilica of St Paul. I search in vain for three fountains which legend has it, sprung up after the saint's head bounced three times after his decapitation. I now realise that his execution supposedly took place at the Abbey of the Three Fountains. (Next time).
Gianicolo or Janiculum
From the Gianicolo, you can get probably one of the best, if not the best, panoramas of the city. It's also a fascinating walk around a garden filled with Garibaliana - including a fantastic statue of Anita Garibaldi. The statue is of Anita Garibaldi, on a rearing horse, holding her baby son in her left arm while waving a pistol in her right hand. Why no one has made a film about this amazing woman remains a mystery!
Incanto dei Luci (The Enchantment of the Lights)
Sometimes our friends are our better selves and push us to do the things we are not quite sure about. And so it was at the gentle nudging of a friend that I went to this light show organised at the Orto Botanico, just below the Gianicolo. It had all the makings of one of those cheesy shows which are offered to small children; the things that are described as "magic" turn out to be no more than a 100w bulb behind a painted scene. However, while the Incanto had some less than effective scenes, it was well done. It is hard to describe any one scene which was a favourite but the Japanese garden and the lasers in the bamboo forest are memorable, as is the arch. So yes, enchantment was dispensed and even for a cynic like me, I enjoyed it.
Going home was another trek since there are no metro stations nearby and so it was a choice of a series of buses which would have taken over an hour, or a walk of 48 minutes (huh?). The tiredness of the day was alleviated by meeting up at the "office" with another friend and some reminiscing over some samosas, pakoras and a couple of Kingfisher beers.
Photos from Day 1: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nzJSLFqwWV8BugX76
Day 2: Coppede and The Paolina
Even had I wanted to use the public transport network to get to the Coppede' and Villa Borghese areas of Rome, I couldn't have because of the strike. At the recommendation of my friend, I breakfast at a pasticceria called Regoli which for some weird reason is divided into two non-joined sections: one side sells truly delicious cakes; the other sells the coffee. Suitably refreshed but still sore from yesterday's hiking, I start off at Coppede'. It's an area I discovered many years ago while working at ENEL. I won't bore you with the wiki entry about Gino Coppede, the architect after whom, the area is named. Most people who come to the city know nothing of this area. It centres on four buildings surrounding the Fountain of Frogs. When asked about its location, I got quite a few blanks and to be fair, I walked past it three times before another tourist found it on her Maps. The Palazzo del Ragno is for me, the most beautiful of the four buildings. What architectural style does it belong to? It has elements of Art Nouveau but it's more than that. Whatever it is, it's worth a visit.
La Paolina
The factual bit is that the statue of Venus Victrix was completed between 1805 and 1808 by Antonio Canova. the emotional bit is that it is without doubt one of the most beautiful (and erotic) statues in the world. It's official title is Venus Victrix but it's more commonly known as La Paolina since the woman sitting seductively on the couch is none other than Pauline Bonaparte, the sister of Napoleon. Apparently, she scandalised Rome and when asked how she could sit in the nude for the artist, she is supposed to have replied "well, he had a heater in the studio".
Photos from Day 2: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DubjqeKXQhHD9sew9
Day 3: Trastevere in the rain
A 30 minute or so bus ride from Termini gets you on the western side of the Tiber (or Tevere). It's on virtually every tourist description of the city. You can't find a webpage that doesn't show you quaint little streets bedecked with ivy and other climbing plants above picture postcard cafes. Forget that! The heavens opened and the first port of call was the nearest bar for shelter. Even for an Englishman who is genetically disposed to precipitation, this was a bit too much. In addition, the drains don't work having been well clogged up by the autumn leaves so the pavements meant deciding how deep to your ankles you wanted to go.
The reason for this part of the trip was to find the skull of one of the Saint Valentine's. It's housed in the same church which has the Bocca della Verita'. Whether because of the rain playing havoc with my Google Maps, or my general ineptitude, I never found it. I did get to see the Jewish Quarter and the area near Portico d'Ottavia. On a wall is a commemorative plaque about the night of 16th October 1943 when the Nazis rounded up the Jews in Rome and deported them to the concentration camps.
The area is pretty and you can settle a while on the little island that sits in the Tiber. Because of the rain, the river was not its usual placid self but rather a mad rush - I don't think I have ever seen it like that!
In the end, my coat was dripping wet and the humidity was getting the better of me so I called it a day and took a bus back to Termini and from there back to home. There are some parts of me that will never be dry again.
And Rome? The title of this part of the blog is Rome l so yes, there will be a sequel. And Saint Valentine and the other places missed off my list will be found.
Photos from Day 3: https://photos.app.goo.gl/a7d2VazP8fFdsGZeA
