Memories on this end of summer

I often listen to radio stations around the world through the magic of Airport Express, since yesterday I have been listening to the RAI Filodiffusione 5 from Rome. This was the radio station we listened to everyday. You can easily find it on the internet.

So of course this makes me nostalgic for the Città. Sigmund Freud use to say that Rome was not a city inhabited by humans but more a psychic state of mind. Rome has been described as an idea, a representation of a fantasy. Emperor Augustus gave it the title of Eternal City, though Rome was only about 400 years old at the time, it was the largest city in the known world at 1 million people, a fantastic number given that London and Lutece (Paris) were mud villages of a few thousand inhabitants.

I also subscribe to an internet site called Roma Sparita (Rome disappeared) which has photos of the city between 1860 and 1980. You see how the city has changed or not changed at all, much of what we see in the centre of Rome today has been there for the last 500 years, while what you see outside the Aurelian walls is lest than 100 years old, with some exceptions like the Villa Borghese and other Papal summer palaces. Meaning that if you look at the old photos you realize quickly that Rome was largely rebuilt and expanded at various periods marked by political change. The first one was the return of the Popes from Avignon in France after many decades away from the city. Rome had been largely abandoned and by 1400 it was a small village of a few thousand people living mostly in and around the great basilicas and old Roman Imperial Palaces.  Then came the period of the Risorgimento (resurrection) with the creation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 and the final defeat of the Papal armies with the liberation of the Italian people by Garibaldi. Then the Fascist period 1923-1943 and the large building programs under Mussolini, finally the period of the 1960's economic boom.

This painting of Giovanni Paolo Pannini shows the Prati area (the fields) in 1749.This area is across the Tiber from the City. On the far right is the dome of St-Peter's basilica with the Apostolic Palace, in the middle large fields, today this is a bustling neighbourhood called the Borgo and Prati. The round building in the middle is Castel San Angelo, the old mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian. You can barely see the Tiber marking the end of the fields and Rome on the other side.

Rome 2012, looking from the Gianicolo Hill in Trastevere. Here on the right are the two white marble towers of the Altar to the Italian Nation. In the back the brick belfry of Santa Maria Maggiore. The trees at the front of the photo indicate where the Tiber river is passing.

 
Edicola Sacra ( sacred kiosk) on Via Nomentana a few steps away from the Russian Consulate. I walked in front of this little shrine every day. There are about 730 such shrines in the City of Rome. This one is dedicated to Divine Love represented by the infant Jesus and his mother Mary. Christian shrines have been in existence since around 1500 and people to this day leave fresh flowers, maybe deposit a few coins in the box and say a little prayer. This one on Via Nomentana a very busy street with 4 lanes of traffic, people coming and going. But the shrines are left undisturbed, no one would dare damage it or steal the flowers. It is like an unwritten rule, shrines in Rome are nothing new even during Imperial antiquity, shrines existed to different deities who protected the neighbourhood, the Christian shrine serves exactly the same purpose. Romans are superstitious so everyone, young and old respects them.

 Fontana delle Tartarughe, (Turtle Fountain) built in 1581 on the order of Pople Gregorio XIII, by Taddeo Landini and Giacomo della Porta. One of the more beautiful fountains of the Renaissance in the City. You can see it in the old Jewish quarter of Rome on Piazza Mattei.

The Rose garden of Rome note the paths are in the shape of branches of a Jewish Menorah. The garden in facing the Palatine hill and the Circus Maximus. It was created in 1934 when the old Jewish cemetery of Rome was moved from the site. It is a beautiful garden with the most incredible array of roses.

Before is was moved in 1934 a photo of the old Jewish cemetery of Rome now the Rose garden of the city.

Another view of the Rose garden today in Rome. Well worth a visit.

The fountain of Piazza Repubblica not very far from our home in Rome on Via dei Villini.
This fountain was built around 1890 and sits at the top of Via Nazionale near the Termini Train Station. When it was inaugurated in the presence of the Pope, the four naked ladies who appear to be having sex with all kinds of sea monsters or swans had not been installed yet to avoid offending the Pope. It is a spectacular fountain.

Behind St-Peter's basilica the Vatican Mint. Until 1860 the Papal State issued its own currency so it could barter and trade with different countries and pay its employees. This area of the Vatican is not open to the public.

From Piazza Venezia, the centre of Rome, the traffic at night passing in front of the Vittoriano also known as the Altar to the Nation, the largest white marble monument in the world, symbol of Italian Unity.

This fall picture of the Imperial Summer Villa of Emperor Hadrian near Tivoli about 30 minutes outside Rome. This pond faces the dining room of the villa. A beautiful site only half of the grounds can be visited, the rest is still under private ownership.

Walking in Rome

For the many years we lived in Rome we often took part in the organized walks with a friend who is an historian, archeologist who has lived and worked in Rome of over 40 years. We became good friends with her.
So on my most recent visit to Rome I consulted her calendar to see what she was offering in terms of walks. I always enjoy those ''By special permission'' entry to sites never open to the public. Many Palaces or convents are still private and fully functioning and the public is not invite to enter. Per example Prince Colonna still lives with his family in his 900 room palace in the centre of Rome just off Piazza Venezia and only opens the State Rooms on Saturday morning for 2 hours.

So I was very happy to see 2 walks on the 26 and 27 March. On the first walk we met in front of the Church of San Pietro in Montorio at the top of the Jianiculum hill or Jianicolo, this hill is across the Tiber opposite Rome itself and next to the smaller Vatican Hill, it is not part of the 7 hills of Rome. The ancient Romans thought that the war like god Janus, keeper of doors, of going and comings lived on this hill, thus the name. The Jianiculum Hill is were the family of Prince Doria Pamphilij had their summer residence, it is also the site of the most bloody battles between the French and Papal armies against the Italian army commanded by Garibaldi in the fight for the liberation of Rome and Papal theocracy 150 years ago. From the Jianicolo you have a commanding view of the whole city. So we met at this little church of San Pietro in Montorio, built and owned by the Spanish Crown, the inscription makes it clearly a Spanish Royal Church and next to it is the Spanish Academy in Rome and across it the Residence of the Ambassador of His Most Catholic Majesty the King of Spain.  Next to the church is the Tempietto del Bramante, the story goes that Ferdinand and Isabella of Aragon and Castille wanted a male child and promised to build a little temple or Tempietto, their wish was granted by God but the child did not live beyond childhood. The Tempietto is rarely open to the public it is a small building in its own courtyard, quite beautiful to look at.

San Pietro in Montorio, Jianicolo

Scourging of Christ by Del Piombo

Balustrade with cherubs

Tempietto del Bramante

There is also a story that the Tempietto is the site where Saint Peter was crucified thus the name San Pietro in Montorio, the word Montorio is a distortion of Monte d'Oro or golden mountain because the soil has a lot of yellow stones and sand mixed in. Though it was established a long time ago that Saint Peter was actually crucified in the Circus of Nero next to where St-Peter's basilica stands today, for the crime of murder and preaching heresy, he apparently had killed a magician.

The church itself of San Pietro in Montorio is richly decorated with many side chapels, the first chapel on the right has the painting of the Scourging of Christ by Sebastiano del Piombo, a friend of Michelangelo.
The next chapel has the Madonna and Child by Niccolo Pomarancio, this painting is said to be miraculous. The beautiful balustrade with putti or cherubs is by Bartolomeo Ammannati and it is said that Michelangelo had a hand in the design. The painting over the altar of the Baptism of Jesus is by Daniele da Volterra. The chapel dedicated to St-Francis was done by Bernini. This Royal church is well worth a visit.  If you want to see the paintings in a better light ask the keeper of the Church and for a small donation he will turn the lights on.

As we exited the Church, she asked me if I would stay for lunch, usually on her promenade we go for lunch afterwards around 1pm. I said yes, thinking we would go to a nice little restaurant in the area, nothing more was said, I was in for a surprise, but more on this later.

As we walked out of the church admiring the panorama of the City, we turn right and across the street is a Fascist era monument C. 1941, in a large park, a tomb to the fallen of 1849, 1860 and 1870. It is said that the ashes of the fallen soldiers are interred in this monument.  Continuing upward you will see the famous Fontanone or big fountain, built by Pope Paul V, Borghese, he completed the construction of the new St-Peter's Basilica as we see it today. This fountain is the end of a great Roman Aquaduct originally built by Emperor Trajan at the end of the first century, known then as Aqua Traiana today it is called Aqua Paolina. Trastevere in antiquity was outside Rome and populated by slaves and immigrants, only Roman citizens could live in Rome. Thus Cleopatra Queen of Egypt came to visit Julius Cesar but was not allowed to enter the City of Rome because she was a foreigner and lived in a palace on the Tiber across from Rome. Trastevere did not have like Rome an abundance of clean water and the Fontanone was the sole provider of clean fresh and abundant water. The Fontanone we see today was built by Flaminio Ponzio and Giovanni Fontana the son of Domenico Fontana who built the great Moses Fountain in Piazza Santa Susanna. The four central columns come from the old St-Peter's basilica and all the marble of the fountain was taken from the Temple of Mars the Avenger in the Forum of Augustus. Look for the Borghese family animals the dragons and eagles on the fountain.

The Fontanone of Pope Paul V

We continued to walk up and passing by Villa Spada and the American Academy in Rome and then by the Gate of San Pancrazio into the park where the Monument of Garibaldi and numerous statues of all the heroes of the war of Italian liberation stand and the equestrian monument and tomb of Anita Garibaldi who died at 28 years of age fighting alongside her husband. This park is truly a lesson in more recent Italian history and politics. In the distance you can see the dome of St-Peter and below you the entire city. If you are in the park at noon time watch for the noon day canon under the statue of Garibaldi.

Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi on the Jianicolo

Noon Day gun on the Jianicolo hill.

Monument to Anita Garibaldi, clutching her baby and shooting her pistol.

After our walk we returned to Villa Spada for lunch, little did I know that today this very historic villa where Garibaldi and Luciano Manara, Commandant of the Bersaglieri stayed for 10 days while fighting the French and Papal armies just a few streets away is the Residence of the Irish Ambassador to the Italian Republic. Manara died on 30 June 1849 at the age of 24 while fighting the French, the Villa Spada itself was very badly damaged by cannon fire and savage fighting took place in the very garden where we had lunch. We were greeted by the Ambassador and his wife Pauline. She had made a lovely Irish stew and a wonderful salad and a Charlotte for dessert. Under the beautiful orange trees on a sunny afternoon it was difficult to imagine the fierce hand to hand combat which had taken part on this spot as paintings of the time shows.

Lunch served on porcelain bearing the crest of Ireland.

After lunch I walked back down the steep hill to the Tiber river, on the way down I passed a little park with ruins, Via Dandolo 45, the Syrian Sanctuary, known from early antiquity as a Sacred Woods, the area was dedicated to the Furies avenging deities who torment criminals. it is here that the first defender of poor Romans, Caius Gracchus committed suicide in 121 BC. His Conservative opponents in the Senate said that the Furies had called him to his death in their Sanctuary. It is a strange place or has a strange spooky look, I was happy the Furies were not after me.

Today in Rome

La Citta Eterna was very quiet, a National Holiday, a sunny early morning but quickly the clouds came in.
At 09:00 the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano made his way to Piazza Venezia and the Altar to the Nation built in 1890 to honor the first King of Italy Vittorio-Emmanuelle II. The President laid a wreath at the feet of the Goddess Roma. The Vittoriano is the largest all white marble monument build in modern times, it occupies the area formely occupied by the hill of the Arx.

close up of a Corazzieri, the personal bodyguard of the President of the Italian Republic.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano laying a wreath at the Vittoriano.

Then the President of the Republic went to the Pantheon, built in antiquity by Agrippa the able general and friend of Emperor Augustus. At the Pantheon waiting for him was the entire Royal Family of Italy, who nowadays live in Savoy-Piemonte in their former estate. At the Pantheon is the bronze mausoleum of King Vittorio-Emmanuelle II built from melted Austrian cannons, there he laid a second wreath to the King.

The Royal Family of Italy at the Pantheon in front of the tomb of their forefather King Vittorio-Emmanuelle II.

Then he went to the Gianicolo Hill across the Tiber to the mausoleum of Anita Garibaldi the heroic wife of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who fought and accompanied her husband during the war of independence. She died on the battlefield, it is also said that she was the one who taught her husband how to ride a horse.

The tomb of Anita Garibaldi on the Gianicolo Hill

The President then returned to Piazza Repubblica for a mass for Italian Soldiers in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, formely the Baths of Emperor Dioclitian. This evening all the museums and major monuments of Rome are open to the public late. The President is at the Teatro del Opera di Roma for a gala presentation of Verdi's, Nabucco. This 17 March is a unique holiday celebrated this year only for the 150th anniversary and it was the idea of President Napolitano to do this. Bravo Presidente e Grazie!
Auguri a tutti!

Two stories

Rombo = Turbot
Spigola = sea bass.
Alici = Anchovy
cozze = mussel

These are the fish most commonly found in Italy in restaurants. The alici = anchovy is the other common fish, this is not the salty anchovy found in North America and so disliked, who has not heard the famous whine no anchovy on my pizza. This is a fresh fish bought at the market like any other fresh fish, it is often simply grilled or it is served in a lemon and fresh parsley dressing. The Alici is larger than a sardine same color. As for the Spigola or the Rombo, most often they are grilled or baked and served with roast potatoes with some rosemary, there is also a Sardinian recipe which comes with a sauce made of celery, black olives, fresh tomatoes. As for pasta very often and by far the most popular dish is spaghetti with fresh tomato and mussel = cozze sauce.

Spigola baked with roasted potatoes.

So last night we had a spigola baked and served with roasted potatoes, one spigola is enough for 2 adults. It's a very good fish, rich texture, a little fat, in a word delicious. Very easy to do at home and simply served with a bit of lemon juice. We had a rosé Emira from the Lazio, the province around Rome, Tenuta Tre Cancelli Vineyard.

Today we went to visit the newly renovated Braschi Palace which houses a branch of the Rome Museum. Because this year Italy is celebrating 150 years of Unity as a country, (1861-2011) with the victory of the Italian people and the forces of Garibaldi putting an end of the theocratic government of Pope Pius IX. The Holy See installed a theocratic government from the 4th century to 1860 and put down many revolts by the Italians who wanted a democratic government. Currently there is a special exhibit on the Risorgimento (re-birth). The exhibit shows the many battles, all very bloody opposing the Pope to the Italian people. The Pope called on Spain, France and Austria, 3 Catholic countries to suppress the Italians.

Triumphal return of the Pope to Rome, April 1850, escorted by French troops. Notice the lack of ordinary folk.

(from Wikipedia)
Palazzo Braschi is a large Neoclassical palace in Rome and is located between the Piazza Navona, the Campo de' Fiori, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Piazza di Pasquino. It presently houses the Museo di Roma, the civic museum of Rome.

The famous Bersagliere regiment breaking through Porta Pia 20 September 1860, thus liberating Rome.

It was built by the papal nephew Duke Luigi Braschi Onesti, to designs by Cosimo Morelli. The site was purchased in 1790 by Braschi, supported by funds from Pope Pius VI; Braschi demolished the 16th-century palace that Giuliano da Sangallo the Younger had built for Francesco Orsini in order to erect his own from the ground up. Construction was suspended in February 1798 during the Napoleonic occupation of the city, when the French temporarily took possession of it until 1802 and confiscated the recently-acquired collection of antiquities it contained (though Braschi was reimbursed for them). In 1809, when Rome was declared an Imperial city by Napoleon, Duke Luigi moved into the palace and was declared mayor.

The new King of Italy, Vittorio Emmanuelle II of Savoy, pointing to Rome City Hall, Campidoglio.

On his death in 1816 the palace remained unfinished and the family funds depleted. In 1871 the Braschi Onesti heirs sold the building to the Italian State. During the Italian fascist period, it was used as the political headquarters of Benito Mussolini. After the war, it housed 300 refugee families and many of the interior frescoes were seriously damaged by the fires they lit to keep warm. 

Piazza Navona, looking at the Palazzo of the Embassy of Brazil and the church of St-Agnes in Agony.

Afterwards we had lunch in Piazza Navona, something we never do because the prices are x2 what they would  be in any other restaurants in Rome, you pay for the view, but we did not feel like walking around. It was a very nice warm day today around 16 C not bad for winter in Rome.