I entered Piazza Navona today on my mindless wanderings and was saddened to see the three wonderful fountains surrounded by barricades. I was baffled until I remembered that the other day I read in the daily paper about a vandal that had caused damage to a fountain at the Piazza and then again at the Trevi Fountain. How profoundly sad. I guess that was the reason for the barricades. I walked around missing the freedom of being able to stand beside them and feel the spray of the water. And then.........................
And then I heard beautiful, uplifting music!! These gentlemen gave me a much needed smile and reminded me that all is right again. I love them for being there today. P.S. I'm happy to report that the barricades are down and Piazza Navona is back to normal. Also, I've seen these gentlemen play another time (near the Pantheon) and I think I have a crush on the sax player. He reminds of my grandfather. I spoke with him as he walked home after a gig one evening and complimented him on his music. He graciously said it was the complete foursome that made it good, not just him. Then he said thank you very much pretty lady. Now I know I have a crush on him.
 Crypt of the Resurrection Near the Barberini metro stop you will find the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccin - a traditional Italian-type church. However, if you head off to the right side of church, you can enter the Crypt of the Capucin Monks. This contains the remains of about 4,000 bodies arranged in artistic designs. Truly. After their original church was destroyed by the flooding Tiber back in 1631, the monks brought the remains of their brethern here and lined them up. For about the next 240 years they added to their numbers and decorated with them. For real. So for no charge, though donations are accepted, you can stroll among the 5 rooms, each with its own motif. The photo here is the Crypt of the Resurection and depicts Jesus calling Lazurus from the tomb. Except for the actual painting in the center, everything else you see are bones.
The first photo above is of the crypt of leg bones and thighs, followed by a photo of the crypt of the pelvises and, finally, the crypt of the three skeletons. Every design you see, big and small, are created with the arrangement of bones. (All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.)
I have to say I was somewhat impressed by the beauty of everything around me, however I was unable to forget what in fact I was looking at. Kind of strange, actually. It is done respectfully and is said to be a silent reminder of the swift passage of life on earth. All of the signs explaining things are in italian, except for one sign that said, in 5 languages,"What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be." Disclaimer: Cameras are forbidden inside the crypt, so these photos are borrowed from various websites.
 Pastificio makes fresh pastas daily of many different varieties. It's located very close to Piazza Spagna and, of course, the Spanish Steps. Aside from being a pretty amazing place to stock up on freshly made pasta for your own cooking, each day from 1pm to 2pm you can pop in and grab lunch even though it's not a restaurant. For 4euro you choose one of their two daily offerings, the kind gentleman behind the counter will serve you a does-he-think-I-haven't-eaten-in-a-week sized portion and you are welcome to help yourself to wine, and water. Did you get that it's 4 euro? And that the pasta is freshly made? Wow! I had whatever the proper name for the pasta shape in the photo is. It had zucchini and bread crumbly type stuff. Though it didn't have a sauce that I could see, it was quite creamy and light. Sorry that I'm not a culinary expert. Good thing for you that others are because there are some amazing sites for that. I just call it like I see it. I know what I like, though, and I liked it. I got there right at 1pm and there were already 5 or 6 people sitting around salivating. The man came out with a large pan, smiled and nodded and off we went. I did notice that he asked each of us if we were eating here or taking it to go, so the next time I go there (Oh, yes, my friend, there will be a next time) I will get it to go because, try as I might, I left half of it there in the trash. I tried, I really did. I felt awful. I think it had something to do with the fact that I had just finished a 1.5 hour walking tour and was overheated so I drank 2 glasses of water before beginning. My mistake. Won't happen next time! Pastificio - via della Croce 8.
UPDATE: It's been a few weeks since I wrote this post and today I went back there for lunch to go. So, as I publish this, I am eating a lovely spaghetti with a somewhat spicy red sauce that, even after taking over an hour to get it home (Metro A from Spagna to Repubblicca - Bus 40 from via Nazionale to Largo Argentina - Tram 8 from Largo Argentina to Casaletto - Home!) is still warm and fresh and yummy! Good stuff.
 Just a short 30 minute train ride from Rome is Ostia Antica, the very interesting ruins in the midst of umbrella pines and cypresses. Visitors are allowed to roam freely amidst the ongoing excavations while reading explanations of the early life of Ostia which was probably the first colony of Rome and was founded around 335 BC.
I purposely chose the day based on weather because I'm not a fan of sweating. It could not have been more perfect. Clear blue skies with a gentle cool breeze coupled by the many opportunites to walk in the shade kept me cool for my four hour exploration. It's times like this when I wish I were a better photographer and a more gifted writer because my photos and any description I can relay here can only begin to give you the feel of how gorgeous and interesting this place is. There was no audio-guide, but the frequent signs describing the site did a fine job of explaining things to my satisfaction. My favorite thing was that, on some of the more complete dwellings, they showed a rendering of what it would have looked like with the actual remaining ruins highlighted. I'm a visual person and this really helped me "see" what it must have been like. The entry fee is only 6,50 euro and the train fee is included in your city transportation ticket (1 euro) or pass.
Look at the pictures below and try to guess where I am.  And this is what I ordered here. A pretty good lemon torte with a glass of cold milk for 2,90 Euro. Notice the real plates, real silverware, and real glass.
Where am I? Did you venture a guess? Okay...... I'm at.......... McDonalds near Piazza Spagna. I guess it wasn't hard to guess since the last picture shows the "McCafe" logo on the front of the pastry case. Those of you who read this blog regularly know that McDonalds is my bathroom of choice (or need) when I'm out and about here in Rome. They are all around and bathrooms are hard to find. So...... occasionally, because I feel guilty for popping in just to potty, I order something. (And, this actually looked good.) This one is fancier than some of them, and you still get regular McD's fare in paper bags like in the states, but generally they are mostly pretty cool looking.
 Always on the lookout to bring you the latest fashion from Italy. I've been seeing wide, tied belts everywhere - both in shop windows and on real people. They cut a bella figura. I've seen them on designer dresses, everyday people dresses, and even on t-shirts. The belts are on sweaters and coats, as well. Italian fashion is all about accessories, isn't it? And they sure do know how to dress a window display. I've been walking around in mid-90 degree weather, sweating, and wanting to try on boots and jackets. Everything looks so inviting.
 Racalmuto is a small town in the Agrigento region of Sicily, but it is, more importantly, the city from where my paternal ancestors come. I am honored to have had the opportunity to visit there with one of my brothers. We may be the first in our extended family to have returned since our grandparents left nearly 100 years ago. You can imagine how it felt to walk down the streets where our grandparents before us played as children and locate the piazza near the street on which my grandfather was born. It's the type of town where visitors are infrequent, however we were welcomed warmly and the people there spent time and effort helping us locate information about our family there.
Much humor was had at our expense - both at our faltering attempts at the italian language and our inability to grasp some common customs. My brother received laughter and amazement after he was directed to park in a space marked with a handicapped symbol and hesitated to leave his car there. Finding food turned out to be much more complicated than we though possible. On our first day there, we got caught in that "everything is closed in the afternoon" space, missed lunch, and had to wait until 8pm for any food offerings to be available. We kept checking back at the only sit-down restaurant in town (the other one was closed for vacation) only to be told, "Maybe we will open in 30 minutes."...... and then "Maybe in 15 or 20 minutes." I, driven to boldness due to my rumbling tummy, approached the young man out front and laughingly told him, "I'm hungry. We would like food." His face lit up, he pointed to a car that had just pulled up and said, "Ahhhh, the cook is here. You may eat." The next afternoon, we began looking for lunch around 1pm. No place was open. We stopped in the many bars/pastry shops only to be told they didn't know where we could get a sandwich or pizza or something like that. We stopped in a bread shop and saw a lady we had spoken in english with earlier and asked her where we could find something to eat. She recommended a place - we responded, "It's closed." She recommended another - again, "It's closed." My brother said, "We were just going to eat some bread." She responded, "That might be best." We laughed about that for 2 days -- it gives a whole new meaning to bread and water. I cannot say enough about how helpful both the cemetrry curator and employees at the city registry were in helping us find information on our family. It was like something out of an old movie watching them take down huge, beautifully handwritten journals in which the city's births/deaths/marriages were recorded. They had journals back to 1863 and were very generous with their time as they searched for ours family records. Though two days was hardly long enough to thoroughly explore this little town, I feel as though I have grasped a bit of the lives of my relatives.
 It's Sunday and I'm off to Sicily for a few days. I'll be out of touch, but I leave you with this. There is no doubt that the churches here in Italy are a big draw. They are filled with beautiful paintings, sculptures, marble work, stained glass, etc. They are open to the pubic at regular times and everyone is welcome. I am a frequent visitor and have come to be bothered with people's disregard for or igorance of basic respect. So, at risk of being controversial, I want to vent a little.
No matter what your personal beliefs:
Remember that these are churches - sacred places to many - and still function as churches. They are not tourist attractions, per se. They have rules - usually posted at the entrance - that are fairly basic. It is asked that you be dressed modestly to enter. If you're a woman and have bare shoulders, keep a light scarf in your purse or tied around your waist with which to cover yourself. (I even saw a church with a box of scarves at the entrance for that purpose.) Said scarf can also be used to cover up exceptionally short shorts or ultra mini bottoms which expose your bottom-ness. Photography is usually acceptable, but most places ask you not to use flash. If you happen upon a church where mass in session, either quietly leave or sit down and participate. Don't wander around taking photos and looking at the sites while others are worshipping. Donations are gratefully accepted, though not expected or required.
Church is not the place to act like........... well, tourists. There is much to appreciate and it is generously shared. So feel free to enter, rest your weary feet, get in from the rain - or sun - or cold, and enjoy the peace and beauty that surrounds you. Just remember that these are places where people worship a God in whom they believe; a place where people are married, mass is celebrated, funerals are held, confessions are made, babies are baptized, and hymns are sung. Thanks so much for listening.
 A great idea, this one. Just outside the McDonalds near Piazza Spagna you can meet up with a licensed, trained tour guide and take a free tour. It's actually called Rome Free Tour ( www.romefreetour.com) and there are 3 tours offered daily. 11am - Vatican; 2pm - Colosseum; and 5pm - City Center. I took the Vatican tour. There were 11 of us following Minella, our guide. Each tour takes about 1.5 hours and, be prepared, they are fast paced walking tours. Though the one I took was called "The Vatican" though it's really a walk from Pz.Spagna to St. Peter's Basillica. As we walked, we stopped many times to listen to stories and facts about Roman history, the rise and fall of it all, the power and influence of the Vatican, etc. We were educated at the Spanish Steps, noticed the shops along the elite and expensive via dei Condotti, were taught about the layers of civilization beneath our feet, learned about the past flooding of the Tiber River, were introduced to the ugly palace, and many other things along the way - ending up at St. Peters where, after a short history, we were instructed how to enter the church and where to get tickets to and enter the Vatican. We left McD's at 11:05 and were dismissed at St. Peter's at 12:20. The guides are all licensed and work for tips. Minella said the tour group was begun in 2009 and that most of the guides have jobs as paid guides, as well. She does 2-3 tours per week for Rome Free (as well as working with paid troup groups) and, in high season, tours usually number 10-20 people and, though tips vary greatly, she averages 5-10 euro per person on the tour. Some leave nothing while others are quite generous. It's a good concept and definitely worth looking into if you are interested. They have recently begun giving the City Center tour in Spanish, as well.
|
RSS Feed