1001 Swabian Nights: Roman Holiday!

Finally! Our long-anticipated trip to Italy... an entire week in the "Eternal City"

Buongiorno Roma!

***

...also as a very cool coincidence, it turned out that friends of ours, a fellow American ex-pat and his girlfriend (colleagues at der Junge's office), were also heading to Rome and on our same roundtrip flights! So natürlich we made plans to share our rental car to the airport and to meet up in Rome for dinner! (and in case I don't tell you later in the story... dinner turned out to be at an "American" style craft brewery/burger joint! Oh-yeah! ...the beer was deliciously hoppy and the burger top-notch, and yes we ate there twice! (if in Rome, when in Rome go to Open Baladin, and if you order the "Singin' in the Rain" burger you won't be disappointed!)

Rome is not a cheap city, but we found a great deal on an apartment in the heart of the city, right next to the famous Campo de Fiore market. The apartment was small (center city Rome!) but had the basic provisions to make morning espresso, cook a few pasta dinners, and open some bottles of vino! It reminded me of the place we stayed in Barcelona.

I can't even describe how fun it is to go to the neighborhood corner shop in Rome and pick out what to make for dinner! It's awesome to play at being a "local" if even for just a week! It was also nice to have a "home-like" place to escape the midday heat and bustle of the city between touring marathons. And yes I said heat! Although the beginning of October, the temperature peaked around the low 80s the entire week and the Roman sun can get very hot! Needless to say, I was regretting my decision to bring my knee-high boots (but they are so Italian-chic!).

The apartment

der Junge in the living room

galley kitchen

little patio

mezzanine bed in loft over closet (maximizing space!)

bathroom

and now off to explore...

Campo de Fiori

This is the site of the most famous and largest of Rome's markets and it is mere steps away from our apartment! It's name means "field of flowers," which it was during the Middle Ages when the area was actually a meadow. Many of the streets surrounding the square are named after the artisans who traditionally occupied them: Via dei Cappellari (hatters), Via dei Baullari (trunk makers) and Via dei Chiavari (key makers). Via dei Giubbonari (jacket makers). Our apartment is on Via dei Giubbonari and today it is still full of clothing shops. ...yay :) (sorry der Junge! ...but not that sorry!)

flower stalls

veggies!

Piazza del Campidoglio & Musei Capitolini

Our first museum visit is to the Capitoline museum complex (we happened to visit during a free admission weekend) in the Piazza del Campidoglio on the Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome and the former site of the Roman citadel. The Capitoline museums are three museums that date to 1471 with basically a huge collection of Roman art and archeological works.

Marcus Aurelius statue

hall inside Capitoline museum

The museums were very interesting with a beautiful collection of art and sculptures, but after an hour in the exhibits seemed to run together and we found ourselves picking up our pace to get through the rooms faster... until we got to a room with the sculpture below. A large crowd of people gathered around to queue up to take photos. It seemed a very strange subject matter and unlike anything preceding it thus far in the museum. So we waited to take our picture of it as well... It wasn't until later that we learned the significance of this sculpture ...the symbol of Rome!

The Capitoline Wolf

Wikipedia: The Capitoline Wolf is the symbol of Rome and depicts the most famous Roman myth, the founding of Rome by the the twins, Romulus and Remus. Their mother was Rhea Silvia, daughter to Numitor, king of Alba Longa. Before their conception, Numitor's brother Amulius had seized power, killed Numitor's male heirs and forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin, sworn to chastity. Rhea Silvia conceived the twins by the god Mars. Once the twins were born, Amulius ordered the twins to be cast into the Tiber River. They were rescued by a she-wolf who cared for them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found and raised them. The twins, still ignorant of their true origins, were natural leaders. Each acquired many followers. When they discovered the truth of their birth, they killed Amulius and restored Numitor to his throne. Rather than wait to inherit Alba Longa they chose to found a new city. Romulus wanted to found a city on the Palatine Hill; Remus preferred the Aventine Hill. They quarreled and Romulus killed Remus. Therefore, Romulus founded the new city, named it Rome, after himself, and created its first legions and senate.

According to the legend, Rome was founded on 21 April 753 BC. They completed construction of the entire city by 22 April 753 BC, as is my understanding.

Another interesting tidbit: former dictator Benito Mussolini favored the image of the Capitoline Wolf as he cast himself the founder of the "New Rome." Mussolini gave replicas of the Capitoline Wolf to U.S. cities to encourage American alliance. In 1929 he sent one replica for a Sons of Italy national convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was replaced with another one in 1931, which still stands in Eden Park, Cincinnati. Mussolini gave another replica to Rome, Georgia and a third to Rome, New York.

Potable Water

At the base of the steps to the Capitoline Hill are statues of two Egyptian lions, they are among the many of Rome's potable (drinkable) water fountains. Rome is famous for its fountains and it was a surprise to see people filling up their water bottles from the fountains. Well, actually it was ironic. Of all the places we have been to in Europe, you cannot order tap water, they don't understand what you are even asking for. Restaurants only serve bottled water and it is almost always more expensive than beer. The tap water is perfectly fine, but you will never see Germans drinking it. Yet in Rome, everyone, everywhere is filling up their water bottles and drinking from the fountains throughout the city!

As did we! When in Rome...

Ancient Appian Way

I booked us a bike trip through the Roman countryside...the ancient Appian Way and AFTER securing our reservation, I let der Junge know that the trip was for a 6 hour bike ride... He took it well. Which is to say he was a little worried. Turns out HE had nothing to worry about. Despite the excellent bikes we were given, I was the one who ended up flying down a gravel hill OFF my bike! This made for my second bike accident in 3 months. Hmmm... much as I love bike riding, somehow I don't think it's my strong suit. :(

Despite the accident... the Appian Way was awesome and the highlight of our trip. The Appian Way (Via Appia), originally built in 312 BC was the first long road built specifically to transport troops outside greater Rome. When the road left the city, it traveled through wealthy suburbs on its way through the Appian Mountains. The original road, at 130 miles long, ended in Capua. It was the widest and longest road of its time. In its prime, it spanned 330 miles to the port of Brindisi, on the Adriatic coast.

nothing dorkier than a bike helmet

well maybe plastic garbage bag ponchos

ruins of ancient villas along the Via Appia

The Via Appia was used to carry out the brutal punishment of the famous slave revolt led by Spartacus, the ex-gladiator of Capua. In 73 B.C. roughly every third person in Italy was a slave. For two years Spartacus led the slaves in battle to win against many Roman armies. He was defeated while trying to escape Italy as he was pinned between armies of Roman legions brought from abroad. The Romans killed all of the slaves to send a message. In 71 BC, 6,000 slaves were crucified and their bodies were lined along the Appian Way for 130 miles from Rome to Capua.

Catacombs of St. Callixtus:

Below the Appian Way are miles of tunnels, catacombs, where early Christians buried their dead and held secret church services during a time when Christians were persecuted. Over 60 catacombs have been discovered beneath Rome, with approximately one million Christian tombs. There are many catacombs under the Appian Way and only a few open to the public. As part of our bike tour, we went on a guided tour of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. It is papal property, and part of a major burial complex around a hundred acres wide and four underground levels. These Catacombs contain the Crypt of the Popes, final resting place of nine early popes, and a crypt with the remains of St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. It was interesting to see the catacombs but also very creepy- dark and cold. I was glad to be with der Junge and in a large group. It was easy to imagine getting lost in the labyrinth of narrow, dimly illuminated paths.

Roman Aqueducts:

Eleven aqueducts built over a span of 500 years supplied Rome with a constant flow of fresh water. The Aqua Appia was the first aqueduct and built in conjunction with the Via Appia in 312 BC. The aqueducts allowed the City of Rome at its height to support a population of one million people. No other city on Earth would have one million people until London in the mid 1800s.

Aqueduct

matching dorks.... hey at least we're not on Segways

beautiful countryside

Roman Dairy Farm:

Also part of the trip was a stop at a working dairy farm for a cheese tasting with wine. This was immediately after my bike fall so I was rather appreciative of the rest break (and the wine :) ).

farm

inside the farm building

farm dog

and that concludes our Appian Way tour!

What follows next is a montage of sites (in no particular order)!

Piazza Navona

Lovely square with three beautiful famous fountains...

The Pantheon

cappuccino stop pre-Pantheon

enter Pantheon...

the eye inside the dome

Lost

All roads may lead to Rome, but woe to the weary traveler who must navigate the labyrinth of narrow streets within Rome! This is one tough city to navigate. We try hard not to look like tourists when we travel, i.e. breaking out our maps on the street, but in Rome, we had no choice! It made us feel better to observe almost every other person also looking at maps as we were walking around.

haha, no idea where we are...

just keep walking, we're sure to find a fountain...

Trevi Fountain

Legend is that if you throw a coin into the fountain, you will return to Rome.

An estimated 3,000 euros (~$4000) are thrown into the fountain each day! The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy. There are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

Rome is an expensive city but we didn't care to risk the booing that this lady got for only a couple of coins...

Il Vittoriano

The massive white marble building below is the Victor Emmanuel Monument (Il Vittoriano). Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia, became a symbol of the movement for a united Italy. His army joined forces with Garibaldi and defeated the papal army in 1861. Victor Emmanuel became the first King of a unified Italy. The monument is also the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI.

Locals are not too impressed with this building and call it the ugliest building in Rome. It is regarded as pompous and too large. Tour guides call it the "Wedding Cake," but other locals call it the "Typewriter," or the "Dentures." We called it the "North Star" because whenever we were lost (and that happened every day), we somehow managed to stumble upon this huge monstrosity and then we were fine, we could find our way! The building is worth the climb to the very nice terrace and cafe where we took a cappuccino break and enjoyed the beautiful views of Rome.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of WWI

Vatican City

The Vatican Museum complex is massive but by far the most impressive museum I have ever seen in my life. If you go to Rome and can only visit one museum this should be the one. We had a tour guide who was fantastic. I highly recommend getting a tour guide as the museum is so vast and it will help to organize and focus the experience. There are an estimated seven miles of corridors in the palaces! Also, over 4 million people go to the museums each year. So we did our research and went on the recommended "best" day to go, Tuesday. It was still quite crowded, especially (as to be expected), in the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel. But, oh what an experience!

Vatican Museum

We didn't take many pictures in the Vatican museum, there were just so many people and we wanted to just listen to our guide and soak in the artwork. So many of the art can be seen online or in books and (I think) you can't capture the real experience of being there to see it in person. So we didn't try! :)

Also, no pictures are allowed in the Sistine Chapel- this is not for preservation reasons as you might think. It is because the images are copyrighted to Nippon TV, a Japanese channel known for its quiz shows and baseball. They paid the $3-4 million for the restoration of the chapel and "own" the rights to the images (i.e. via postcards, books, etc). Also as it is a chapel, you are not supposed to talk. So naturally with the mass of people, the conversation volume would rise and the museum guards would hush the crowds with a "sssssshhhhhh, Silence, please!" and every now and then "No pictures!" This was over and over and over again! What a job!

missing Kiwi

St. Peter's Basilica

is within the Vatican Complex, but free...

chairs set up for tomorrow when the Pope blesses the audience (every Wednesday)

inside St. Peter's

inside view of the dome

Swiss Guards

The Pontifical Swiss Guard is the oldest active military unit in existence and has served the popes since 1506. The use of Swiss soldiers as Royal guards and as the Pontifical guard stems from the reputation of Swiss mercenaries. Switzerland was a poor country at the time and young men sought their fortunes abroad. Swiss soldiers had a reputation for discipline, loyalty, and revolutionary battle tactics.

wikipedia image

The uniform dates back to the Renaissance. Tailors custom make the uniform for each guardsman individually. The uniform weighs 8 pounds and may be the heaviest uniform in use by any standing army today. The Renaissance style also makes them one of the most complicated to construct. A single uniform requires 154 pieces and takes nearly 32 hours and 3 fittings to complete.

The Forum and Palatinate

The Forum and Palatine Hill are the most ancient parts of Rome. These sites are still ongoing archaeological excavation but are open to the public.

The Forum Magnum was the ancient marketplace and for centuries the center of Roman public life. The Forum also became the venue for the celebratory military processions known as Triumphs. Victorious generals entered the city by the western Triumphal Gate

The Forum suffered damage and destruction repeatedly, the scene of fierce fights between rivals, often followed by destructive fires. Fire was always a problem in ancient Rome, and parts of the Forum burnt down several times. Many religious sites were abandoned and fell in ruin with the ban of non-Christian cults in 394 AD. Most of the buildings were destroyed completely in 410 AD, when the Ostrogoths conquered the town. Later the buildings served as quarries for other construction during the renaissance and gradually dirt piled up 5-7 m above the street level of antiquity, covering all but the tallest ruins.

It was blazing hot while we were walking about the ruins (no intact buildings to help create shade!) but fortunately we stumbled into a little hidden oasis of shade so we rested here a bit before continuing on...

love those fountains! Water refill!

Then we climbed up Palatine Hill to view the ruins of the ancient Roman nobility. Palatine Hill was home to the ancient Roman Emperors, location of the Imperial Palace (hence the origin of palace, palatine).

i think this is just a pile of rocks

The Colosseum

The amazing Colosseum was built in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and completed by his son Titus in 80 AD. It had seating for 50,000 spectators. We had a guided tour for the Colosseum as well but it wasn't that great, as we already knew most of the information from researching ahead of time. It was an unbelievable experience to stand inside the Colosseum and to imagine all the history that happened here. The afternoon sun was lowering and cast beautiful light across the arena.

a cat walking across the top of the ruins of the Colosseum arena

Arch of Constantine seen from the Colosseum

Campo di Fiori

as our apartment was mere minutes from this piazza, we ended up back here twice to have a glass of wine, people watch and enjoy the fantastic evening weather

Villa Farnesina

This 16th century palace was built for the Papal banker and Renaissance art patron Agostino Chigi. Chigi was the richest man in Rome. His artistic protégés included almost all the main figures of the early 16th century: Perugino, Sebastiano del Piombo, Giovanni da Udine, Giulio Romano, Sodoma and Raphael. His villa is a museum today, best known for its beautiful frescoes painted by Raphael and his pupils, including Raphael's The Triumph of Galatea

The Triumph of Galatea

Janiculum Hill

It is a pretty long hike up and there is nothing particularly note-worthy to see on Janiculum Hill except for a pretty spectacular view of Rome,

so here it is...

Spanish Steps

Named for the Spanish Embassy and one of the liveliest areas of Rome, it is the widest staircase in Europe

ok, I'll be Audrey of course, and you play Gregory Peck. Ok? Go.

der Junge at the top

view from the top

In 2008, activist and artist Graziano Cecchini released 500,000 brightly colored plastic balls from the top of the Spanish Steps. (He first gained notoriety in 2007 for dying the Trevi fountain red to protest the plight of starving artists in Italy). The stunt cost him close to $30,000. Excited tourists grabbed the balls as artistic mementos, while Italian police proceeded to arrest Cecchini. Graziano Cecchini, said each of the plastic balls "represented a lie told by a politician".

view of Spanish steps from the street

nowhere close to the Colosseum,
maybe he lost his map?

pretty street scene

Piazza del Popolo

ok, last but not least, I will leave you with this pretty Piazza where we tried multiple times to get a self-photo shot with the Egyptian Obelisk of Ramses II in the background, but somehow we kept getting this shot and then I couldn't stop laughing... so please enjoy!