Nov. 11, 2014 Rome

Fernando and Cathy at the colosseo.

9:30 start because we didn't wake up until Penny heard the noise from the garbage collection from the back room. Good breakfast in the apt. Fernardo was the first one ready to go on our exploration of ancient Rome. After buying Roma passes, we continued down Via Nationale and found our way to the Colosseum. We were tickled pink to be able to skip the long, long line and walk right in with our Roma passes!!! The Colosseum is amazing. Fernando says the civil engineering is unbelievable. Cathy and Penny tried to listen to the Rick Steves audio tour and were moderately successful. Cathy says, "And I thought American football was violent." People and animals slaughter in great numbers for the entertainment of the masses.

Fernando and chocolate/pistachio gelato

After taking a million photos we went looking for lunch, and Cathy had the brilliant idea of taking the bus (free with the Roma pass) out of the immediate tourist throngs, and Fernando spotted a great corner sandwich/pizza place and we enjoyed eggplant/spinach/mozzarella panini and a porchetta sandwich. Guess who had which?  And then there was Gelateria Flor with wonderful flavors.  We are keeping our promise to ourselves of eating a gelato every day.  To keep up our health (and weight).

Cathy trying to drink out of a "nasoni".

How can these ruins have survived so long? Another million photos and we took the bus to San Giovanni in Laterno, the first Christian church in Rome although not much remains of that, just the huge renovation by Barromini in the 16th century. And we stopped to see the Scala Sancta (Sacred Stairs) and we restrained Fernando who wanted to climb them on his knees. An exploration on the way to the Metro (also free with Roma Pass) resulted in dinner for tonight when we found a frozen food store and picked up shrimp and asparagus prepared for our pasta, as well a lettuce from the mercato. We are now almost finished with our bottle of Novello, and we haven't even started cooking. Stay tuned for tomorrow and the Borghese Gallery.

Rome: We have arrived!

I'm sitting here at our apartment in Rome (yes, we made it!) and it is 6:14 am.  I thought it had just started raining but I looked outside and it was the street cleaner.  So yes, they clean the streets in Rome, which is a lucky thing with all the people milling about.  And we do have wifi which is how I'm able to post this in such a timely fashion.

Our flight from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia was on time and uneventful, but our flight from Philadelphia to Rome was something to write home about.  We left on time and were about an hour into our flight -- they were serving dinner and I was watching "Chef" on my personal movie screen -- when the Captain announced that one of our passengers had a "medical emergency" and, after conferring with their medical team in Arizona (the remnants of America West), they decided the best thing to do was to turn around and head back to Philadelphia.  This must be a joke, right?

No.  The Captain further explained that because our jet hadn't used up much of its fuel, it would be unusually heavy for landing and that we would require an extra long runway at the west field, but that there would be a fire crew and emergency equipment on hand since the hard braking would be particularly hard on the tires.  After that, the plane's tire and landing gear would have to be inspected to make sure they had not suffered any damage.  However, he said, the weather in Philadelphia was clear and absolutely beautiful.

So stewardesses packed up their dinner carts (we hadn't yet been served) and we started the hour and a half flight back to Philly, putting down the landing gear early to create drag and burn more fuel (at the end we were really creeping along).  Fernando and I were thinking: oh oh, this is a repeat of our flight to Paris when Delta canceled our nonstop flight and all the passengers had to make a mad scramble to get alternate flights, the soonest being the following day.

Fortunately the plane landed perfectly (I personally think that US Airways pilots are the very best), the plane passed inspection, the passenger must have been  carried off (we didn't see him/her -- Fernando thinks he/she was first class), and by 11 pm we were on our way again.  The upside to this episode is that we actually talked to the other passengers while we were waiting inspection (the couple behind us were Mexicans from Austin) and that, when we were finally served dinner, at midnight, it tasted awfully good.

We arrived in Rome 4 hours late and as our seats were over the wing, we couldn't see any of the countryside during landing.  But the sky was blue, except for some curious low level cumulus clouds on the eastern horizon, and the weather balmy, except that the Italians still had jackets on.  We found the ATM and our driver and headed into Rome.

Most of the streets in Rome are unmarked so I'm wondering how easy it will be wandering through them.  Even the driver had to think when I asked him what was the name of one of the major street we were taking.  But I was able to pick out some of the monuments (the forum) and buildings (Saint Peter Outside the Walls, the Vittoriano) as we drove past them.  Although it was November, there were still tourists with T-shirts and cameras walking around the city center.

Andrea was at the apartment when we got there and carried our bags up the stairs to the tiny elevator.  We went up the elevator with the bags while he ran up the circular stairs to the 2nd floor (the third floor to us).  The apartment is quite spacious, in a U-shape around the interior staircase.  The door to their (Andrea and his mother) apartment is opposite ours.  At one end of the U is the double-bed bedroom, then the living room, the dining room, then the entrance foyer and on the other half of the U: a hallway from which open the small kitchen, a laundry room with toilet, the bathroom, and at the other end of the U the bedroom with twin beds.  The second bedroom is rather dark because the shutters to the interior courtyard are closed and I can't figure out how to open them (I'll have to ask Andrea) but it is very close to the bathroom.  Fernando is already complaining how far away the bathroom is from the double bedroom.

After taking a shower, we headed out to the SMA grocery store down by Santa Maria Maggiore that I had previously located on my Google map excursions.  First we stopped at the UPIM department store next door (it's like Kohl's) and picked up some pencils for Isabel.  Then we went grocery shopping, trying to buy everything Italian (grapes, clementines, cipollino onions, garlic, tomatoes, veal, olives), as well as those Colombian stables: coffee and bananas.  Fernando even picked up some head cheese and I got some pane di Lariano and pecorino romano.  And of course vino: a novello rosso, Fior di Novembre 2014, which wasn't bad - slightly prickly on the tongue.  Then we wandered home and cooked dinner.

We were pooped (I had slept only about 1 hour on the flight) but we didn't want to go to bed too early.  So we went out for a nightcap: pistaccio and nocciolo gelato.  I can see us doing that every night, just so we can try all the different gelaterias and gusti.

Wifi in Rome

So now we are down to the line and figuring out how we are going to stay connected on the street.  We do have wireless Internet in the apartment so we can do our Skype phone calls at night when it is 8 pm in Rome, 2 pm in New York and Pennsylvania, and 11 am in California.  (You can tell that I use this blog for thinking out loud and for remembering what I thought.)  Oh wait.  Isn't that when we are supposed to be out eating dinner??

The Fiumicino airport in Rome (it is in the town of Fiumicino and has the intials FCO although it is called the Leonardo da Vinci airport) has free wifi so we can phone when we arrive at 8:55am, although that might be a bit early for everybody back home.  We'll send off an email.  And also alert our AirBnB host of our arrival.  Oh oh.  I'm reading some posts on free wifi in Italy which say you have to put in an Italian cell phone number to use some free wifi...  Surely at the airport they don't expect all travelers to have an Italian phone number.

Un'Americana a Roma has a posting on Free Wi-Fi Hotspots in Rome which mentions the province of Rome’s free wifi network with over 300 access points throughout the city.  Unfortunately for this one you need to have an Italian cell phone number.  (Maybe we should get a SIM card for Fernando's travel cell phone.  Do you think it is still functional?  The last time we used it was 7 years ago!)

The wifi service at Fiumicino is provided by Boingo, which provides quite a few other hotspots in Rome and offers free wifi at its locations in the Americas for $4.98/month but outside of the Americas you have to pay an additional $0.12 or $0.18 per minute, so that's not as good a deal.  I think it is mainly a service to institutions.

Another idea is pocket wifi where you rent a device that provides a wireless hotspot around you for $7 a day for 150MB or $12.95 a day for unlimited Internet.  That's from TEP Wireless, a London company that says you can pick up and drop off the device at the airport.  The battery life is only 5 hours so we'd have to remember to charge it each night.

The Romeing Blog has an article on Free wif-fi in Rome, at the end of which she mentions WiTourist, which also offers pocket wifi service.  There is a location at the Fiumicino Airport, Carafelli Brothers, where you can pick up and drop off the device, which is 4€/day (about $5) for 1 gigabyte of data.

What would we use the wifi hotspot for?  To look at our Google map and get directions and information on the next bus or metro to our destination (we can save a static Google map but no directions).  To use our handy XE Currency converter (oh wait, it still works in airplane mode).  To make a dinner reservation or check out the restaurants around us.  To send WhatsApp text messages to each other in case one of us gets lost...

Bancarelle

Does anybody need a scarf in Rome?  Or maybe a hat?  Some souvenirs or baby clothes?  We'll have to check out the bancarelle, those little covered stalls outside the metro, train and bus stations.  Porta Portense in Trastevere on Sunday mornings has the largest conglomeration of stands.  You remember -- the place where you have to be extra careful of pickpockets. 

Some people swear by bancarelle.  For instance, Ron in Rome has a whole post on them:

"Living in Rome can be expensive – real expensive. Thank goodness for the bancarelle (“stalls”). The bancarelle offer a huge variety of goods – from kitchen supplies to winter coats to electronics to men’s ties! Your shopping options are endless. And because the vendors rotate their locations daily, you get different stalls in your neighborhood each day."

Ron says most of the bancarelle are located near metro stops or on major street corners in parts of town that many tourists do not get to.   He lives near the Ottaviano and Cipro metro stations (north of the Vatican) and his wife HAS to walk by the bancarelle on her way home. Sort of like checking out Marshalls and TJMaxx for good deals on items that are too good to pass up.

Prices generally range from 50 cents to 50 euros and most items are under 10 euros but he says to forget about the 1 euro bins.  These bancarelle allow middle class Italians to be "fashionable" without breaking the bank.  They are also legal, being regulated by the City of Rome.  Not so the goods that are laid out on the street - those are illegal and you could get fined for buying from them.

The New York Times InTransit blog says much the same thing about the bancarelle:

"The purpose of most bancarelle is to allow ordinary Italians to keep up with the unforgiving pace of fashion from one season to the next, but clothes aren’t the only bargain: from oriental-style couch covers to shiny kitchenware, the options are nearly endless. Located near popular metro stops, the markets rotate daily, so the whole city can share in the bargains"

You can check out Marina's bloggarrific, a woman from Singapore who buys extra large sizes at the bancarelle and then remakes them into something she can wear.  And Run Brit Chick Run gets second hand baby and kids clothes at bancarelle.  I only wish we were visiting Rome in December when the Christmas bancarelle fill Piazza Navona.

Hans Memling

Anybody interested in Flemish art?

There's an exhibition on Hans Memling (1430-1494) in the Scuderie del Quintinale now through January.  He reminds me of Bruegel (1525-1569), but that just might be the complexity of the above painting rather than the subject matter.  Apparently Memling was popular in Italy and even influenced Raffaello.  The Scuderie is close to the apartment at Via XXIV Maggio 16, Roma but the entrance is 12 euros so we might have to content ourselves with this online website of Hans Memling.

Rome's Electric MiniBuses, Trams and Coppedè

I just ran across Peter Bardwell on the "mini" electric buses that run around the Centro Storico:  "Not enormously quick, occasionally busy and with, sometimes, rather a wait between them - they're nonetheless a joy to use, and easy to board and leave!" At the time he posted the information, two of the lines had stopped operating because of battery problems.  Hopefully they have been restarted and they are probably meant for little old tourists with knee problems like us!  Below are the electric routes from the ATAC website.

ATAC has an iPhone app but it won't do us much good if we don't have an Internet connection on the street.

Bardwell has some interesting articles on riding ATAC, including A Day on Tram 3 which runs out to the Quartiere Coppedè which I had run across before and found interesting but thought might be too hard to get to.  Gino Coppedè (Firenze 1866 - Roma 1927) was an Italian architect who began building this neighborhood in the Art Nouveau style in 1917.  Everything2 says:

"While continental Art Nouveau features open eroticism, Coppedè worked in a version called Liberty Style which tends to suppress it. Liberty Style is named for its most important commercial patron, Arthur Liberty, who ran a decorative-arts store in London; the style not only conforms to Liberty's own tastes, but also to late Victorian middle-class standards. Liberty Style has strong affinities to English Arts and Crafts Style and the sense of moral uprightness that style tried to reflect."

And goes on to say:

"Instead of focusing on sexuality, Coppodè finds his inspiration in a more intellectualized revival of historical styles, which he mixes joyfully and chaotically. The 31,000 square meters of the quarter (with some 40 structures) are alive with Florentine towers and Venetian palazzi decorated with external mosaics and frescoes, Baroque Roman palazzi with real and imitation papal stemmata, a sundial, and even a building devoted to a musical decorative scheme whose exterior ironwork and carvings imitate musical notation. It is literally fantastic, with structures of vastly different period styles sitting next to one another cheek-by-jowl. It is also wonderful."

Coppedè was contemporaneous with Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) and there is an Italian TripAdvisor collection of photographs called Il Gaudí de noaltri (The  Gaudí of the rest of us or Our own Gaudí), and his style is similarly eclectic.  Design and Art Magazine offers some of the best photos of the buildings.

 

So if we want to take a tram ride, it seems like this would be the perfect destination!  Spotted by Locals recommends taking a tram ride when you are too tuckered out to walk anymore.  It will show you the real Rome.  Tram lines 3 and 19 stop at Piazza Buenos Aires where you can enter the main entrance to the quarter marked by the big Arch on Via Tagliamento, on the corner with Via Dora.

Roma Pass and Weekly Transport passes?

OK, we've gotten into the city and, hopefully, to the Airbnb, although Cathy and Fernando will be there a day ahead of me..and will have walked around scouting things out. 
So, how are we going to get around?  Should we get a Roma Pass?  All the following comes from Rick Steves' Rome so, if you prefer, you can read it there..on page 54.  Or you can read about it on the Roma Pass website.  And check out the FAQ

The Roma Pass costs 36 Eur and is valid for three days, covering public transportation and free or discounted entry to Roman sights.  You get free admission to your first two sights and also get to skip the ticket line, and then a discount (c. 30%) on the rest within the three day window.
Sights covered (or discounted) by the pass include Colosseum/Palantine Hill/Roman Forum, Borghese Gallery (although you still must make a reservation), Capitoline Museums, Castel Sant'Angelo, Montemartini Museum, Ara Pacis, Museum of Roman Civilization, Etruscan Museum, Baths of Caracalla, Trajan's Market, and come of the Appian Way sights.  The pass also covers four brances of the National Museum of Rome, considered as a single sight:  Palazzo Masssimo, Crypta Balbi, Palazzo Altemps and the Museum of the Bath.
The Roma Pass does not cover the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.
RS feels that if you'll be using public transportation and visiting any two of the major sights in a three-day period, you should get the pass.  It's sold at participating sights,

TIs, and many tobacco shops and newsstands around town.  Validate your Roman Pass by writing your name and validation date on the card.  Then insert it directly into the turnstile at your first two free sights.  At the others, show it to the ticket office to get the reduced (ridotto) price.
Visit the two most expensive sights first.  I figure the Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman forum at E 12, and the Borghese at E13.  I don't know how many museums we want to see.  That will be another assignment, but I imagine we can handle at least one more.  Should we buy the Roma pass first, and knock off the Colosseum and Borghese at the beginning of the trip (Mon/Tues)?  If we spend a couple of hours in a museum, we can then spend the rest of the day wandering or visiting churches, or whatever. 

Kiosk at Termini Bus Station
Selling Travel Passes & Tour Tickets

Having the 3 day transit pass will allow us to determine how much we use it, and whether we want to buy a week pass for the following days.  Here's how to use the transit pass.  Write your name and birthdate on the pass, validate it on your first bus or Metro ride by passing it over a sensor at a turnstile or validation machine (look for a yellow circle) and you can take unlimited rides within Rome's city limits until midnight of the final day. 
The Rome Toolkit has a good and extensive page on Rome Travel Passes - 1, 3 & 7 Day...valid on the Metro, buses, trams and some train services.  The weekly pass looks like it costs E 24.  "Many visitors will be arriving at Termini Station. Termini Station is a good place to get your tickets, especially travel passes. There are a lot of kiosks at the bus station in front of the railway station and many tobacconists around the station who are used to dealing with visitors and advertise the fact in English."

Fiumicino (FCO) to Termini on the Leonardo Express

OF COURSE we are going to take a train from the airport into town!  We aren't chickens and did fine in Paris, where my French was as bad as my Italian...  We also did well in Madrid at the start of the Camino, getting from the airport to the train station on the metro.  It was when we took a taxi that we didn't do so well.  Can't trust those guys.  We might take a taxi going back to the airport because then there will be 3 of us.

Ron in Rome has step by step instructions for getting to the trains at Fiumicino Airport from Terminal 3, where he says that most US flights arrive.  He also has step by step instructions for getting through baggage claim and passport control but I'm hoping we'll have our luggage with us, which should save us a half hour or more, unless they take it away from us on the flight to Philly.

Here's Ron's map of Terminal 3 and the tube that goes to the trains (yellow/blue arrow).  He says there are signs all over so we can't miss it. 

"Upon arrival, look for the signs to Train Station – the route is well marked. If you’re arriving through Terminal 3 – as most flights do – then you’ll exit through the frosted doors and turn right. You will walk through the lower level of the Terminal 3 Arrivals Area until you come to the first escalators you see – on your left. You’ll see the “To the Train Station” signs directing you to go down the escalators. You’ll go down under the road, and then up escalators to the train station."

We'll be taking the Leonardo Express because that's the train that goes into Termini.  The less expensive Regionale doesn't go there.  Ron says it's very easy to buy the tickets at the train ticketing windows (biglietteria), at tabaccherie in the airport and at the kiosks.  The Leonardo Express leaves every half hour at 8 minutes and 38 minutes past the hour (so 10:08, 10:38, 11:08, 11:38) and it takes 32 minutes to arrive at Termini.  The cost is €14 per person.

Although it is first class travel, there are no assigned seats so rush in and pick one quick.  We'll hope that all the other Americans arriving early Sunday morning will be taking taxis.   Oh, but WAIT!!  You say you forgot to validate your ticket??!!  Get off, get off and go do it now!!  At one of those little yellow machines on the platform, so the train police don't catch you and fine you €100 on the spot.  "Make sure the machine “clicks” when you insert your ticket… and make sure a time stamp prints out ON your ticket."  And hurry up because your ticket is only good for 90 minutes. 

Oh wait.  He says FCO will have introduced a new system by now which is like the Metro entry system that validates the ticket as you go through.  Shucks.  I was hoping to get some practice using those yellow validating machines, which are now green and white in some places.  In the meantime I'll practice watching this YouTube video.

Ron says: "The Leonardo Express usually arrives on track 2 (the middle track) at the FCO train station. You’ll see the logo, the red, white, and green coloring, and name on the side of the train. Once the train has been emptied the entry doors will be unlocked. If a door is not open, just push the round button to open it. Again, as all seats are considered first-class, and it’s open seating, sit wherever you can."

Ron says the Leonardo Express now arrives at Track 24 in Termini, Binario 24 in Italian, abbreviated Bin on the overhead monitors.  Binario 24 appears to be in the northwest corner of Termini, according to the map, so it will be very convenient for us, if that is indeed where it stops. 

Ron also says to be sure to collect ALL your luggage when you get off, but we will try to travel light.  Rick Steves has a suggested packing list at the back of his Rome guide:

1. 5 shirts, long and short-sleeved
2. 1 sweater or lightweight fleece
3. 2 pairs pants
4. 1 pair shorts
5. 1 swimsuit
6. 5 pairs underwear and socks
7. 1 pair shoes
8. 1 rainproof jacket with hood
9. tie or scarf

We'll have to adjust that for winter, replacing the shorts and swimsuit with a heavier jacket.  But what if the shoes get wet?  Are two pairs of pants really enough?  And what's he wearing to bed??

Termini

North end of Termini train station.  In the background are the domes of Santa Maria Maggiore and the bell tower of Santa Prassede

I was just telling Penny we could do all our shopping in Rome's Termini train station.  They have a Sapori and Dintorni CONAD supermarket underground and a COIN department store on the "platform" level.  Most of the stores on the Platform (0) level are congregated at the northern end, under the famous curving roof, which they have filled up fairly well.  They even have a McDonald's, but no Starbucks yet.

You can read about the history of Termini -- named after the Baths (termini) of Diocletian, rather than meaning "terminal" -- on the Italian government's GrandiStazioni website.  The current links to the various stations go to the new commercial websites listing all the shopping opportunities, but the events are horribly out of date.  Termini will be our local mall, which is open every day of the week from 8am to 10pm, in case we need anything on Sunday.  Regular shops in Rome keep much more restricted hours.  Ron in Rome says Termini has a GREAT Conad grocery store.  He also says to keep your wits about you since it moves half a million people a day.

Next I'll post some notes on how to get here from the airport...

Fernando's Top Five and What to See the First Day

Fernando wants to make sure he sees his top five sites in Rome, just like he did in San Francisco.

1. Spanish Steps
2. St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel (16+4€)
3. Palazzo della Cancelleria's Da Vinci Exposition
4. Galeria Borghese (€ 11)(Bernini's sculptures and Caravaggio's paintings)
5. Villa Farnesina (5-6€) in Trastevere for the Raffaello

I won't put mine down because I have about 100 and they are almost all in previous blog postings.

Leonardo Express

Fodor's 25 Best: Rome suggests that one spend the first morning wandering around instead of rushing off to see the Colosseum, St. Peter's, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Roman Forum or the Vatican Museum.  Our first morning, if all goes well, will be spent getting from the airport to the apartment -- landing at 8:55am; an hour to get baggage and go through immigration; at least an hour to find the Leonardo Express train to Rome, buy tickets, wait for the train and get to Termini; 1/2 hour to walk to the apartment -- noon is probably a good arrival bet, at which point Fernando and I will be ready for a nap.

But just a short nap since we have to walk half a mile down to the SMA supermarket just beyond Santa Maria Maggiore (maybe pop in to say hello), unless Andrea tells us there is a better one close by (qui vicino).  We can't visit the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino because the mercati are only open Monday-Saturday and we arrive on a Sunday.  We'll save that one for when Penny arrives.  I have a new Baggalini backpack so I'll take it with me to stock up on a few things we might need, like bread and milk and wine.  I wonder what Andrea will supply us with.

Near the SMA supermarket is a UPIM Department store that is open on Sundays from 9am to 8pm, in case either of us forget to bring underwear or in case we want to pick up something in the latest color: verde petrolio.  Petroleum Green?  (deep teal in English)

Via Sistina

After that, since it is Sunday, all the tourist sites are sure to be crowded but it will be a great day for people-watching or going to chiesa.  The guidebooks say most shops will be closed so it will be an ideal day for strolling down the Via dei Condotti, doing some designer window-shopping, and checking to see if people are actually wearing verde petrolio.  As long as it isn't raining, we can wander all over the Centro Storico just to see how long our knees and legs hold out.  We could start by walking down Via Nazionale and then up Via delle Quatro Fontanne/Via Sistina all the way to the Spanish Steps (.7 miles).  Then walk down the steps and up Via del Babuino, over to Via Margutta and up that to Piazza Santa Maria del Popolo (.53 miles). 

il Natale luminarie in Via del Corso

What time is it now?  Maybe 5 pm?  Time for the passeggiata.  Via del Corso is where it happens so we can walk the mile from Santa Maria del Popolo to Piazza Venezia just to cut la bella figura.  Maybe we should pick up something in verde petrolio first...  And look how beautiful the Via del Corso is when they put up the Christmas lights!  Too bad we are arriving a month early.

I don't have any restaurants marked on the route (we can't afford any in this neighborhood) and we're beginning to get a bit hungry so maybe we can walk a couple of blocks over to Antica Birreria Peroni.  Shoot!  It's closed on Sundays!!  Did we buy any food for dinner??  Maybe we'll run across a pizza place in our wanderings or is everything closed?  Otherwise we'll need to walk the .8 mile back to the apartment (have we bought a weekly bus pass yet?) and cook some spaghetti.

Oh wait!!  We can look for stuzzichini!  Those free little aperitivi in bars along the way.  Except I always feel out of place in bars.

And then there are those tavole calde, fast-food Italian-style cafeterias, like Il Delfino, near the Pantheon, where you can pick up pizza and chips (!) for €9,50 (with a dessert and beverage).  But watch out: it has a tourist menu and wifi but no hours, although Yelp says it is open on Sundays from 7:30am to 10:30pm.

I think we are going to have to play it by ear and make sure we have something in the apartment as a fall-back.  Most restaurants are closed on Sunday so, Penny, you won't miss anything.

Oh No! We'll Never Return to Rome!!

I'd heard that Fendi was financing the renovation of the Trevi Fountain but I never thought it would be closed while WE were in Rome.  According to ANSA,  work started in June and it won't be finished until fall of 2015.  They've set up a temporary receptacle for tossing your coins but it's not the same and it won't work the same magic as the real fountain.  It would be like drinking bottled water on the Ramblas in Barcelona instead of drinking out of the tap (although it hasn't worked to send us back to Barcelona, has it?).  I guess we're just going to have to go back to Rome after fall of 2015.  Maybe for Christmas.  And Barcelona wouldn't be a bad place to visit around the holidays either.  Oh wait, next Christmas will be at our house.  Do you think we could all meet in Barcelona instead??

To keep tabs on the progress of the Trevi Fountain renovation, here's a Live Webcam.  And Skyline has other Rome webcams so that we can check out the weather, if only I can remember to check it when it is daylight in Rome!

Caravaggio for free slides into the Pantheon

If we haven't seen enough Caravaggio at the Borghese Gallery (where there are "almost a dozen"), or if we want to see some before our date with the Borghese, there are a number scattered through churches, and we can see them for free. 

San Luigi dei Francesi

The best place to find free Caravaggios in Rome is in the small church of San Luigi dei Francesi near Piazza Navona. This is the French national church in Rome with French motifs throughout..fleur-de-lis, salamanders, and, on the ceiling of the nave, is France's King (aka Saint) Louis ascending to heaven.  Inside in the Contarelli Chapel (in the far left corner) you can see the master's "Saint Matthew" cycle: "The Calling of Saint Matthew,"  "Inspiration of Saint Matthew," and "The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew." Entrance to the church is free, though it will cost you a few euros to activate the lights to view the paintings.
The Calling of St. Matthew shows Matthew in a tavern with his cronies counting the money they've extorted.  In this, his first large-scale work, 29-year-old Caravaggio shocked critics and clerics by showing a holy scene in a down to earth location.
The Inspiration of St. Matthew shows him hard at work writing Jesus' life story when he's interrupted by "an angel with a few suggestions."
In the Martyrdom of St Matthew Caravaggio focuses a spotlight on Matthew and his killer.  In the background (to the left of the Executioner's shoulder) is a self-portrait of Caravaggio observing the violence without getting involved. 

Saint' Agostino (a few blocks north)

The Madonna di Loreto (painted in 1605, pictured above) is hung in the first chapel on the left. The church is close to Piazza Navona, and also includes a Raphael fresco.

Pantheon (a little bit south)

Now this is where I got diverted from Caravaggio.  I glanced at a map.  Look!! There is the Pantheon!  There is so much history and so many chapters in Rome's history that it may be hard to stay focused.  Given that, I'm sliding back to 27 B.C. when the original temple to all (pan) of the gods (theos) was built.   OK, so what we see today was rebuilt by emperor Hadrian around 120 A.D.  That's still a lot older than the liberty bell.

Rick Steves feels that this is perhaps the most influential building in art history - the model for the Florence cathedral dome which launched the Renaissance, and for Michelangelo's dome of St. Peter's, which capped it all off.  Even the U.S. Capitol was inspired by this dome.  The dome, the largest made until the Renaissance, is made from concrete (a Roman invention, as we know) that gets lighter and thinner as it reaches the top.  The coffered ceiling reduces the wight without compromising strength.  And, at the top, the oculus (eye-in-the-sky) is the building's only light source. 
After the fall of Rome, the Pantheon became a Christian church (from all the gods to all the martyrs) which saved it from architectural cannibalism and ensured its upkeep during the Dark Ages.  The Pantheon is the only ancient building in Rome used continuously since its construction. 

Gesu Church

And, if we still have strength, we can stop at the Gesu Church to admire the ceiling fresco - The Triumph of the Name of Jesus, look at the tombs of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier and learn about the Jesuit legacy culminating in 2013 with the ascension of Francesco I, the first Jesuit pope.  The Gesu was the first Jesuit church to be built in Rome and its design epitomizes Counter-Reformation Baroque architecture (read over-the-top). 

Then, as Cathy, and the NY Times, have noted, we might watch, at 5:30 p.m. every day, a 20 minute services that is squarely in the Baroque tradition - a multimedia extravaganza that combines painting, sculpture, music, words, and lighting effect.  Although R.S. cautions we shouldn't expect Hollywood-quality.  The service starts with recorded music.  Then a recorded voice (in Italian..Cathy will have to translate) tells the story of Ignatius, illustrated by spotlighting different parts of his tomb.

But wait!!! Isn't that Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome's only Gothic church, just around the corner?

Trastevere

I've planned on doing a post on Trastevere for a long time but I didn't know where to start.

Lonely Planet recommends entering Trastevere via the Ponte Sisto stone footbridge at its northeast corner and then taking Via del Moro, with its many cafes and shops, to the Piazza di Santa Maria.  At Via del Moro #37B we'll need to stop at Pasticceria Valzani to pick up some pastries for breakfast and eat them at  the Piazza, where we can people-watch.   Then we can visit the 12th century Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere (actually first constructed in 377 AD) with golden mosaics illustrating the life of Mary by Pietro Cavallini (1291).  It is supported by Roman columns taken from the Baths of Caracalla.

Then Lonely Planet suggests crossing over to the other side of the main Viale Trastevere to see the Basilica di Santa Cecilia, where there is an altar sculpture of the Martyrdom of Santa Cecilia by Stefano Maderno (1600) who supposedly used her uncorrupted body that had been exhumed for his model.  It predates Bernini "by decades".  There are also the last remaining frescoes by Pietro Cavallini (1293) but you have to "ring a bell" to see them.

Not to slight Gian Lorenzo, we'll have to leave LP's itinerary and walk south  to the Chiesa di San Francesco a Ripa because it has one of his ecstatic statues: Beata Ludovica Albertoni (1671).  On our walk back to the other side of Viale Trastevere, we can stop by the mercato at the Piazza San Cosimato (6:30am-1:30pm) to pick up some fruit, cheese and bread for lunch.

Or we can stop by the Antica Caciara on Via di San Francesco a Ripa, 140A/B, a cheese and salami store that we will pass.  It was founded when cheese was still called cacio in Rome.  They also have guanciale in case we haven't yet picked some up for our bacon and eggs.  Eating Italy Tours has a short video in Italian (with English subtitles) on the proprietor Roberto Polica.

So far we have walked about 1 mile and we should have been able to rest our legs in the three churches.  And we shouldn't be hungry.  But we have LOTS MORE TO SEE!

Whoops.  Maybe we shouldn't have taken Lonely Planet's advice.  It looks like we should have started with the Villa Farnesina (5 euros for seniors) because it is only open from 9am-2pm Mon-Sat.  Fernando wants to see the frescoes by Raffaello.  The Villa was built by a banker from Sienna, Agostino Chigi, from 1506 to 1510 but unfortunately was later bought by the Farnese family and so given their name.  How unfair!  No matter what it is called, it has beautiful ceilings.

Somewhat nearby the Villa Farnesina is the Casa della Fornarina where Raffaello's mistress was supposed to have lived while he was working on the Villa.  It is now a Guest House and we could have stayed there for $1,194 for 10 nights, unrefundable or $1,571 refundable, with breakfast.  Of course, that is just for 2 people and there is no kitchen and no place to go read if the other person wants to sleep.  But Fernando could have pretended he was Raffaello. 

About 1000 feet further south on Via Garibaldi is a 17th century convent church by Borromini: Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori (Santa Maria of the Seven Griefs).  Apparently it has been turned into the Hotel Donna Camilla Savelli where we could have rented a suite for € 3,230.00.  We are going to have to content ourselves with viewing the exterior, and the hotel's website doesn't even mention Borromini.

I forgot to mention that between the Villa Farnesina and the Casa della Fornarina lies John Cabot University but Fernando would complain that it has no engineering school so he might not be as keen on visiting it.  The American Academy in Rome is also in Trastevere and has a School of Fine Arts, a School of Classical Studies, and The Rome Sustainable Food Project.  Unfortunately there is no restaurant attached to it.

Orto Botanico

Do we want to take Via Garibaldi up the Janiculum Hill for a view of Rome?  It's supposed to take 20 minutes walking (it's about a mile from the Sette Dolori) but there is a bus that goes up: #115 Largo Fiorentini from Trastevere or #870 from Piazza Fiorentini (off Corso Vittorio Emanuele, where it meets the Tiber).   Rachel in her Rome Writings approaches the hill from the Vatican side and says there are steps up it in stages where you can appreciate the view.  At noon they fire a cannon.  (By the way, one of my bookgroup members said that the view from St. Peter's Dome was absolutely stunning and that we simply couldn't miss it.)  And how could I forget?  At the foot of the Janiculum Hill near the Villa Farnesina is the Orto Botanico, the botanical garden, which Rachel also mentions.

When should we go to Trastevere?  On a Sunday when they have the Porta Portese flea market?  That should provide a lot of local color, although I've never had much luck with flea markets (except maybe those hats we bought in Paris), and Fernando doesn't have an adequate appreciation of them.  But look at that photo of pepper mills!  One can always use another pepper mill.  Since the flea market is known for pick pockets we will go with very little cash which also means that means we can't buy much.  It is located around the old city gate called Porta Portese at the southeast end of Trastevere and open from 7 am to 2 pm.

Borghese Gallery...and Caravaggio

The Borghese Gallery offers Bernini sculptures and paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Titian in a Baroque palazzo set idyllically but inconveniently in the vast Villa Borghese Gardens.  You get to see art commissioned by the Borghese family displayed in the very rooms for which it was created.

"Rome - 16 May 1605.  Camillo Borghese is elected Pope Paul V and immediately names his sister's son, Scipione Caffarella, as Cardinal-Nephew.  Not content with being a pope's nephew, Scipione becomes the adopted son of his uncle and is known thereafter as Scipione Borghese.  He becomes the most unscrupulous collector the art world has ever seen."

Cathy pointed me to a treasure-trove blog, "The Pines of Rome," by an unnamed blogger (Tiffany?).  It's loaded with info on art and Rome.  She has several blogs on The Borghese Gallery.  The first paragraph above is from one of them.  But before we continue, how do we get there?
Cathy's lovely Google map shows that our apartment is just over a mile away.  But, as we can't travel as the crow flies, some further investigation is in order.  Rick Steves tells me that bus #910 goes from Termini train station (and Piazza Repubblica) to the Via Pinciana stop, 100 yards from the museum.  And be sure to allow plenty of time because entrance is timed and you don't want to miss it.

Don't make the rookie mistake of showing up at the popular Galleria Borghese without tickets. Only 360 visitors are admitted every two hours (at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m.), and advance tickets (about $14) are required before you can see the heartbreakingly beautiful works here, including those by Titian and Bernini. You can drop by a day or two in advance to make your reservation for a specific date and time, or reserve at galleriaborghese.it. Then, collect your tickets in person at least 30 minutes before your scheduled admission time.  And note that baggage check is free, mandatory, and strictly enforced.   Even small purses must be checked, although the checkroom does not take coats (!?).  And no photos allowed.  You must check your camera (wonder how they handle phones?).

Back to Scipione...Scipione must have realized that as Cardinal-Nephew in corrupt 17th-century Rome, he would have more than ample access to any funds he might require, and so he traded his right of inheritance with his cousin Marcantonio, in exchange for every piece in the family's art collection. Despite his position of immense influence, he chose not to involve himself in affairs of state, and instead used his power to satisfy his obsession to possess the world's greatest art.

Now, boys and girls, get out your checklist of art you want to see:

In Room 1...Antonio Canova's Pauline Borghese as Venus.  Yes, the Pauline (Paolina) that was Napoleon's sister.

Bernini's David

Bernini's Apollo and Daphne

Room II...Bernini's David (with 25 year-old Bernini's face)
Room III...Bernini's Apollo and Daphne with her fingers turning to leaves.

More Bernini In Rooms IV (The Rape of Proserpina) and Room VI (Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius)
And in Room VII lots of Caravaggio.  This room holds the greatest collection of Caravaggio paintings anywhere.  His Self-Portrait as Bacchus shows Caravaggio as he first arrived in Rome.

Self-Portrait as Bacchus, 1593

Caravaggio's unique style combined two striking elements:  uncompromising realism and stong Light-dark contrasts.  His models were ordinary people with bodily flaws.  He lived a reckless, agressive and short life. 

Madonna of Palafrenieri, 1605-06

 His Madonna of Palafrenieri was forbidden to hang in St. Peter's because the boy Jesus was naked, and the Modonna's likeness had been inspired by Rome's best-known prostitute.

The Borghese's collection continues with more Bernini's including painting and two self-portraits.  The Gallery, of course contains much more than mentioned here.

Room IX has works by Raphael, including Deposition.  (We'll see Caravaggio's Deposition in the Vatican Museum)

Raffaello Deposizione, 1507

Room XX closes with Titian's Sacred and Profane Love. 

Titian, Sacred and Profane Love, 1515

And Rick Steve's concludes his tour with the following.  "This exquisite painting expresses the spirit of the Renaissance - that earth and heaven are two sides of the same coin.  And here in the Borghese Gallery, that love of earthly beauty can be spiritually uplifting - as long as you feel it within two hours."

Before we go will have to draw up a battle plan.  Should we go early when we are fresh?  Or will be be more crowded then?  And remember it's closed on Monday.