We’ve developed a theory that Romans start cheering up on Fridays and stay that way until Sundays: on Fridays their mood brightens because the weekend is coming; by Sunday they're curt and moody again because the week is coming and they spend until the next Friday being irascible and so on. They do seem to have a big problem serving people, perhaps it’s a very long hangover from Imperial times.
The waiter the day before had been almost charming (though he may have been from Eastern Europe, as many of the waiters and waitresses are, for example,we were waited on by a nice Albanian girl on our last night in Rome and there was that Romanian guy the other day in the restaurant near the Colosseum) and an old-ish lady who we bought a wallet from noticed our picture of Moby and talked and lamented a lot about having a 37 year old son but still no grandchildren; and the young lady in the tour office when we confirmed our airport transfer was bubbly and helpful .. a pattern seemed to be developing!
Colonna Traiana
We walked down Via Nazionale all the way to Vittorio Emanuelle Monument which is near the Colonna Traiana and the Foro Traiano and the Mercati Traiano and the Foro di Augusto and all sorts of other impressive ruins leading to the Forum and the Colosseum.
The monument, which is a bit like the War Memorial in Canberra, is colossal, almost making the Colosseo non-colossal! It’s probably the biggest building we’ve seen yet on the whole European trip - a gigantic white marble folly with impossibly huge bronze statures on the top. There’s a very interesting war museum inside, with artifacts like Garibaldi’s blanket and saddle and it’s all very solemn and heroic. We had a good look around but opted not to take the lift to the top because of the cost and Net’s fear of heights!
As we walked on towards the Colosseum it started to rain heavily, with gusty winds - the first rain we’d seen since Barcelona! Rome needed a really good long soaking to cleanse itself of all the dust. It had been a stinking hot summer over all of Italy and still incredibly hot in mid-Autumn. This was the beginning of a change and it’s been cooler since, even in Naples (but more on Naples later!)
I set off to see Galleria Borghese that afternoon, walking all the way. Once again I’d traversed the Eternal City! The gallery is magnificent and so is its collection. Its decorative features reminded me of the Pitti Palace, they’re both Baroque masterpieces and there are so many sculptures by Bernini: David and Apollo and Daphne being the highlights. The latter is almost beyond belief in the way Bernini has described Daphne’s turning into a tree.
There is a great collection of Caravaggios and some fantastic Titians, notably the famous “Sacred and Profane Love” and also a large Raphael, “Descent from the Cross”.
Titian's Sacred and Profane Love
I walked back through the gardens and down Via Veneto, which is one of the loveliest and poshest streets in Rome, with wide sidewalks as you’d find in Paris or Melbourne.
The next day Net had nothing particular in mind and was happy to go wandering. I had a cunning plan to see the massive buildings we’d seen the day before from the Monument, I knew they were just across the Tiber and there are no Metros stations close by so we caught a train to Spagna (Spanish Steps) and went up a hill past the 2000 year old Roman walls and then I took Net for a tour of Via Veneta. We saw a shirt in one shop that cost 1,000 dollars Oz! We stopped at a swanky restaurant and had a coffee and tea - very posh. Via Veneta features a lot in the Fellini movies, La Dolce Vita and Nights of Cabiria.
We walked down a bit and then back again into the Borghese Gardens; I planned to continue toward the river but Net spied the bikes for hire and we agreed it would be fun to get a two-person one. I thought it would be very difficult going uphill like the ones in Centennial Park but these ones have some sort of motor thing that operates with your pedaling. The person on the left side controls everything and it’s amazing how you power uphill! It was great fun and we had a ball, going all around the gardens, past the gallery and past the lake. It took a while to get used to controlling the machine but I soon got the hang of it and we sped around everywhere.
After that thrill we walked through the lovely gardens and watched families picnicking under the shady trees until we got to the Piazza del Popolo where a big anti-privitisation demo was being planned. We headed down Via di Ripetta and Via Scrofa all the way to the Piazza Navone, which has a magnificent fountain and a huge church and art markets.
Borghese Gardens
Piazza Navone
Then we saw the huge building across the Tiber called the Castel Sant’ Angelo which is an enormous old Roman fort converted to a church and then we saw the dome of St Peters! We couldn’t believe we’d walked so far! We walked to St Peters Piazza and stood in the middle. It wasn’t as crowded as Tuesday and no where near as hot so we spent plenty of time there, soaking it all up.
Castel Sant’ Angelo
Ponte Sant' Angelo
Net filling up on holy water
Ponte Sant' Angelo
Net filling up on holy water
To get the train home we walked across the oldest Roman bridge spanning the Tiber and past the VE Monument again and the Forum and all that amazing stuff and then the Colosseum. This city never ceases to amaze!
The Forum
We decided to have a sumptuous meal on our last night: antipasto of grilled eggplant, peppers, spinach, bruschetta, steak with tomato and garlic sauce, bread, salad, roast potatoes followed by two rich desserts: profiteroles and cheesecake - delicious!
And so onto Naples, which surprised us in a completely different way! But that's another story.
No comments:
Post a Comment