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Italy 2019

May 2019
Our trip to Rome and Sorrento May 2019 Read more
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  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 1

    Arrival in Rome

    May 6, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Got in at 19:30 and just made the 20:12 train from FCO Leonardo Da Vinci Aeroporto via Train #FL1 to Trastevere station. There we found a tabacchi shop (look for a T which at times might be placed high up on the corner of the block it is located in) at the corner across the street in a little nook of a store to buy bus tickets (€1.50 gets you anywhere in Rome on the public transit system) for Tram #8 which took us to GG Belli stop. One block up into an alleyway and we were here - 31 Bonosa. We could not see a bell, but just as we were looking up their number, a couple buzzed up on a scooter and introduced themselves! It was Elisa, the daughter of the owner, As it was now dark and we were pretty tired, we unpacked and tucked in. The apartment is basic, clean, comfortable and proved to be quiet given we are pretty much right in the middle of things across from Tiber Island. We will soon get quite familiar with the square of GG Belli and its bus and tram stop!Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    1
    Day 2

    Breakfast & our immediate neighbourhood

    May 7, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Kitty corner to our street is a little panetteria -- Panetteria Romana e Spaccio di Paste -- which sells croissants and cornettos (croissant containing fillings, in our case custard). We had this along with (to Doug's disappointment) a Nespresso coffee in a paper cup. Up the street there were tiny stores selling milk and fruit as well (pricier than the local Conad Supermarket).

    We then followed Rick Steves audio-tour of Trastevere, stopping in Piazza in Piscinula to admire a buiding where the wing on the right was built in medieval times and added on. Many buildings are built on to earlier ones and incorporate old building materials. Later that week we had an excellent ravioli at the trattoria in the square.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 2

    Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere

    May 7, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Santa Maria dates back to about 350 AD when Contstantine recognized the Christian faith and it is said that the first public mass took place here. In the 1200s columns from the Baths of Caracalla were used inside and are mismatched. It is the first church to depict Jesus and the Virgin Mary; thus the name. I lit a candle for and said a little prayer for Mom here.

    Legend has it that 38 years before Christ's birth an oil-like substance unexplainably spurted out of the ground. It was later thought to have been a sign of Christ's coming and the site was chosen for the church to commemorate this event.

    The church includes a strip of the original 3rd century paving, the Romanic bell tower and a 17th century mosaic of Madonna and child. Other mosaics from the 12th and 13th century adorn the interior and exterior walls. The church has a gilded wooden ceiling which is painted with incredible frescoes and an authentic Cosmatesque marble floor.

    The spacious Piazza itself is the main 'heart' of Trastevere where people hang and it and the streets leading into it are full of stores and cafes and really come alive in the evening as we were to see later during our food tour.

    Article at:
    https://romanchurches.fandom.com/wiki/Santa_Mar…    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 2

    Museo di Roma in Trastevere

    May 7, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    This building was once a monastery and now is a museum. We spent a short while inside mostly interested in the depictions of Rome inhabitants of the 1700-1800s. This is done from a series of ?clay lifelike scenes depicting the 1800s and some watercolours from the period by one artist. The “Roman Scenes” show a chemist’s, a room where a wine cart is stored, the courtyard of an inn where dancing is taking place, the inside of an inn, a square with a public scribe, and two pipers in front of a votive kiosk.The overall appearance of the buildings had not changed much. The street scenes "typico" of the time do provide an interesting view of the conditions prevalent at the time of the great wave of immigration to America and how the Lower East Side of Manhattan was accepted by them. Overall would not rate this museum highly enough to suggest for inclusion.

    Museum site:
    http://www.museodiromaintrastevere.it/en/il_mus…

    We walked along a narrow street through the gate of Porta Settimiana in the old Roman walls to Villa Farnesina    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 2

    Villa Farnesina

    May 7, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    This was definitely worth a visit both for the fact that the Chigi and Farnese names come up repeatedly (eg chapels financed in churches by wealthy families) and it is the first of many impressively decorated and art filled places we are to see. In fact, by the end, seeing ruins and one amazing sculpture or painting after another almost became commonplace. One begins to recognize the perspective and refinement of the 1500-1600 Renaissance artists and the "big names": Caravaggio with his use of light and dark, Raphael with his flowing style, Bernini, the prolific sculptor and Michelangelo, the "jack of all trades".

    This grand villa was built and decorated in the 1500s by Agostino Chigi who was a successful Vienese banker, then bought by a cardinal in the 1600s, renovated by the Ambassador of Spain in the 1800s and has since been owned by the Italian State. It has beautiful inlaid marble floors, painted scenes on the ceilings, walls by famous painters of the Rennaissance and a lovely garden.

    Article:
    http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/villafarnesin…    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 2

    Campo di Fiori

    May 7, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Short stop at Campo di Fiori which still had the market open. A lot of people and action going on, nice just to sit and watch. Nancy bought a peeler which makes zucchini and carrot spaghetti.

    The southern section of the Centro Storico, Campo de' Fiori is another neighborhood of narrow streets, small piazzas, and ancient churches. Its main focus is the piazza itself, whose workaday fruit and veg stalls are a real contrast to the cafes and street entertainers of Piazza Navona. The open-air food market runs Monday through Saturday from early in the morning until around noon (or whenever the food runs out). From the center of the piazza rises a statue of the severe- looking monk Giordano Bruno, whose presence is a reminder that heretics were occasionally burned at the stake here: Bruno was executed by the Inquisition in 1600.

    Article:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campo_de'_Fiori    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 2

    Twilight Trastevere Food Tour

    May 7, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    This was really fun although, like any group tour, pricey at about €100 each. We felt in the end it was worth it as it lasted almost four hours and was a walking tour, history tour, food tour, snacking and dinner all in one. We met on Tiber Island and each stop in this seven course moveable feast is described. There were 3 other couples on the tour with us from Australia and the USA. Our guide Rish grew up in Trastevere and had decided to return to do this work although he had been trained in sociology and had a good desk job at the United Nations. His mother was from India, his father from England and he grew up hearing Hindi, English and Italian. He was greeted warmly by every establishment we went to and things were perfectly timed.

    Trastevere's ivy-coated, cobblestone streets come alive at night, earning it comparisons to Greenwich Village and Paris's Left Bank. This is where Romans eat with their families and where young Romans go for nightlife. This old quartiere features some of Rome's best loved foodie places, run by the same local families for generations.

    Da Enzo Al 29
    Started the evening like all Romans do with an aperitivo at one of Trastevere's most adored trattorias. Very unpretentious and small, booked up for dinner in 5 days already. It is the end of artichoke season and there is a particular type of artichoke that is deep fried hole, sprinkled with salt and then cold water producing a very light, nongreasy treat (yes you eat stem and all). Served with a glass of Prosecco.

    Ristorante Spirito di Vino
    Spirito di Vino is an award winning slow food local favorite perfect for a wine tasting in their ancient wine cellar. It is housed in a medieval building once used as a synagogue and the Hebrew letters can be seen on the pillars. The cellar dates back to 80 AD. We had "Caesar stew" following a recipe from Roman times and said to be favoured by Julius Caesar himself. Doug was a bit bummed out as he had the carrot soup instead of the stew given he had listed shellfish allergy and it had some fish paste in it. However he was wowed by the 5000 bottles of wine we were surrounded with and the cellar itself which is an archaeologically protected site. We had a "a young red Sangiovese wine" which was quite light and enjoyable.

    Biscottificio Artigiano Innocenti
    Next, we got dessert in early at a bakery in operation since the 1950s - a 16 foot oven was installed at that time. Wonderful cookies and cakes and we bought some to take home with us.

    Antica Norcineria Iacozzilli
    A "norcineria" is a store when has "everything to do with pig" and the specialty is their porchetta - delicious. It is the belly around another part of the pig which is slow roasted for 7 hours with garlic and rosemary. Then put on high heat so the outside becomes crackly. Served on pizza blanco - delishioso. A small glass of beer with that.

    Suppli Roma
    Rome's favourite street food snack, a rice ball with cheese centre fried to perfection.

    Trattoria Casa Mia
    Run by Donatella and her nephew Fabio, this cozy trattoria serves up real cucina romana. Their pasta specialities include handmade tonnarelli cacio e pepe and amatricianea which was served to us with a red wine.

    Fatamorgana
    We ended our meal with tips on gelato and going to a spot in business since the 1970s. Rish told us about 75% of gelaterias sell 'fake gelato' distinguished by too intense a colour and being able to heap it above the top of the pan where it would melt if it was made without additives. So now we will need to limit ourselves to these!!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 2

    Day 2 Travels

    May 7, 2019 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Mostly in our neighborhood and just across the river.

    We did two walks.

    In the day from about 8:30 to 14:30 starting and ending in our apartment.

    We then went out again for the food tour in the evening starting at 17:00.

    Distance: 17,594 steps; 17.1 km.
    Weather: 19 degrees mostly sunny.

    Live map link:
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=1c2KQjqRkuO6fL…    Read more

  • TravelerItaly 2019
    Day 3

    Colosseum

    May 8, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    We had booked tickets for skip the line at the Colosseum for first opening at 0830 hrs so had a coffee and croissant at home and were out the door. We were not the first in line though! However, despite a lack of clear signage and the crowd scene we made our way in when the gates opened and took in the sight. It is huge and just a start to the ongoing appreciation of the engineering marvels of the Roman age, the construction techniques, the incredible grandeur of this, the palaces and baths which we were about to see in their heyday. The basic time line to remember is Rome grew as a Republic 500 BC to 0, there was peace and prosperity 0-200 AD and then decline 200-500 AD due to too big a machine and poor leadership. After the barbarians (everyone other than Romans) sacked Rome in the 550s it ushered in 1000 years of dark dreary times in Europe until the light of the Renaissance. Rome fell into ruins, was silted up and then pillaged and dismantled and incorporated into the rebuilding. Everywhere in Rome you see this, even in the smallest of buildings - the taking of Roman items and incorporation into current structures. This "lasagne" effect as it is called is seen everywhere - if something was structurally solid, reuse, repair, recycle - they were way ahead of their time and it makes for the iconic alleyways, stucco repaired, paint faded and added, plants mixed with stone. Right away you see that cobblestones are not a thing of the past. Major roads are constructed this way, filled in, hardly ever a smooth pavement. Best to wear running shoes, even sandals are not all that safe and watch where you are going! If you don't twist an ankle you will be run over. Despite the fairly constant blare of ambulances we didn't see any injuries or accidents but there is definitely a constant chaos to the intermix of Vespas, cars and pedestrians everywhere you go!

    The Colosseum is the most recognizable and iconic monument of Rome. Under Vespasian much of Nero's private property was returned to the people and the construction of a grand amphitheatre began (71-72AD) on part of the property. The amphitheatre was completed during the reign of Titus in 80AD and by 81AD a third level had been added.
    The colosseum was used for bull fights, gladiator fights, chariot races, official events and various public forms of entertainment. At its peak, the most popular event was the Ludi Circenses, the chariot races, there were also naval battles reproduced with complex stage effects. The Colosseum also hosted staged hunts, using live animals and often involved feeding convicts to the beasts. Mythological dramas were staged in the arena among scenic woods complete with forest animals. Rome had a strict class system and there were 5 levels of seating within the audience according to your social status. At capacity the arena could hold 50,000 to 80,000 spectators on the marble benches.

    Article:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum    Read more

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