Food glorious food!

Today we went for a food tour in the Jewish Ghetto area of Rome.

The Jewish Ghetto was set up by Pope Paul IV in 1555 and it would not have been a pleasant place to live back then. It is right on the river so would have flooded on regular occasions and it was a bit out of the way.

In 1943 the ghetto was closed by the Nazis and any residents were sent to the camps. Of the 1000 or so people sent just 16 came back after the war. To remember these people there are brass plaques mounted on the ground outside the buildings where the people lived.

Now it is one of the most expensive areas in Rome in which to live.

The food tour started with a visit to a deli for some cheeses and cold meats. We then went to a pizza shop selling slices of pizza by weight. Then another place to try stuffed zucchini flowers and balls of rice and cheese called suppli (or surprise) in Italian. Then across the river to have pasta. Lastly a visit to one of the better gelato shops in town.

Needless to say we didn’t need lunch!

When we crossed the river we went over the Pont Fabricio which is the oldest bridge in Rome built in 62BC. It took us to Isola Tiberina which is a small island in the Tiber River which is the site of Rome’s main maternity hospital.

The guide also talked about how difficult it is to build things in Rome. The Rome metro only has three lines and the last one took 35 years to build. The problem is of course that every time they dig a hole they discover something that requires full archaeological investigation so everything gets delayed.

After the food tour we went back across the river to visit the Pantheon.

This iconic building had a number of earlier versions which all burnt down. This one was built around 126 and has been in constant use ever since. The dome is 43m across and 43m high and 2000 years after it was built it remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. It has a hole in its roof called the oculus and drains in the floor for when it rains.

It has a number of Royal tombs and also tombs of key figures from the time. The granite pillars out the front are from Egypt and are unique in that they are each one solid piece of stone. Usually they are in a number of pieces.

Really interesting.

After our visit it was time to retire to the hotel for a rest and a drink at the rooftop barWeiterlesen