One needs to be in Rome to understand the title. — Rome (ancient) streets are by enlarge cobbled or paved streets and roads and as soon as you step outside the province the roads change in nature and texture. Now of course they are modern and high class but it takes just a bit of imagination to see the rutted and mud roads they may have been in days bygone.
Fun Fact: why cobbled stone roads?
Easy to maintain- if a part is damaged simply take out and replace the piece. Durable and long lasting (obviously- they still exits !), the spaces in between ensure there is no water logging.
Of course these are not conducive to high heels or baby strollers or wheeled bags nor to scooterist as they result in bumpy rides.
1st Impression as we headed out of the Fiumiccini Airport towards the city: Straight lines and perpendicular angles, open spaces and tall, tall trees.
Buildings in clusters- straight walls — in shades of cream, ochre and sienna topped by slanted but flattish roofs of rust shaded interlocked barrel tiles. Windows in a line — mostly with shutters of green, brown, white or black ( no yellow, red, blue seen), balconies if present did not run around the whole floor but were just beneath some windows- no broader than the windowpane. Some had flowers in them providing splashes of bright colour.
Most trees were the needle like cypresses or the Pinus Pinea (Italian Umbrella tree) . As the lives of these pines can go upto 150 years or so it is said that Mussolini brought them to Rome planting them in long lines along avenues.
As we were in Rome for just 2 days — and had already done the touristy stuff inn a previous trip– The Vatican, Sistine Chpel, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum- not writing about them and in any case — the internet and the public mindset is already filled with many more details than I can possibly capture.
Instead, I’m writing my impressions and about the other places we saw and experienced
As we crossed the Tiber River — we seemed to cross over from the “modern” part of the city with its shops lining both side of the street and taller buildings into the older — more central part. The streets turned narrower, had few twists and turns, were cobbled and very charming. 2- at best 3 storey buildings (residences) made with bricks or stones often with terrace gardens on the roof with the foliage growing willy nilly as seen from the ground. Trees on the ground were very few if any- hence the colourful balconies and roof gardens.
Each of these narrow cobbled alleys were interesting to walk through, with their quaint shops or restaurants, you never knew which street would open into a piazza and one looks very mush like the other- so its easy to get lost in them (which we did even with google maps!!) The Piazzas (central squares)- large or small, that the street opened into usually had a fountain and a nasoni (literally meaning a large nose, due to its shape)
The water coming from the nasoni is the same supplied to the city’s households and thus safe for drinking. It is cool and very refreshing (especially in the heat of Rome) It is continuously running from the fountain through a hole at the bottom of the spout. Additionally, most nasoni have a hole located at the top of the spout, allowing people to drink from the fountain more easily by blocking the bottom hole and forcing the water upwards.
At its height , Rome had about 5000 nasoni’s — now there are about 2500- 2800 left- with about 10% of them in the central city.
The piazza squares are typically markets with flowers/ fruits and general vendors during the daytime and transform into a central hub for musicians, performers etc. or just a place for romance. Cafes, Gelato shops and places to eat generally line the corners of the piazza.
Fun Fact: each restaurant had their own, lack for a better word, “pimps” who attempted to attract the tourist to eat at their place. Much like those men in Chandni Chowk who try to get you to visit their saree houses to purchase lehengas and sari’s.
Rome also have 1000s of fountains- in piazzas, outside buildings, in the centre of roundabouts and just by themselves- all being fed by the extensive underground aqueducts. Often two aqueducts feed the same fountain so that even if one is shut the water from the fountain does not.
One we saw — close to where we were staying was the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) is a fountain in the Piazza Navona
The base of the fountain is a basin from the center of which travertine rocks rise to support four river gods and above them, a copy of an Egyptian obelisk surmounted with the Pamphili family emblem of a dove with an olive twig.
Collectively, they represent four major rivers of the four continents through which papal authority had spread:
the Nile representing Africa,
the Danube representing Europe,
the Ganges representing Asia,
and the Río de la Plata representing the Americas.
Very close to where we were staying in the central city, surrounded by bustling traffic and busy buildings was a huge excavated site containing the remains of four ancient temples .
The site also contains the remains of the Curia of Pompey, a central meeting place for senators where it is believed Caesar was stabbed to death on March 15 (the Ides of March) in 44 B.C.
Successive generations had built on the site since ancient times, and it was only rediscovered when buildings were demolished in 1926 and was recently opened to the public.
Seeing the site and knowing it existed somehow validates the existence of Julius Ceaser and the entire Roman Empire…..
As a friend once mentioned — my writings seem to jump from one point to another- while the reader’s mind is grappling with one snippet -assimilating it — I have already jumped to the next. A quirk of my mind, I guess.
…and so ….on to the next.
Do not fret if you are unable to see the Sistine Chapel or Michaelangelo’s art ( (paucity of time, huge crowds, unable to book a tour, get tickets… whatever) go to any church — and there are plenty to choose from- all of them have magnificent painted ceilings and wall frescos and murals, statues….sit and experience a feeling of peace and calm, an inner stillness, a quiet haven from the hectic hustle of a typical tourist.
Many buildings and pillars in Rome have small circular religious frescoes / paintings on a corner of the outer wall — usually Madonna with a child or they have small statues, busts, animal and bird figures much as the Greek.
Fun Fact: The difference between Roman and Greek figurines is that the Roman statues were built in the image of an actual person-the way they were while the Greek statues depict the ideal perfect form possible.
A good way to get an overview of the city is to get on the Hop-On Hop-Off buses (a lot of the above gyaan came through their spiel) The Red Bus was the most commonly seen though there are multiple companies to choose from. Contrary to the name HOHO and the multiple stops depicted on the route map the buses actually stop at only the major touristy places- the Pantheon, Vatican, Spanish Steps, Bus Terminals
FOOD we had
Had pizzas at many places — each tasted subtly different from the other. The Neapolitan one has a thick crust while the Roman one a thin one Both were delicious.
Lasagna– great while fresh and hot but equally delicious when the leftover was eaten cold- from the fridge
Pasta Pepe ( simple with olive oil, pepper …delicious) and another which had bits of bacon or prosciutto -forget the name-
Focaccia — Reminiscent of a thick pizza dough, it is salty, drizzled with olive oil and delicious either by itself, or as a sandwich
Truffle- refer my blog of the truffle hunt. (LINK IT)
Supplì a Roman specialty oval shaped, made of rice and tomato sauce, with a large piece of mozzarella in the middle.
Rissotto as an antipasti (appetizer) and another of mashed potatoes — amazingly transformed from the way we had had them earlier.
Gelato– had it multiple times — but hugely Over rated. Indian ice creams are much better.
Boar– a lot like mutton- tho’ slightly tougher
Biscotti– various types depending on the bakery-each one was great
Had some fish dishes-don’t recall names- one was fried fresh fish -small fishes with all parts intact and visible, shrimp pasta, and a few more- blanking out here — these were at coastal restaurants and I who do not really enjoy fish — actually enjoyed the dishes we had
In an attempt to be healthy, usually ordered salad or grilled vegetables along with the meal-nothing to write about.
Tiramisu– the best- soft and creamy just coffee and cream and the correct amount of sweetness. Tiramisu served in Delhi is not a patch on the Italian ones.
Not much of a wine drinker- so no appreciation but I loved the Limoncello (sweet lemon liqueur had typically as a digestive drink) — I had it as my drink of choice!
Am sure we had many more dishes but for the life of me- cannot recall…must take pictures and jot down names in future. One thing tho’ either the servings were generous or our appetites post 60 years, have shrunk more often than not we carried back leftovers.
thats it for now — till my next travel 🙂
Umbria: a must visit place in Italy
Truffle Hunting in Umbria