If you were in Rome this weekend you were in for a white surprise. What started Friday with slush on the roads ended Saturday when the second day of snowfall blanketed the capital white, causing traffic to grind to a halt in most places. Mayor Gianni Alemanno urged drivers not to hit the roads if their cars were not equipped with chains or winter tyres. The snowfall also made buses and taxis scarce, meaning we had to walk our way around Rome and we were not the only ones. ”We haven’t seen this kind of snow since 1985 – 1986,” people told us several times in the streets, “in this city it hardly ever snows.”
While the city struggled with the unusually snowy weather Rome’s city officials decided to close Rome’s tourist attractions, like the ancient Colosseum, the adjacent Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill, museums, schools and other public buildings over fears people could slip and fall. In addition Mayor Gianni Alemanno appealed to private citizens to help clear the city of snow and slush before the nighttime freeze. Notwithstanding the hand out of 4,000 shovels by volunteers for the national Civil Protection agency in some piazza’s most Romans used their own broom or shovel to clear the entrance to their apartment building.
After the chaos on Friday the mood changed on Saturday when Rome awoke to about 10 centimeters (4 inches) of fresh snow and the streets filled up with families, couples, children and young adolescents tossing snowballs, taking pictures and making the most of this white surprise the skies brought the Romans. The holiday-like atmosphere influenced most of us and to be in an almost car-less winter wonderland Rome became a totally unexpected, pleasant experience.
Take a look at video from Republica TV to get an Rome snow impression
I am always on look out for something inspirational or remarkable for our blog and could not bypass this 1970’s music video. A number 1 hit when released in 1977, Space’s “Magic Fly” proves that the merging of disco music and sci-fi still can be an inspiration for the Retro Age nostalgia of today.
When you look at the robots rocking out on analog synthesizers, the robotic rhythm of the drums and the hot, golden female humanoid who dances seductively in front of them, you have to admit that these visuals are space disco at its best. Really cool or not?
Space disco became international pop culture phenomenon in the later part of the 1970’s. The optimism of the space age found its expression in the fusion of disco music with futuristic themes, sounds and visuals; the outfits were inspired by robotic shapes and the bands also used laser illumination and computer screens sequences to boost their performances.
The band Space was founded in 1977 by Didier Marouani (a.k.a. Ecama), Roland Romanelli and Jannick Top. Their first album “Magic Fly”, considered by many to be their best work, became number 1 in the world, including the number one spot on the Disco-Charts in the United States. Space sold more than 10 million records worldwide with three albums – Magic Fly, Deliverance and Just Blue- before splitting up in 1981. In 2009 Nang records came out with a completely remastered “The Best Of Space” packed with 14 of their classic hits plus a “Magic Fly” Remix from 1998. Another track that represents this groovy sound of the 70′s is “carry on, turn me on” with the soulful vocals of Madeline Bell.
Retro yourself back to the disco space magic of the seventies, remastered with new audio and presented in hi-res for the first time. If you can’t get enough go to youtube and see the life version “Magic Fly” at the mythical Discomare 1977 in Selinunte, Sicily.
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) was one of those photographers who made pictures into a form of global communication long before television. From the moment Henri Cartier-Bresson, at age 24, bought his first Leica he found the instrument that served him for the rest of his life. This small handheld Leica, a novelty at the time, made it easy to capture subjects on the move and to adjust the camera to the point of view of the user. Anybody who has seen film of Cartier-Bresson at work will understand how important movement was, Cartier-Bresson himself once said in an interview:
“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event, as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression. I believe that through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us which can mould us, but which can also be affected by us. A balance must be established between these two worlds- the one inside us and the one outside us. As the result of a constant reciprocal process, both these worlds come to form a single one. And it is this world that we must communicate. But this takes care only of the content of the picture. For me, content cannot be separated from form. By form, I mean the rigorous organization of the interplay of surfaces, lines and values. It is in this organization alone that our conceptions and emotions become concrete and communicable. In photography, visual organization can stem only from a developed instinct. ” It was this instinct combined with his former training as a painter that made him the master of the decisive moment. “It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy”.
A few years ago a group of friends decided to honor the late Henri Cartier-Bresson by asking intellectuals, writers, critics, photographers or even just friends to choose their favorite image of the master and to comment on their image experience. What started off as a project to honor the evocative master of photography became an exhibition of a dialogue between Cartier-Bresson’s photographic works and the response his work challenges in influential intellectuals and friends such as Pierre Alechinsky, Ernst Gombrich, Leonardo Sciascia, Ferdinando Scianna, Aulenti, Balthus, Baricco, Cioran, Jarmusch, Kundera, Miller, Steinberg and Varda.
The result is a selection of 44 unique photographic masterpieces and comments – “Immagini e parole” (Images and Words) – that offer the viewer the unique opportunity to contemplate on Cartier-Bresson’s images and also explore several issues related to his photography and photography in general: its communicative power, its stylistic features like the geometry of a perfect shot, its role in society, etc. The exhibition, organized by the Provincial Administration as part of Project ABC Art Beauty Culture, opened January 20 and will continue until May 6, 2012.
Henri Cartier-Bresson – Immagini e parole – till May 6, 2012
Palazzo Incontro
Via dei Prefetti 22
00186 Roma
Opening hours 10-19 (closed Monday), Exhibition admission ticket: € 6 (€4 reduced)
Web: http://www.fandangoincontro.it/
The end of January is that time of the year for fashion lovers. AltaRoma, or in other words, Rome fashion week is back on. Rome’s fashion week takes place twice annually: in January and in July at the Complesso monumentale Santo Spirito in Saxia. From 28 to 31 January 2012 AltaRoma will again fill up Rome’s weekly planner with glamour, trends and haute couture collections often held at surprising, unique -never-seen-before- locations.
But is not only about fashion, Alta Roma is also about the synergy between design, art and fashion. It combines fashion with a series of unconventional events and experimental performances. Moreover if you work in fashion or in the creative field it provides you with the right environment to meet some creatively beautiful or beautifully creative people and engage yourself in some networking.
AltaRoma AltaModa sees itself as the spokesperson for style, history and innovation, as the driving force behind Italian haute couture whose activities open a dialogue with opinion leaders and the world of culture and art through collaboration.
We, at RetRome, are no different from all those art lovers who seek to embellish their space with a nice piece of art, except for the fact that we’ll strive for art with a retro flavor. One of our flavor masters is long time friend and collaborator Andrea Bonaventura (Roma 1967-).
Andrea Bonaventura started his carreer with a degree in statistics at the University of Rome, was active as a painter and poet before he in 1994 decided to take his artistic carreer one step further; he would devote his time to create digital art with a special focus on digital portraits. Andrea’s prints carry the stamp of their master and have the ability to add color and flavor to a room. One can say that they possess a certain vintage quality, although the prints are made with modern day techniques.
To expose his art and to get acquainted with the man behind Arte 21, his digital art laboratory, we asked him some questions:
Why did you exchange your degree in statistics for a career in art?
Actually, I have always loved art, I passed hours drawing when I was a child and then I started painting with oils when I was twenty. Statistics was a “youth mistake”, but every experience you have gives you something to say when you have learnt how to say it, so I don’t regret my statistics degree.
What is your aim, what do you want to achieve with your art?
I just do it because I like it, because I need to and because I can do it. I don’t have a special aim or project as motivation for my work. It’s all in the print.
Who is buying your art, what kind of people?
Actually one thing that makes me happy is the fact that I can reach all kinds of people with my art. Two of my last customers were an almost illiterate waitress here in Rome and a high functionary of the European Community in Brussels (they had a different budgets to spend of course, but that’s not the question).
Do you have a nice anecdote or story to tell about your work or customers that could be exemplary for the way you work?
Well, I once sold a portrait of Fidel Castro to a very religious man who thought it was Padre Pio. The idea that he has a Fidel Castro print hanging in his living room and perhaps prays beneath it, makes me think that in the end we always see what we want to see in a picture.
Do you have a favorite print?
I like almost all the pictures I’ve done. Usually the ones I like more are the last I did, so if you ask me this question next year probably you’ll have a different answer. The one on top of the blog is one of my favorites.
Andrea Bonaventura
ARTE 21
Via dei Cappellari 120
00186 Roma
Tel. ++39 06 6878419
SKYPE: infoarte21
www.arte21.it
The hour still has to be confirmed, but the location is known and we can’t think of a better backdrop for this year – New Year’s Eve- concert, Negramaro e Giusy Ferreri at the Roman Forum. And best of all – it’s absolutely free!
Each year on New Year’s Eve the city of Rome plans festivities , from fireworks to free concerts, to give everyone something special to remember for their last night of the year under the Roman skies. The activities are part of the Roma Città Natale 2011 festival that runs from 20 December 2011 till 6 January 2012.
The announcement for the 2011 concert came from Negramaro’s front man Giuliano Sangiorgi on the band’s official website. “We hope that the Maya are wrong and that 2012 does not mark the end of this spinning ball on which we all clinging”, Sangiorgi wrote. “We decided to celebrate the New Year in Rome at this amazing historical place and see the concert as a tribute to all our fans.” To get into the right spirit the Negramaro spend Christmas in the rehearsal room. “For us this is already an historic event.” To make the most of the show, they completely re-designed the stage to adapt it to the grandeur of the Roman Forum. Prepare yourself for a show full of energy among the historic ruins of the Ancient Rome and sing your heart out, make your last night of the year one to remember.
Don’t miss out on the hottest free ticket in town. Hopefully it won’t be that cold, but just in case, take something warm and also bubbly with you and arrive early to make sure you have a seat.
For those who don’t know Giusy Ferreri or the rock band Negramaro; Negramaro started its existence in 1999 in the alternative music scene. Negramaro draws its name from the Italian Negroamaro, a wine from the area of Salento, their home base in Puglia. One can be short about their participation in the Festival of San Remo (in 2005 with the song “Mentre Tutto Scorre”), they were eliminated in the first round, but one thing led to another and after the festival some songs were chosen for the soundtrack of the Italian film “La Febbre”. The rest is history. In the last couple of years Negramaro made headlines in the Italian music scene with its five albums and the “Negramaro Live” DVD.
Giusy Ferreri on the other hand saw her first daylight on the 18th of April 1979 in Palermo, Sicily. From early on she studied piano and singing, and performed with various cover bands, singing different styles and genres ranging from Italian and international rock, pop-rock and blues. Her breakthrough came in 2008 when she decided to audition for the first edition of the X Factor show on Rai Due. Although she did not win, she became second, her music carreer took off after the show. On 16th of February 2011 she released her third studio album “Il mio universo” across Europe.
Negroamaro Meraviglioso
Concerto di Capodanno 2012: Negramaro e Giusy Ferreri
December 31, 2011 (times to be confirmed, but generally it starts at 10 PM, see also the program Roma Città Natale 2011)
Fori Imperiali
Via dei Fori Imperiali
For the foodies there is a lot to discover in Rome. As we like to mix the sophisticated on a budget with simple down to earth Roman restaurants, it should not be a secret that every once in a while we end or start our afternoon in Monti’s La Carbonara. La Carbonara dal 1906 is a typical Roman Osteria, simply furnished with wooden chairs and tables, grafitti-covered walls and old style exposed brick vaulted ceilings.
In general the staff is cheerful and attentive, but be aware, tourists don’t always get amazing treatment here. Depending on the time of the day, their mood or the busyness of the place some staff members can be a bit snooty from time to time. Don’t let that spoil your appetite, just ignore it and allow Teresa Rossi, the matriarch of this more than hundred-year-old osteria, to work her kitchen magic on you. I doubt you’ll be sorry. Signora Teresa takes on traditional Roman recipes to give La Carbonara’s down to earth Roman Cuisine her own interesting twist, without losing out on tradition. If you are a lover of tripe, which I am not, you can try it on Saturday only, as Roman custom dictates.
We started off with frittura “La Carbonara”; a generous portion of battered vegetables, including pumpkin, aubergine, and artichoke and a strozzapreti with artichoke, guanciale, and pecorino. For “Primi” -first dish- we ate bucatini all’amatriciana and spaghetti alla carbonara. Contrary to what you might think, the name La Carbonara dal 1906 doesn’t come from the classic pasta dish made with egg and pancetta or bacon, but from its first female chef (in 1906), who was the wife of a coal miner, hence the name La Carbonara. After the generous portions of fresh pasta, I thought I couldn’t eat another thing till my partner ordered a home made cake that really delighted my sweet palate. The espresso afterwards provided the finishing touch for our down to earth Roman lunch experience.
La Carbonara is frequented by a mix of locals, including Roman musicians and actors, ex-pats and tourists. In the weekends and on some evenings it can be very crowded, especially in the front room. Ask for the back room if you want a little more space. A note of warning: don’t confuse La Carbonara in Monti with the tourist trap “La Carbonara” in Campo dei Fiori!
214, Via Panisperna
Rome, Italy
Tel: 39 06 482-5176
Tel: 39 06 482 5176
Email: info@lacarbonara.it http://www.lacarbonara.it/
La Carbonara offers also a special capodanno – end of the year meal / event, check it out if you are interested.
Everywhere we go we all have places we cherish and for me the OS club in Rome is one of them. This place you will probably miss unless you are taken there. In our case the sign of the OS club revealed itself, while crossing the southern slope of the Esquiline Hill on our way from the Celio to the Monti neighbourhood. We could not resist a peek inside. It is a modern complex built on the grounds of one of those former grand mansions and has delightful garden that offers a high level of privacy. The whole complex is a lot bigger than you would imagine from the outside. According to what people told us the OS Club was created by a group of friends, including David and Catia Sulpizi, Frederick Bonesi and Antonio Borraccino, with the intention to create a contemporary, multipurpose space devoted to Roman culture, music, live events, exhibitions, book signings, lectures , film and video, art, wine, good food and history.
Design lovers as we are, we noticed the attention paid to the buildings’s architecture (environmental friendly materials) and its interior design. The chairs of the OS 3107 Club are by the famous Danish designer Arne Jacobsen, their original design dates back to 1955; in the lounge bar we’ll find lamps by Catellani & Smith and chairs of Antonio Citterio, who also put his name on the interior design of restaurant Iolanda, one of the two restaurants on the premises. In addition to the casual Hostaria and the more chic, gourmet Iolanda the OS club offers the possibility to dine in a private, separate dining room the “Sala dello Chef” with just eight seats, designed by Marcello Ziliani. Be assured that each of the guests will be pampered by chef Davide Cianetti and sommelier Alessia Meli, voted “Best Sommelier of the Year” by the Guide “The Restaurants of Italy” 2009.
Let’s admit it, the location on top of the Oppian Hill next to the archaeological sites of the Baths of Trajan and the ruins of Nero’s Golden House is hard to beat, even for those not interested in history. This historical area of 4,000 square meters of parkland provided us with another cool surprise, one we only discovered after our second visit. On the right side of the entrance there is a separate area that hosts a temporary swimming pool. What can be better in the warm summer months than to take a refreshing dip in this nice, 1.60 meter deep pool surrounded by pine and citrus trees. It’s not cheap, but worth the money. You also develop a sense of the decadence of Roman times so close to the old Trajan baths. Or, in other words, quoting one of our guests:” you almost feel like an emperor yourself, it is modern decadence on top of one of Rome’s famous seven hills. ” The OS Club inaugurated on the 11th of November 2010 and is open all year round.
For the end of the year (capodanno) celebrations the OS club offers several arrangements, check it out at their website http://www.osclub.it/ (hope it is working, they seem to have some server problems) or other dedicated websites with information about the end of the year - capodanno di Roma - events on the RetRome Facebook page.
OS Club
Via delle Terme di Traiano 4
Rome 00184
Tel. reservations 06 48 93 03 79
Temporary pool admission 16 euros for a full-day on weekdays,
19 euros on weekends, with discounts available after 2 p.m.
For the suckers for vintage clothing among us Pulp in the Rome’s Monti neighbourhood is the place to be. Located only a few minutes from the Via Cavour metro station, Pulp is outcome of the love of two men (Fabio and Fabrizio Brumeccini Polanschi) for all things vintage and fashion. Their colourful store tiptoes around an exquisite selection of vintage and resale clothes, shoes and accessories with the added possibility of something custom made. Pulp is a store where everything is well organized and the design, clothes and shoes give you lots of inspiration, even if you don’t have the right size. Pulp is mostly for women, but also has smaller selection for men’s vintage clothes. It is eclectic, modern and vintage at the same time. Furthermore we liked the special glitzy, Rolling Stones inspired, phone on the reception desk as well.
As in Rome vintage doesn’t always come cheap, at least not when compared to new clothes in the High Street, prices in Pulp are very reasonable; around the 15-75 euro mark. In general most of the vintage shops have dresses in the €40 to €120 price range, shoes and purses run from €30 and up. We thought it was a bargain to buy a Dolce & Gabbana jacket for less than 60 Euros. If you are in Rome for a longer period browse through the fashionable racks regularly. At least once, but sometimes twice a week, Pulp receives new arrivals from (among others) exclusive vintage collections like Gucci and even Channel.
So, vintage lovers on the lookout for high quality, high end clothing (at lower prices) make a stop in Via Del Boschetto to find your own Pulp treasure and while you are there take a look at the other stores in the street and nearby streets too; there are more vintage treasures to be found. Have fun while hunting!
Pulp
Address: Via Del Boschetto, 140
00184 Roma
Phone: +39 06.485511
E-mail: bruniss@libero.it
Are you one of those people who strongly feel that you were born in the wrong time period? Are you totally fascinated by the Roman period and do you have a serious desire to become a gladiator, even if only for a day? Rome would not be Rome if it could not address your wish to experience life as a Roman gladiator.
What do we actually know about gladiators, besides the monumental visuals of ancient Rome in Ridley Scott’s film Gladiator’s movie? If you have not seen the movie yet, you may want to do so. I am sure you will be impressed by the enormous amount of historical research undertaken to give the movie an authentic, historical feel, although much of the plot is fiction.
Gladiatorial games (Munera) probably originated in Etruscan times. Traditionally, munera were part of funeral offerings. They were seen at the time as a more humane way to grant prisoners the right to fight their way to freedom and not to become part of the blood offer needed to fulfill the rites of sacrifice for the dead. We know through works of the Roman writer Pliny that in 65 BC, Julius Caesar commemorated his father (who had died twenty years before) with gladiatorial games featuring 320 pairs of gladiators in shiny silver armor.
Rome’s gladiators were known as some of the most fearsome fighters in the empire. When a new recruit entered one of the schools to commence gladiator training he (or sometimes she) was assessed by the lanista, a doctor and the gladiator’s trainers. The training did not initially involve the use of real weapons; instead wooden training swords called the Rudus were put in practice. A Rudus was also given in the arena to a successful gladiator.
Roman poet Juvenal (circa 60-131 BC) an astute observer of Roman life and also one of the most revered Roman satirists, wrote in his famous Satire X on the vanity of human wishes about the political circus surrounding the games. His famous Latin phrase ‘Panem et Circenses (bread and circuses)’ says it all: to win the votes of the poor shower them with bread and circus games. Juvenal wrote: “… Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.” In reference to this practice the film Gladiator shows a scene where the crowds are showered with loaves of bread at the same moment as the gladiators enter the ring.
It was the popular politician Gaius Sempronius Gracchus in 123 BC who started the practice of providing Roman citizens with free wheat and gladiatorial games as a means to gain political power, though much to the contention of his political adversaries. In spite of the resentment the bread and circus games became a stunning success and represented a very effective method of gaining votes of the general public.
There are various types and categories of gladiators. There is the heavily armed Samnite, later called a hoplomachus or secutor. A Samnite carried a sword or a lance, a rectangular shield, a metal helmet and protective armor on his right arm and left leg. The Thracian wielded a curved short sword, the sica, and a small round shield, the parma. The Murmillo, or “fishman” (after the fish-shaped crest on his helmet) was less heavily armed. A Murmillo customarily fought another kind of warrior, the Retiarius, or “net-man,” who wore no armor at all. A Retiarius attempted to catch his opponent in his net and then stab him with a long, razor-sharp trident, or three-pronged spear. Furthermore there are the Eques (horses and sword), Essedari (war-chariot fighters) , Laquerarii (lasso fighters) and Velites (fought in groups with spears).
Choose one of the gladiator schools in Rome where a instructor will teach you the skill of a gladiator. During the half day or full day course (if you have the stamina for it) you will see yourself probably wearing a beaten steel helmet topped with blood-red ostrich feathers, meanwhile carrying a shield, that weighs a ton, in one hand and a wooden practice sword in the other. At the end of the lesson, after all the hard work, you are presented with impressive scroll of your suitability to fight in the Coliseum. The course is suitable for men and women, young and old. Don’t forget your camera to record this fun experience. Live adventurously; you are not a gladiator every day!
The story of “The Baseballs” kicks off in 2007. Three twenty something’s, Sam, Basti and Digger met by chance in a Berlin recording studio. As they recognize similar interests in music and style, also in their identical hair-do–“jam”, they decide on the spot to form a band with the aim to sing cover versions of songs from the Fifties and Sixties. After a while the appeal of transforming modern songs into a rock-n-roll style and they became masters in mixing today’s pop songs with the rockabilly sound of the fifties following their own motto: “We take good songs and lead them to their true destiny”.
The release of their debut album “Strike!” in May 2009 (produced by JMC Music) turned everything upside down for “The Baseballs”. Strike became a major hit and reached number 2 in album charts in Switzerland and The Netherlands and number 1 in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
In the following 18 months “The Baseballs” were touring almost non-stop throughout Europe, performing at festivals meanwhile receiving countless awards, among these the Emma Award in Finland for the best-selling album of the year. Along the way the band with the pompadours and sideburns sold nearly one million albums. In recognition of their international success the band was presented the European Border Breakers Award 2011 as Europe’s most successful new band at the Eurosonic Festival in Holland. In 2011 “The Baseballs” released a new album titled “The Baseballs – Strings ‘n’ Stripes”.
Go back to the sound of the fifties with ‘The Baseballs’ cover Umbrella and enjoy.
Rome is not a city for one day, a weekend nor a week. Rome is more than the sum of it’s parts, but without the parts you’ll be missing a lot. Try a different approach to exploring Rome. Every time you visit the city choose an accommodation in a different neighbourhood and emerge yourself in it’s ‘colour locale’. That’s exactly what the Dutch Magazine ‘De smaak van Italia / the taste of Italy’ did in their Rome Special. RetRome is mentioned as a vintage styled accommodation in the section about the Monti and Navona neighbourhoods.
Who does not want to go to Rome? For the Dutch audience writer Willemijn van Dijk and editor Saskia Balmaekers created a new guide – De smaak van Rome – The taste of Rome- which you can interpret in a literal and figurative way. This book will help you to avoid the many tourist traps and gives you a sense of the real Rome. In – Slapen met Smaak – RetRome is mentioned as a comfortable and special – meaning retro style -accommodation to spend your nights in Rome. Highly recommended!
From the early beginnings Tivoli, in the Tiburtini hills 30 km east of Rome, has always been a favorite of the high and mighty, like the poet Horatio, politicians and emperors including Augustus, Trajan, and Hadrian.
Traces of settlement in the area go as far back as the 13 century BC. In Etruscan times Tivoli was at the heart of the cult of the Tiburtine Sibyl, whom Roman scholar Varro calls ‘Albunea’, the water nymph, dressed in animal skins carrying the fascista bundle of rods. The sibylline oracle prophesied to Emperor Augustus his future and the future of the Roman Empire. It must have been auspicious, because in the years following Augustus erected several temples in the name of the god Apollo and became the care taker of the famous sibylline books. The Temple of the Sibyl, modeled after the ancient Greek temples, can still be visited.
Another place worth visiting is Emperor Hadrian’s villa or Villa Adriana. The villa became Hadrian’s preferred residence when in Rome, probably due to the fact that adopted son of Trajan had poor relations with the senate and the Roman elite after an incident at the beginning of his reign, when four respected Roman Senators were assassinated. Hadrian denied any wrong doing and even swore a public oath that he was not responsible, but his relations with the senate never recovered from the affair.
Construction on Hadrian’s masterpiece began around 117 AD and ended in 138 AD, the year of his death. Hadrian, an avid traveler, recreated in the villa the architectural highlights of his travels to Italy, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Built as a private summer retreat its vast grounds covered an area of 120 hectares (300 acres). To get an idea about the grandeur of the place go and see the small scale model on the grounds itself about 100 meters from the entrance.
After being sacked by Totila, the villa experienced many centuries of oblivion that lasted till the end of the fifteenth century, when Pope Alexander VI sponsored the first excavations. During the excavations several statues of seated Musae were discovered, now in the Prado Museum in Madrid. From the sixteenth century on Villa Adriana has been continuously excavated in search of treasures of which many ended up in private collections.
All what is left now of the theaters, baths, temples, fountains, gardens, and canals are ruins, but impressive ones nonetheless. So much so that in 1999 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Monument.
The Maritime Theatre, Court of the Libraries, Latin and Greek Libraries, Golden Square, Canopus and Small and Large Thermae are longtime favorites. Even though sometimes it is very hard to get an idea about the grand appearance of the villa at the time, due to the loss of all the upper parts of the buildings, with a little help of your imagination you will discover that there is so much more to see than meets the eye.
How to arrive:
Underground line B, Ponte Mammolo stop
Bus Cotral direction Via Prenestina, stops at 300 m. from the site
Bus Cotral direction Via Tiburtina, stops at 1 km from the site
Bus Cotral direction Tivoli/highway A24, stops at 1 km from the site
Train FS stop at Tivoli’s station and bus line CAT number 4, stops at 300 m. from the site
When in Rome (with children) do as the Romans do: when a Roman mother suspects that her child is not (entirely) telling the truth she threatens to take the child to the Bocca della Verità or mouth of truth at the church of Saint Mary in Cosmedin. According to the old Roman legend the Romans had a code of conduct obliging the one who takes an oath to put his hand in the Bocca della Verità. If they were not telling the truth the hand could not withdraw and was removed with a violent bite of the mouth.
The Bocca della Verità is an at least 2200 years old and 1200 kilo heavy round Pavonazzetto marble disk in the shape of a head, where the eyes, nostrils and mouth are carved all the way through the 19 cm thick stone. It probably represents the god Océanus , from him whom all rivers are and the entire sea and all springs and all deep wells have their waters according to Homer (Iliad 21. 194 ff). This is why most scholars presume it to be the original drain cover of the ancient temple of Jupiter Jurarius or the temple of Hercules Invictus. The temple was built using a similar circular domed rotunda or vault roof construction as the Pantheon with an oculus, round open space, in the middle. That would also explain the 2 holes on the side of the stone, which could have been used for the horizontal fixing on a vaulted roof. After the demolition of the temple the Bocca della Verità was placed in the narthex or portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church around 1650 where it stayed ever since and became known as a place to take the test of truth.
Times did not change much, because this cracked marble disk still attracts crowds of curious tourists looking for amusement, or perhaps even jealous or suspicious people who want the Bocca della Verità to test their partner’s fidelity. But does it still work? I have to disappoint you. According to another legend the mouth of truth lost its credibility, when an adulterous Roman noble man’s wife was put to the test by her husband. The woman was forced to put her hand in the mouth, when all of a sudden a man came forward and kissed her. He was actually her lover, although she pretended not to know him and accused him of being a madman and the crowd chased him away. When she put her hand into the mouth of truth, the woman declared that she had never kissed any other man apart from her husband and the crazy man who had just kissed her. Her honor and that of her husband were saved, but from that moment on no more hands were bitten off. The Bocca della Verità apparently did not like the trickery and stopped working.
The mouth of truth was also the location for the for 1953’s film Roman Holiday. American newspaperman Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) teases the Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) by pulling out his, seemingly, handless arm from the carved stone face. Go and see Roman Holiday before travelling to Rome and you will recognize at least some of the film’s locations while on tour in this ancient city. Just to get you started, Gregory Peck’s character lived at Via Margutta 51.
Bocca della Verità (mouth of truth)
Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Piazza Bocca della Verita
Rome 00186
If you were in Rome this weekend you were in for a white surprise. What started Friday with slush on the roads ended Saturday when the second day of snowfall blanketed the capital white, causing traffic to grind to a halt in most places. Mayor Gianni Alemanno urged drivers not to hit the roads if their cars were not equipped with chains or winter tyres. The snowfall also made buses and taxis scarce, meaning we had to walk our way around Rome and we were not the only ones. ”We haven’t seen this kind of snow since 1985 – 1986,” people told us several times in the streets, “in this city it hardly ever snows.”
While the city struggled with the unusually snowy weather Rome’s city officials decided to close Rome’s tourist attractions, like the ancient Colosseum, the adjacent Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill, museums, schools and other public buildings over fears people could slip and fall. In addition Mayor Gianni Alemanno appealed to private citizens to help clear the city of snow and slush before the nighttime freeze. Notwithstanding the hand out of 4,000 shovels by volunteers for the national Civil Protection agency in some piazza’s most Romans used their own broom or shovel to clear the entrance to their apartment building.
After the chaos on Friday the mood changed on Saturday when Rome awoke to about 10 centimeters (4 inches) of fresh snow and the streets filled up with families, couples, children and young adolescents tossing snowballs, taking pictures and making the most of this white surprise the skies brought the Romans. The holiday-like atmosphere influenced most of us and to be in an almost car-less winter wonderland Rome became a totally unexpected, pleasant experience.
