ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 3

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A TRAVELLER FROM BRITAIN

I got back from my walk in San Lorenzo and took my room. It was comfortable as I expected and I was happy to find in the room a water kettle to prepare complimentary tea and coffee. After a shower, I went to take a quick lunch in one of the several places that can be found in the San Lorenzo district, such as Mejo, 100 Montaditos, pizzerie al taglio where one can get slices of pizza, and finally I started for my first tour in the centre of Rome.
Having no knowledge of the city and wishing to get a first idea, I decided for a hop on - hop off tour.
There are many companies running those toures with a double deck bus (obviously, seat on the upper deck when weather is good) and almost all of them have their terminal at Temini station that I reached with a 20 minutes walk.
They do not run all the same route, but variations are slight and all of them goes to the most famous places, Colosseum, Circus Maximus, St. Peter, Castel Sant'Angelo, Venice Square and so on. Nice tour for sure to get a first knowledge of the city, and also to meet a nice girl, Janet, that... well to make it short, we are now planning our wedding.
To tell the truth, when the day after I told to the girl at the reception about the hop on - hop off tour, I was told about a very good alternative that is easily available when you stay at San Lorenzo Guest House. I will tell you about that next time. But, anyhow, the tour was wonderful at least because I met Janet.

Campo de' Fiori

By the way, we completed the day at Campo de' Fiori with a nice dinner and later sitting in one of the several bars around the square.

The name of the square (Field of the Flowers) comes from what it was once, a field with flowers. Centuries ago it was the place for public executions. The most famous person that was executed here was the mok and philosopher Giordano Bruno, burnt at the stake, whose statue is dominating the square. Talking wih a local guy I learned a something of interesting about the Romans. Giordano Bruno lived in  the second half of the XVI century and became very famous, making also some money, for his work. He travelled all around Europe and teached in several cities. When he was accused of heresy, he was invited on numerous occasions to recant his philosophical positions but refused indignantly to do so. And he went to the stake. Every year, in the anniversary of his death, several people meet in Campo de' Fiori to celebrate him as martyr of freethought.

Whenever you talk to people in Rome you will discover that most of them will tell you the worst thing about the Catholic Church, that it is conservative, reactionary, hypocritical just to quote the first and easiest things coming to my mind. On the other side almost no one could consider the idea of a Rome without the Pope.

A common saying in Rome is  Venire a Roma e non vedere il Papa (you came to Rome but you didn't see the Pope) meaning that someone did't do what he was expected to do.
And, when a Roman want to talk about spmething occurring very rarely, he will say A ogni morte di Papa (on every Pope's death).
In reality the city and the Catholic Church are like two conjoined twins. They might hate each other but they cannot live separated.

Palazzo Farnese

THE FAN

P.S. It comes just now to my mind; steps away from Campo de' Fiori, there is Piazza Farnese where you can admire the worderful Palazzo Farnese, one of the masterpieces of the Renaissance. It is the location of the French Embassy, the most beautiful in Rome indeed. However also the British Embassy, modern architecture, is worth a view.