EAST OF THE CENTER - ROMAN WALKS 5

Lateran Obelisk

Roman walk - Ancient but still alive

The walk of today covers the East side of the historical center leaving from San Lorenzo Guest House. 

The itinerary includes 4 of the Seven Pilgrim Churches, all of them being originally erected in the IV century AD.
Here are the stops of the tour.

1. Porta Maggiore, the entry point of most of the aqueducts delivering water to anci

   

   Santa Maria Maggiore - View of the backside

   ent Rome
2. Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, erected in the IV century AD, where the relics of the Holy Cross are preserved. It was built around a room of Palazzo Sessoriano, the palace that was the house of St. helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine I
3. Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, mother of all the chirches of the world, Holy See and cathedral of Rome
4. Scala Sancta - Holy Stairs, the stairs originally located in the palace of the Roman governor in Jerusalem and which were ascended by Jesus Christ to go to trial before Pontius Pilate
5. Lateran Obelisk, the tallest and most ancient Egyptian obelisks in Rome
6. Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the only of the four Major Papal Basilicas still maintaining its original palochristian structure. It is located on the site where, according to a legend, snow fell during the summer, on August 5, 352 AD. Every year the miracle is remembered with a cascade of white petals from the ceiling during the morning and evening mass
7. Baths of Diocletian, the biggest imperial baths of the ancient Rome, inaugurated in the year 305 AD. They are now one of the locations of the National roman Museum
8. Castra Praetoria, the barracks of the Praetorian Guard. The area is still used for the same purpose, so being the most ancient barracks in the world
9. Houses in the Walls



Castra Praetoria today

10. Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, Papal Basilica, also originally erected during the IV century AD.

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Vincenzo

ROMAN WALKS - 4 - VIA NOMENTANA

Monument to the Bersagliere

We wrote here that Rome is not only the historical center..
Walking along the streets leaving from the gates of the Aurelian Wall gives to the visitor a different view of the city, of its modern development, of its real life.
Nevertheless, along the walk, one will find also sites that are testimonies of the past.
Via Nomentana is not one of the main roads leaving the center of Rome, it has not the status of national road, but it is one of the busiest and one that has had an important part in the history of the ancient and modern city.
And I have a special relation with this street because I was born along it and my school was there too.

Porta Pia: Art and History

Porta Pia

Via Nomentana starts from Porta Pia, one of the gates of the Aurelian Wall. Porta Pia has been designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti and that's alread a good reason to give a look to it.
Its importance is, however, essentially historic. It was here, opening a break in the Aurelian Wall, that the Italian army entered to Rome on September 20, 1870 ending the temporal power of the Pope.  Well, there would be a lot to say about that, but it is too long for this post.
The break was opened just steps away from Porta Pia and its position is indicated by a column. Inside Porta Pia there is the Historical Museum of the Bersaglieri, the infantry corp that first entered to Rome. A monument to the Bersagliere soldier is located just in front of Porta Pia. Entering inside the center, the street continues straight with Via XX Settembre, celebrating the entry to Rome of the italian army and then with Via del Quirinale leading directly to the square in front of the presidential palace, Quirinale Palace, formerly residence of the kings of Italy and earlier of the Pope.

Parks

Villa Tornonia

Along the first 2.5 km, Via Nomentana is flanked by typically bourgeois buildings and some villas of the Roman aristocracy.. The most important and known of them is Villa Torlonia. Initally the land belonged to the Pamphilj family, later it was bought by the Colonna family, both of them using it for farming. It was finally it was bought by the Torlonia princes that started the construction works calling the famous architect  Valadier. 

Casina delle Civette at Villa Torlonia

During the fascist period it was used as residence by Benito Mussolini that rented it at the symbolic price of 1 Italian Lira per year. A bunker was also built for protection during bombing.
After the war it was abandoned till 1978 when it was acquired by the municipality of Rome and transformed to museum and public garden.

The other villas along Via Nomentana are Villa Paganini, Villa Blanc and Villa Leopardi.  However there are also several other private green spaces belonging to private residences, and insitutional building, including several embassies and consular offices

Embassies

Via Nomentana is characterized by several embassies and consular offices located along it or in the streets just on its sides. Russia, Lybia, Afghanistan, Malaysia, are some of the countries havin their embassy or consular office located here

Sant'Agnese and Santa Costanza

Basilica of Sant'Agnese

The complex of SantìAgnese and Santa Costanza is worth a visit for artistic, religious and historical reasons. It includes the Basilica of Sant'Agnese, erected in the VII century BC, the ruins of the old basilica dated IV century AD and the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, also dated IV century AD. 

Mausoleum of Santa Costanza
and ruins of ancient Sant'Agnese

According to the tradition the mausoleum was erected by Costantina, also know as Costanza, daughter of the Emperor Constantine as her own birial place. According to another hypothesis, it was erected by the Emperor Julian I as burial place for his wife Helena that was sister of Costanza. In any case Costanza was buried there. Her Sarcophagues was later moved to the Vatican Museums.

Ancient Rome

Mausoleum of Tor di Quinto

In front of Villa Blanc ine can see another mausoleum, more correctly a piece of a mausoleum. It is know as Mausoleum of Tor di Quinti, because it was originally located in the area of Tor di Quinto, alonjg the Via Flaminia. It was moved to Via Nomentana on the XIX century to mark the entrance of Villa Blanc.

Ponte Nomentano

Approximately 1.5 km after the mausoleum one will reach Ponte Nomentano. Along with the Milvian Bridge, it was one of the most important entraces to the urban area of Rome. Originally built during the republican period, it was reconstructed in the VI century AD and later fortified and partially reconstructed during the XIX century.

It has remained open to the car traffic until aproximately20 years ago. Today, along to the surrounding park, it is restricted to pedestrians. 

Garden City and Night Life

Città Giardino

Soon after Ponte Nomentano there is a square with a market that is dedicated to Menenius Agrippa, the Roman politician that persuaded the plebs to end the secession at the beginning of the V century BC. He gave his speech to the plebs in this area (Mons Sacer). After the secession ended, the office of Tribune of the Plebs was created. On the side of  Piazza Menenio Agrippa, there is another square, Piazza Sempione. In the early XX century this area was still out of the city. Here it was erected a bourgeois district called Città Giardino (Garden City), made of small villas with a private garden. The square, with its church, was the heart of the district. Nowadays it has became a spot with a vivid nightlife, so accounating the area of Ponte Nomentano with the one of the Milvian Bridge.

Piazza Sempione

the Roman politician that persuaded the plebs to end the secession at the beginning of the V century BC. He gave his speech to the plebs in this area (
From Piazza Sempione it is to go back to Porta Pia with one of the several bus lines passing here

Vincenzo
Reserve your room at Villa Borghese Guest House and also at San Lorenzo Guest House and St. John Villa

ROMAN WALKS - 3 - SOUTH OF THE CENTER

The itinerary we are recommending today starts from the St. John Villa and is dedicated to the southern part of the historical center of Rome, so including the Aventine hill, Rione Testaccio and the Rione San Saba.

ROMAN WALKS - 2 - ARCHEOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY

The walking tour we are presenting in this post starts from the St. John Villa. It touches some of the most famous sites of Rome, Colosseum, Santa Maria Maggiore, St. John Lateran.

ROMAN WALKS - 1 - NORTH OF THE CENTER

As well as every city, and even more, Rome is a city that must be discovered walking. There are so many places to be seen, such a long history and so much art that, jumping from one of the main spots to the other does not allow to understand it fully.
We have already prepared and presented some walking tour and we have presented those in the series One week in Rome.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 14

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Back to part 13

From St. Peter to Porta Portese

I will tell you the full truth and that is that I did not enter in the St. Peter's Basilica or in the Vatican Museums.
Even if that was my original idea when, in the morning, I left San Lorenzo Guest House, once I got there I changed my schedule. Weather was so nice, indeed bad weather is not a very usual event in Rome, that I thought that staying inside was not the best idea.
The lesson I got in the previous days was that, when in Rome, first of all, before visiting museum and sites, one must feel the ideal that is behind this unique city. The best way to get it is to walk around.

ONE WEEK IN ROME -PART 13

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Back to part 12

Going down for the Capitol Hill and proceeding along Via del Teatro Marcello, on the right one can see the Theater of Marcellus, one of the living monuments of Rome. It is dedicated to the nephew of Augustus and it was the biggest theater in ancient Rome. After falling out of use it has been transformed, along the centuries, in a residential building.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 12

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Back to part 11

Sitting and drinkinga coffee at the corner with Via del Corso, I looked at Piazza Venezia.
The square is dominated by the white Vittoriano, the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy. It' is one of the landmarks of Rome but most of the Romans do not like it, being sometging completely out of the normal style of the city. Many people call it the Typewriter. Color is different but the shape, indeed, is similar.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 11

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Go back to part 10 if you missed it.

During my stay in Rome, I heard that many Romans complain about the poor efficiency of public transportation?
Is that a problem for a traveler? Indeed yes, if one is visiting Rome with a tourist mentality, so focusing on the main spots. Once one enters into the point of view of a real traveler, it becomes an opportunity because, when walking, there is the possibility to see a lot of things that otherwise would remain unknown.
With the help of the staff of San Lorenzo Guest House I planned my next march (after the training I had during the week I beleive to be ready for the Olympics)

Santa Maria Maggiore

The final destination was the Caius Cestius pyramid and I got there through a long tour.
Walking along the Aurelian Walls, where you can see houses in the walls (it's Villa Gentili-Dominici, the biggest villa inside the center of Rome) and then along the Termini station I reached Piazza dei Cinquecento, in front of the station. Then I walked to reach the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four main basilicas in Rome along with St. Peter, St. John Lateran and St. Paul.

Moses by Michelangelo

According to the tradition, it has been built on the place where it snowed in August during the IV century AD. From Santa Maria Maggiore I walked to Colle Oppio, keeping aside od the Beths of Trajan, to reach the Basilica of San Pietro in vincoli to admire the Moses by Michelangelo Buonarroti. It's woth to enter to the faculty of Engineering, junt aside of  the church, to see the kloster and the well in the middle of it.
Going down though the Scalinata dei Borgia (Borgia's Stairs), I reached Via Cavour and the Via dei Fori Imperiali. What could I say about this street that connects the Colosseum with Piazza Venezia? Simply you walk across the history because the Forums were the center of the political life in ancient Rome.

Via dei Fori Imperiali

Piazza Venezia is the crucial point of the traffic in the center of Rome . I was told that, at the beginning of Via del Corso, there is a retractable footboard, but it is currently not working, from where a traffic policeman attempts to keep evereything in order. He must be a real artist.

But now is time for a break.

THE FAN

Link to part 10

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 10

Circus Maximus and the Imperial Palaces on the Palatine Hill

FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Did you read part 9? If not click here

Visiting Rome requires good legs and good shoes. Ponits of interest are so many and so diffused that the best way to see them is to walk.
San Lorenzo Guest House is an excellent starting point for walks. I already did one going north to Villa Borghese, the nex one was on the opposite direction, with the final destination at the Circus Maximus.

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 7

Temple of Aesculapius - Villa Borghese

 FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Bioparco

Entering to the Borghese Gallery was not possible so we walked through the villa during the afternoon. In reality one could dedicate a full day to the visit, especially when having kids. We passed in front of the Bioparco, the zoo. Then we went to the little lake with the Temple of Aesculapius and later to Piazza di Siena, the place where, on May, a famous international equestrian jumping competition (CSIO) takes place. I learned a funny story by the Romans.

Piazza di Sinea

According to them when it comes the time of "Piazza di Siena", that's the way they name the competition, one can be sure it will rain. Maybe that happens because all the ladies of the jet set are attending to the competition showing off the latest creations of the haute couture.

Anyhow I and Janet spent a delightful afternoon walking among the green.  As it happens every day to may Romans, it was during that walk that we realized that we could have a lot in common. And that is a story that now is going to a new start.

THE FAN

P.S. Later I was looking back to the notes I took during those first tow days, one and half more correctly, and I understood How much there is to see in Rome. I hadn't yest visited the most famous sites, just gave a brief look during the hop on - hop off tour, and I had already filled pages; that's really amazing. 

Link to part 6

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 6

Palazzo Barberini

 FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

Fontana del Tritone - Piazza Barberini

Piazza Barberini is named after the palace of the aristocratic family Barberini that is overlooking the square. Actually the entrance is on Via delle Quattro Fontane. The National Gallery of Anciet Art is located in the palace. At teh center of the square you can see the Fontana del Tritone (Fountain of the Triton), one of the famous Rome's fountains.
Leaving Piazza Barberini, I started to go uphill aloong Via Veneto, the street of La Dolce Vita.
Nowadays the glamour of the street is not the same as it was in the early Sixties of the XX century.

Via Venetto - Lower part

USA Embassy

Still, it mantains its fascination. Halfway betwwen Piazza Barberini and Porta Pinciana you will find the USA embassy.
Continuing to go uphill I reached Porta Pinciana, one of the several gates along the Aurelian Walls.

Via Veneto - Upper part

Porta Pinciana

Porta Pinciana is one of the few gates that has essentially mantained its original appereance although two new arches have been opened in the modern era to take into account the traffic,

Once crossed the gate I entered into Villa Borghese to reach the Borghese Gallery, to meet Janet.
We tried to buy a ticket, without any success: sold out.
Lesson learned: if you wish to visit the Borghese Gallery  during your stay in rome, book in advance.

Galleria Borghese

It was a pity not to visit it, but we had the opportunity to spend the afternoon of a marvellous sunny day walking inside Villa Borghese, the most famous of the villas of Rome. And that was the place where we realized that we could have something in common. We discovered later that is something occurring rather often among the Roman people.

THE FAN

Link to part 5

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 5

 FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

I came out of the Galleria Esedra and I had in fornt of me the complex of the Baths of Diocletian.
They overlook what officialy is Piazza della Repubblica but that, for most of the Romans, is still Piazza Esedra. That was the name till 1960. It comes from the exedra of the baths; the sqare has been built following exactly its limits. It is one of the most famous and beautiful squares of Rome, a city that is certainly not missing beautiful squares.

Baths of Diocletian

The Baths of Diocletian are really impressive. They were the greatest imperial baths in the ancient Rome, so wisely built that a large part of the buildings are still existing and in use, even if for different purposes. In past centuries the baths were used as a quarry for building materials for the construction of other buildings. A part of the complex was instead demolished in the late nineteenth century to allow the construction of the adjacent Piazza dei Cinquecento and Termini railway station.

Santa Maria degli Angeli

Many people may think that the word Termini has something to do with "teminal". Indeed it comes from thermae, baths. 

Interior view of Santa Maria degli Angeli

What has remained, and it is a lot, is nowadays used as museum space or, in other cases, transformed to churches. Among those, the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli is particularly notable. It has been designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti, and later modified by Luigi Vanvitelli, using the tepidarium. it is the church used for the official ceremonies of the Italian state.
Once left Piazza dell Repubblica I walked down along Via Nazionale, one of the shopping streets in Rome to turn right to Via delle Quattro Fontane.

San Carlino and one fountain

This street is named after the four fountains  that are placed at the cross with Via XX Settembre and Via del Quiranale. Just at the corner you may see the church of San Carlo (better known as San Carlino) alle Quattro Fontane, one of the masterpieces of Francesco Borromini. This swiss archietct, along with his fierce rival Gian Lorenzo Bernini, characterized the baroque period in Rome.
In fornt of San Carlino there is the back corner of the Quirinale, the presidential palace that was previously the residence of the Pope and later of the Savoia royal family.
Going down from the four fountains cross to Piazza Barberini, you will leave on your left Via Rasella, sadly famous because it was the place where, during the German occupation in World War II, occurred an attack to the German troops that led to the horrible reprisals known as Fosse Ardeatine, from the name of the quarry where 335 comon and political prisoners were killed by the nazists.
Well, once reached Piazza Barberini it's time for another stop for a coffee.

THE FAN

Link to part 4

ONE WEEK IN ROME - PART 4

Porta Pia

 FROM THE FICTIONAL DIARY OF A BRITISH TRAVELER

The day after I was ready for a full immersion in Rome. And especially I was ready to walk, because that was what I understood the day before during the sightseeing tour. Rome is so full of things to see, almost at every corner, that the only way to go into depth is to walk. It is not a case that all the historical center of Rome is in the UNESCO World Heritage List with something like 25000 places of interest.
My new friend Janet was busy on the morning, as she was in Rome mostly for business purposes.
We were appointed in front of the Borghese Gallery in the early afternoon. Although she did not have a reserved ticket, she hoped to find one on sale. Therefore I decided to arrive there walking.
I followed the direction I was given in San Lorenzo Guest House for my itinerary.
So I walked first to Viale Castro Pretorio, taking the name by the Castrum Pretorium, the barracks of the Praetrorian Guard, that was the elite corp of the ancient Roman army, providing personal security to the Emperor. It has to be said that was not alway the case, sometimes the Praetorian Guard was at the center of rebellions againt the reigning emperor.
The area of the Castrum is now moltly occupied by the National Library. Anyhow the walls, that were incorporated into the Aurelian Walss, are clearly visible.
Short after I reached Porta Pia. Among Italians ,Porta Pia is probably the most well known gate of Rome from an historical point of view, because it is where, in 1870, took a short battle against the papal army after which the Italian army entered Rome, bringing an end to the temporal power of the Pope. A monument dedicated to the bersaglieri, the infantry cosp that took part to the battle is located in front of Porta Pia. But Porta Pia is also an important architectonical piece, being one of the last works of Michelangelo Buonarroti. 

The British Embassy

Just behind it, one can see the Embassy of the United Kingdom, a contemporary architecture work by Sir Basil Spence.The previousl building had been destroyed in 1946 by a terrorist attack related to the coflict in Palestine that was rising just in those years. Actually that is not the best part of the british history.
I walked along Via XX Settembre, a street that is named after the day of the battle of Porta Pia, passed the cross with Via Pastrengo, a curious street where circulation as in UK on the left side, and then turned to left to get to Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, just after admiring the fountain at the cross, the Fontana dell'Acqua Felice. then I stopped inside the Galleria Esedra, to taste one cannolo alla siciliana of the famous pastry shop Dagnino, to drink a coffe and to write the notes of my first hour of walk.


THE FAN

Link to part 3

Via Condotti

VIA CONDOTTI
If luxury had an epicenter, these few square blocks would be it. 

Even if you haven’t arrived in Rome flush with a year-end bonus, don’t leave without making at least an anthropologist’s tour of V. Condotti (1), into which more famous – name shops and historic addresses are squeezed than seems legal—starting with the face- off of Yves St. Laurent, at no 77 and Dior at no. 73-74 opposite, followed in head-spinning succession by Prada, Bruno Magli, Gucci, Bulgari, Cartier, Valentino, La perla, Louis Vuitton, Armani, Ferragamo, Mont Blanc, Hermès, Valentino again, Versace, and a few you may never have hears of – like Battistoni, at no.61A, where the Duke of Windsor had his suits tailored. 

Arrive at dusk, when the gleaming glass storefronts twinkle like diamonds and shoppers crisscross the 

pedestrian-only street with the avid glee of the boys let loose in the pleasure park in Pinocchio.

 Stop into Caffè Greco (2) at no. 86 for an aperitif and a sniff of the air once breathed by Gogol, Goethe, Stendhal, Byron, and Baudelaire, then continue your shopping tour with a right onto equally luxe Via Bocca di Leone (3), following it to Via della Croce (4), which adds food boutiques and restaurants to the neighborhood mix. Cut back across Piazza di Spagna to Via Borgognona (5), where you can visit Laura Biagiotti, “the queen of cashmere,” at no. 44 and finish your walk with a stroll up Via Frattina (6), where shoes are a big attraction, and which ends most somberly at the palazzo housing the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (7).