Republic Day in Rome, Sunday, 2 June 2019

With shutters pulled tight, the cacophony of seagulls was a bit less and I was able to sleep. They quoted down near mornin (do they ever sleep?) so we slept in until 8:30am. Still not hot water, so we waited for the plumber, then Simone, who finally fixed it. A hot shower felt great. This is the one day we do not have anything early.

Our plan was to get the Roma Pass bus and ride it a bit, walk around a new area such as the Spanish Steps, then go to the Capitoline Museum for the afternoon. Our plans were foiled by Republic Day, the Italian version of 4th of July. A military parade closed most of the area around Piazza Navona and the Colosseum, so all regular busses were diverted, and the Roma Pass bus was nowhere in sight, after waiting a total of one hour at two different stops (neither of which was marked by a sign, so we thought we were in the wrong place). We did see the Italian Air Force fly over with green, white, and red smoke screen trailing behind. We went to the Roma Pass office, which seemed closed at first, and asked about the bus, were told that they were not running until 3pm. Getting warm and tired, we took a regular bus, very crowded and hot, over to San Giovanni Laterna, the church of the Pope. It was quite stunning, a gilded ceiling and baldacchino, large stone carvings commemorating each Pope throughout, not very crowded. The huge bronze doors are opened only in a Jubilee Year, such as 2000. It felt like a real demonstration of the massive wealth of the Popes. We went outside and found a bench, ate our leftover veggies, charcuterie and cheese, which were delicious. Then off to another regular bus to the Palatine Hill.

We had thought we’d walk the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum and then still go to the Capitoline Musuem, but we ended up spending three-and-a-half hours at the Palatine Hill and Forum alone, so that was our day. The Palatine Hill was often quiet and very open, with amazing views of Rome. This was the place where emperors lived, and aristocrats, and the remains of their palaces studded the area. Very interesting was the dig where they have discovered the remains of the earliest huts there (the huts of Romulus) from about 800BC. The huge stone arches of the Severus arcade were quite an engineering feat, it is hard to believe that the mortar binding these bricks is almost 2,000 years old and still going strong. By the Medieval period, all the history seemed forgotten, the palaces crumbled and pieces reused for other buildings, and the area covered over with rubble and vegetation. The Farnese family spent years purchasing what was then farmland (17th century) creating massive gardens, and restoring some of the ruins. Later they too fell from power and more serious archaeological work began.

We went down the many steps to the lower level, the Roman Forum, which we had seen from up above. The building and remains there covered nearly 1,000 years, some right next to each other, so there was very little context. A 600AD column was near a 100BC temple. One of the most interesting was the Temple of Romulus, which had been restored inside, and displayed some heads and torsos from around 100AD which had been shattered and used for foundation fill, hard to imagine. They had a wonderful film which showed the restoration and how the pieces of the sculpture were reclaimed and put back together and then on display.  It was interesting to think how these people whose names we do not know were important enough at one time to ahve someone sculpt them in marble. They were a bit haunting. We stayed walking among the columns and brick walls and random bits of marble big enough to sit on, until they were closing down (in the Nelson-Smits tradition). Then over to Piazza Venezia for the 87 bus back to our place.

Quite tired after a long day, we stopped at a charcuterie filled with prosciutto and guanciale hanging from the ceiling.  Then we went to restaurant a block from the loft, called Virginiae, and got a table upstairs. It was very nice, relaxing, excellent food and wine, just what we needed. Barney had some delicious roast lamb and potatoes, and I had a wonderful saltimbocca, and we shared an unusual caprese salad, one whole tomato cut party open enclosing a whole ball of buffalo mozzarella with the the most delicious balsamic vinegar I have ever had. We had a nice wine I had never heard of called Bulghari that we both liked. Back to the loft, we had a good Skype session with Madeleine to catch up on what she had been doing and tell her about the trip. I am so glad she has this time to reconnect with her friends, though I am often thinking how I wish she were with us on this trip.