Finding New Things To Do

Thursday, December 28

If you walk around Rome you’ll see an incredible number of Egyptian obelisks.  The ancient Romans often took items of significance from the lands that they conquered in order to showcase their military might.  Egypt was, of course, one of their biggest and most significant conquests.  It was a country rich in grain and treasure, both of which were needed in Rome to help sustain the Empire.   The forum even contained several temples dedicated to Egyptian gods.  These gods were incorporated into Roman society as a way to help conquered peoples assimilate.

We were, however, a little surprised to see a pyramid located just outside of the cities walls.  It was in wonderful condition so we suspected that it had been built recently as a tourist attraction.  We were wrong.

The Pyramid of Cestius was built around 18 B.C. in an outlying area in Rome called Ostiense.  This is the same district where you can find the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls.  The pyramid stands over 120 feet tall and is about 100 feet wide at the base.  The structure is made in the traditional fashion of bricks covered in marble.  It sits on a base of travertine.  The building was constructed as a tomb for a prominent Roman named Gaius Cestius and underwent extensive renovations and restoration in 2015.  It is as impressive a monument as you will see.

(The Pyramid of Cestius in Ostiense)

Ancient Egypt is something we’ve been very interested in for a long time  (we  have even convinced ourselves that we can read hieroglyphics – we really can’t).  We’re definitely planning an excursion to Egypt in the future but the opportunity to visit an authentic 2,000 year old pyramid in Rome was just mouthwatering.  A little research showed that the pyramid was only open for visitation every other Saturday and that reservations were required.  We attempted to book tickets online but the website said that we needed to call.  We finally found a couple of Saturdays that would work for us and made the call.  It turns out that you can only go as part of a tour group and the tours are only conducted in Italian.  Ugh!   I guess we’ll just have to wait until we go to Cairo.

All this talk of ancient pyramids made us think of, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”, so we decided to see the new Star Wars movie.  We found a theater in Piazza Barberini that was showing it in English (with Italian subtitles).  We thought it would be interesting to see a Roman movie theater.

The Piazza Barberini theater is very much like any movie theater in the U.S.  It is a multiplex with five theaters.  Several of them were showing American films in English.  The signs over the ticket windows show the names of the films and the times they are playing.  They also show how many seats are in each theater and a realtime counter of how many are left.  What a great idea!   There is the usual concession stand with popcorn, sodas and candy but we didn’t sample anything.

The actual theater where our movie was to be shown was relatively small compared to the theaters where we usually see Star Wars films but it seemed new and was very comfortable.  The floors and seats were extremely clean – no sticky floors.  The seats were nicely padded and very comfortable.  There were cup holders, too!  What we didn’t realize was that each seat is numbered and we had assigned seats according to our tickets.  We learned this when someone told us we were sitting in their seats.  We were able to find our seats and they were great.  You could probably choose your seats at the ticket office but we didn’t know that and the ticket seller didn’t ask for a choice.

After a movie we usually use the restroom before leaving.  That was not an option here.  Everyone is directed to an exit that does not go through the lobby or near the restrooms.  Now we know to use them before the movie (no movie hopping!)

Distance walked: 4.7 miles

Friday, December 29

We had a full day planned.  Our itinerary  included a trip back to the Appia Antica Regional Park to see the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and the Catacombe di Domitilla.  The two are within half a mile of each other and Fridays are one of the few days when they are both open.  After that we planned to visit the Church of Domine Quo Vadis.  If you recall your New Testament this is the place where St Paul met with the resurrected Jesus who asked him, “Quo Vadis?” (Where are you going?).  The last stop of the day was to be Aqueduct Park.  This is reputed to be a lovely and quiet park outside the city where you can see large remnants of aqueducts built in the first and 15th centuries.  We expected to be there near dusk so we could take photos when the aqueducts where lit up.

The Catacombs of St. Callixtus are on most people’s bucket list when they come to Rome. At one time sixteen Popes and fifty martyrs were buried there.  The remains of most of those Popes have been relocated to The Basilica of St Mary Majore.

As with many ancient sites the catacombs were stripped of most of their marble and finery over the centuries.  We did see some frescoes dating from the fourth century but they were few and far between.  We learned that St Cecilia was originally buried in these catacombs but that her remains had been transferred to a basilica dedicated to her (built on top of her home) in Trastevere.  We visited that basilica some weeks ago.  It contains a magnificent sculpture of her likeness posed as she was found when they opened her tomb in the 11th century.

After the tour we walked over to the Catacombs of Domitilla.  The sign indicated that it was closed until January 16, 2018.  As planned we then headed for the Church of Domine Quo Vadis.  The sign said that it was open between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm.  It was closed.  *#^$&#_@!  Yes, we always check the websites for hours.  This is Rome, things like that just don’t seem to matter.  Like the bus schedules, these things just seem to be a suggestion.

The bus left us off near Piazza Venetia and we walked over the Ponte Palatino.  We had recently learned that part of the ancient sewer system was still in use and that it could be seen from that bridge.  The Cloaca Maxima (translated as The Greatest Sewer) has its roots as far back as 600 B.C.  Even today it drains rainwater and debris from the center of town and from the Forum.

By now it was about 12:30 pm and we decided to have lunch at our apartment.  The morning had left us feeling unsatisfied so we decided to get a start on the next day’s agenda.

The afternoon started with a walk up the Janiculum Hill.  We were in search of an elusive monument.  From the bridges near the Tiber River we would often see a large ‘pawn’ shaped monument on the hill between Trastevere and Vatican City.  Unfortunately once you start walking away from the river the hill obscures your view making it impossible to locate.  The map shows three roads that span the hill between Trastevere and Vatican City.  We had already tried two of them (long, steep hills with narrow winding roads and no sidewalks).  This third road HAD to be the right one.  Fingers crossed.

The climb up the hill goes up a long staircase, a very steep switchbacked road and through a hilly park.  Eventually we came upon the Janiculum Terrace from which there were magnificent panoramic views of the entire city.  The terrace extends for almost a mile and all along it are statues and monuments to fallen heroes from the war of Italian Unification of 1848, which was led by Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Eventually we came to the ‘pawn’.  It is better known as The Faro degli Italiani d’Argentina (The Lighthouse from Argentinians of Italian Descent).  For the 50th anniversary of the war of 1848 a group of Italians living in Argentina commissioned Manfredo Manfredi to design this monument.  On national holidays the lighthouse is lit with the colors of the Italian flag.  We are hoping to see this on New Year’s Eve.

(The Faro degli Italiani d’Argentina)

On the way down the hill we returned to San Pietro in Montorio.  We had learned some new things about this church and wanted to see it again.  It was also our hope that the adjacent Tempietto di Bramante (built on the exact spot where St Peter was crucified) would be open this time – and it was!

The Tempietto di Bramante is considered to one of the first great buildings of the High Renaissance.  Entrance to the temple is through the adjacent Reale Accademia di Spagna, a Spanish school of art.  King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain provided funds for the Tempietto and several other buildings on the terrace.  The temple is simply decorated with a small alter and a few little sculptures.  The basement, which can only be seen through a metal door, contains another alter and multi-chromatic marble floors.

(Tempietto di Bramante)

It turned out to be a great day.

Distance walked: 10.3 miles and 25 flights of stairs