No coins in the fountain

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

   This afternoon we took a bus tour of 'Ancient Rome.' I could tell you all the things we saw, but if you take a peek at any tourism guide of Rome you'll get the full list. A couple of observations:

1) Virtually every Roman building and monument still standing and useful has been co-opted by the Catholic church. Columns, colonnades, and obelisks throughout the city have been topped with Christian icons and statuary.

2) Anything still standing that approaches 2000 years old is made of marble. Even the Colosseum was originally, and primarily made of marble. And, it would still be standing to this day had the barbarians who sacked Rome in the middle ages not removed the iron (or brass, depending on who you talk to) pins that held the blocks in place.

   The Colosseum. Here you can see the holes bored into the Travertine marble by barbarians attempting to remove the metal pins or clamps in order to use them to make weapons. All of the remaining marble in the Colosseum is honeycombed with holes like this.
   An interesting factoid: this building's name is actually The Flavian Amphitheater. At one time there was a colossus, a huge statue, of the emporer Nero beside the amphitheater. In everyday usage, Romans referred to the building as the theater by the colossus, and it eventually became know as just The Colosseum. Click on the picture for a 1028x764 version you can use as a desktop wallpaper.

   We learned very quickly that if we just wanted to stop somewhere for a quick coffee and snack, that sitting down was the wrong thing to do. When we popped into any small coffee shop, or snack bar, we saw numerous Romans standing around, munching on pastries, or drinking coffees, with a whole room full of empty tables unregarded. Tourists, however, are immediately invited to sit down, and handed menus. In short order, we observed that if we sat down, we paid €1.25 for an espresso. If we stood at the counter, we paid €0.85.


Wednesday, September 14, 2005

   Today we walked. From 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM we wandered around centralRome. Many of the obligatory Roman sights were seen. A hint: Piazza Espagna, featuring the Spanish Steps? It's just a big stairway.
   The Pantheon is the best preserved piece of Roman architecture in the city. Originally a temple to honour the entire pantheon of Roman gods and goddesses (hence the name), it was converted to a Catholic church in the seventh century. I am somewhat ambivalent about the role of the Vatican in the history of Rome. On one hand, they have co-opted a huge portion of Roman history. On the other, if it wasn't for the church, a significant number of Roman historical sites would not exist today in the condition they currently enjoy.

   The best part of exploring Rome is going off the beaten path; getting yourself lost in the maze of little streets and alley ways where you glance in an open garage door to see an antique furniture restorer at work, or turn a corner to discover a little cafe tucked in between two warehouses. In just such a tangle of cobbled streets we came across Trevi Fountain.
   It was looking for Trevi Fountain that got us lost in the first place. We had seen The Mausoleum of Augustus, The Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and, according to the guide book, Trevi Fountain was on the way back to the hotel. The problem was none of the streets in that section of Rome run in anything resembling a straight line, so it is almost impossible to properly orient yourself looking at a map. We ended up walking up a steep hill (one of the seven hills of Rome as it turned out) and an even steeper set of stone stairs, and ended up at Piazza Quirinale.
   Now, Piazza Quirinale is nothing but a huge empty square, hemmed in on three sides by buildings with imposing, featureless edifices, with a confused combination of statuary tucked into one corner. Other than Palazzo Quirinale being the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, there is little, or nothing to interest tourists here. In fact, when we found it, it was absolutely empty, with the exception of the guards at the entrance to the Palazzo. We headed back down the stairs,and the hill, and into the maze once more.
   Despairing of ever finding Trevi fountain, we decided to stop for gelato. If you have never tried authentic Italian ice cream before, put "eat gelato in Rome" on your list of seven things to do before you die. Bump the Eiffel Tower for it. It is that good. So it was with lemon, and creme caramel, and tiramisu flavoured gelato dripping down over fingers wrapped around cones thin like upside down church spires that we turned another corner, and there it was: the most crowded place in all of Rome.
   Trevi (so named because it is at the corner of three streets-tre vie) is an impressive work of sculpture, but one has to wonder if it would be such a popular attraction had it not been for its appearance in films like La Dolce Vita, and Three Coins in the Fountain. The stairs leading down to it were crammed with people trying to get to the fountain to take a picture of a friend or family member tossing a coin in, and then trying to get back up. Legend has it that a coin thrown into Trevi Fountain will guarantee one's eventual return to Rome. I would have tried it, but I was dissuaded by the crowds, and the fact that I didn't have anything smaller that a €1.00 coin in my pocket.


The crowds around Trevi Fountain


Matt at Trevi after dark.