Valentine's Day at the local mall

Ahh, Valentine's Day.

Bill took the day off from work, we slept late, had a lovely breakfast made with Italian eggs which feature yolks of a much darker orange than those we have at home. Then we headed to the local mall, the Markets of Trajan. (Well, I didn't say shopping!)

Mercati di Traiano
Very recently the city of Rome opened the Museo dei Fori Imperiali, Mercati di Traiano here. There has been considerable excavation, reconstruction and improvements in accessibility. In addition, there is a very sensitively sited exhibit of the marble and bronze sculpture of Kan Yasuda that will be here until March 30th. No photos are allowed in the museum building itself, but I shot a couple of hundred over the rest of the site. Luckily for you, my Dear Viewers, I edit (the photos!) ferociously.

This is an area that I imagine was originally a very active, commercial and civic site with shops of all kinds, offices, and spaces both indoors and out for public activities. Structurally, the Markets are said to help hold up the Quirinal Hill. Unfortunately, while the Romans were and still are brilliant engineers, they didn't entirely solve Rome's problems with flooding and fire. Over the centuries this area became more and more buried under mud and debris, then built over, particularly in medieval times and in more recent years. Dominating the whole site is a medieval tower, and of course, modern streets and buildings preclude seeing any complete picture of the place.

As a sculptor, I particularly appreciated some of the bits and pieces inside the small museum building. There are literally bits and pieces, nothing complete. But what pieces! There is the front half of a foot encased in a slipper with very sensitive indications of the toes pressing through the leather. A pegasus that forms a small part of a huge capital, the part of a column that is high up just under the roof, has finely modeled veins showing on his head and neck. These must have been included for pleasure of the sculptor because from its siting, almost no one would have been able to see these details except perhaps the poor slaves that had to get up there for the periodic dusting. You can check these out at http://www.mercatiditraiano.it/percorsi/galleria_fotografica.

Kan Yasuda
Outside the museum building are the remains of the Mercati punctuated, accented, populated, and explicated by the sculptures of Kan Yasuda. He is a sculptor from Japan who worked in Italy for many years. His marble and bronze works can be seen all over the world, but I can't help wondering if these are some of the best sited. If you'd like to learn more about him, his website is: www.kan-yasuda.co.jp

After exiting the upper levels of the museum, this delightful work greets the visitor. It is appropriately called, "Porta del ritorno" which is "Gate of Return" for you and me. And for me, it clearly was prophetic because I went back the very next day for more photos, different light, and to check on the names of the various works. Up here on the high levels of the Mercati, the views of the remains of the Fori of Trajan, Augustus, and Ceasar are all easy to see, as are the ever present monument to the unification of Italy and the many domes of churches.
Via Biberatica

Climbing down somewhat steep and dark, stairs, which make me appreciate some of our US building codes, we found ourselves on the Via Biberatica. (I like the sound of this name alot!) This is the ancient road that fronted the second of the 3 major levels of the markets. Given its name, it is thought that the shops along here sold drinks. I can hardly imagine having a good slug of wine, unless well watered, and then walking on without tripping over the edges of some of these massive paving stones.

It is really difficult to tell what is original to which period and what is part of the many reconstructions, at least if you are not an expert, as neither of us are. We kept puzzling over this. Most of the doorways to the shops have big marble lintels; most of these are marked: MCMXXXII, having been put there during Mussolini's time. We were told that a few of the stones are original to the ancient Romans but weren't able to find them.
Here along the Via Biberatica there were many of Kan Yasuda's sculptures. I will include photos of several:

• Ascoltare (Listening)

• Uomo e terra (Man and Earth) and Bill on the Via Biberatica

Ishinki (Pebble)

• Uno 'e due (One is Two)
• Contenitore del tempo (Time Container)

I hope these photos also help you get a sense of this incredible place and that you can imagine, a little bit, coming through here in ancient times, picking up some veges and bread, stopping for a drink, paying a cart parking ticket, hanging out with friends...


Sometimes it is hard to remember that the walls were complete and faced with marble or stucco. Many were brightly painted with beautifully decorative frescoes, remains of which can still be seen. These often showed the products sold inside.

There is ancient graffiti, too! Some in Greek no less but again, we couldn't be sure that we found any. I have photos of a couple of possibilities but little confidence that the scratches are ancient. Here's one - maybe you can make it out:All of these details are best seen on the ground level. We had to peek into every space, of course, and check out the bits and pieces left outside. Some of these gave us a chance to see close up the detailing of the ancient Roman architecture. Not affordable now, of course - not affordable then either except at the cost of horrendous slavery and human suffering. And so, here in the virtual worlds of the blog and my mind, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the unsung artisans and engineers of the Roman Republic and Empire.

Some of Kan Yasuda's works on this lower level are:

• Goccia del tempo (Drop of Time) - actually two drops, I think. We were allowed to touch and sit on the sculptures. The Drop(s) were cool, extremely smooth and soft, and remarkably comfortable. We don't always get a chance to touch sculpture and yet, for the sculptor, touch is a critical sense associated with the work.
  

• Nascita (Risveglio) (Born (Awakening)) - 2 pieces

• Nascita (Born) - many of his Yasuda's works have the same or similar names

• and, finally, looking back up at Porta del ritorno

More later; I'm off to have some cafe' and see the Colosseo. Ciao!