Small World

For Fannie and Andrew's first full day in Rome, we took our favorite walking circuit through the city. As it would turn out, this day's trip would have some surprising features.

We start in the Monti, grabbing a slice of pizza to get us going. We go up the Via dei Serpenti, pausing from time to time to look back toward the Colosseum. Crossing the Via Nazionale, we climb a few more blocks to the Quirinal. Once the home of Popes, now of the Italian President. There seems to be some commotion, which (after not too long a wait) turns out to be the changing of the guard. The navy, in the internationally recognizable blue suits and white hats, had finished their duty, and were to be replaced by the Guardia di Finanza, a sort of militarized treasury police dressed in green. Much pomp and circumstance, complete with a military band. Although somewhat reluctant to enjoy martial spectacles, we did like the combination of machine guns and spats.

Onward.
Down the hill to the Trevi Fountain, where Fannie tossed the traditional coin over her shoulder to guarantee her return to the Eternal City.


Between the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon (our next stop), we encounter the inevitable tourist shops, but one of the stands has something we haven't seen before: a 2009 calendar with pictures of handsome priests (Hunks of the Clergy?). A post-modern parody if there ever was one. Fannie buys one for her study carrel next year.

The Pantheon deserves its own entry, but not today.


Close to the Pantheon is Giolitti's ice cream parlor, which we had visited with Andrew's parents (Sarah and Steve See the City: Day 2+); clearly we needed to stop there with Fannie and Andrew. We grabbed a table on the street, but before we could be served we had a surprise. We looked up to be greeted by Frank and Betsy Wilczek, accompanied by a tour guide (who turned out to be quite amusing). They are spending a sabbatical in Oxford, and Bill had a hint that Frank was in Rome but it's still surprising to simply meet them on the street, seemingly at random. Somehow not the setting for Bill and Frank to talk physics (someday we'll find a cafe with blackboards), but much catching up on life, the state of the children, etc.. The tour guide contributed, among other things, a memorable story of an evangelical group asking him to join their prayer: "Lord protect us as we are about to enter the lair of the evil one ...". Before going into St. Peter's, of course.

Fortified by the excellent ice cream, we needed coffee. A pilgrimage to Sant'Eustachio, for their remarkable espresso. More wandering, past Piazza Navona, and then back to the Largo Argentina. Since it was actually the Ides of March, we stopped to see the place where Caesar was murdered. Well, we think we saw it. There are beautifully excavated temples, but it seems that the deed itself was done on the back stairs, somewhat difficult to discern. Still, a thought provoking place.

The home stretch .. past the Vittorio Emmanuelle monument (the giant wedding cake), up to the Campidoglio, down past the site where Peter is supposed to have been jailed (although the chains ended up closer to us, with Moses) and along the Forum with the striking view of the Colosseum at the end of the wide street. Stopping to admire the evening views of the Trajan Markets (see Valentine's Day at the Local Mall) and the various fora.

At this point we are flagging; maybe a slice of pizza and a giant plate of ice cream isn't quite enough for the day, even with the espresso. We steer our walk back into the Monti, to arrive at the Taverna Romana. We've been there several times (thanks to Leonard and Nick for pointing us there!), so we get a smile of recognition from the waiters. Still, the place is packed. "Venti minuti," with hand gestures to suggest "approximately." We claim a spot on the steps of the vegetable stand across the street. Soon, someone asks us in English about the wait. Small talk ensues; he and his wife (who appears shortly) are also staying the neighborhood. We explain that we're here for a sabbatical visit. From where? Princeton. Ah, which department? ... To make the story a bit shorter than the wait, our compatriot was David Satran, a professor of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University. He was twice a visitor at Princeton, and counts among his colleagues Martha Himmelfarb. No, Fannie explains, she hasn't worked with Martha but was in school with her daughter. Which one? You get the idea. A real small world experience.

Before closing, we have to note that, among other wonderful things at the Taverna Romana, we had a salad of puntarelle with the traditional anchovy dressing. Amazing. As it happens, the New York Times is on top of this one too, thanks to the traveling Mark Bittman.

So .. a full day. And, in the small world category, a physics colleague for Bill, a school board colleague for Char, a religion professor for Fannie ... We didn't bump into any applied mathematicians for Andrew, but maybe he could estimate the probability of all this happening in one day, on the other side of the world. WB

Fannie and Andrew arrive (Fri 14 March)

Fannie and Andrew have arrived! Well, they've actually been here for a few days already but I'm behind. We picked the kids up at the airport and took the train home. They were only an hour late, but what with so much work from school, the longish trip, and a bit of jet lag, they were both pretty tired. We went for lunch at our neighborhood cafe, then Andrew, who had worked instead of slept on the flight, went home for a nap. Speaking of work, here's an photo of the back of a rather nice car. It is for all students hard at work on senior theses. (I wonder if this constitutes some kind of promise?): Fannie, Bill and I headed uphill for a short walk around the neighborhood. Actually, our real goal was Panella, the fabulous bakery just a few blocks from home. On the way we stopped for a look at Santa Maria Maggiore and found that the clergy were shocked! shocked to learn we were in town! (You may have to click on the photo to get the real impact.)



We had to stop for ice cream of course!

Steve and Sarah's Last Day

Back to Feb. 23 and Out to Ostia Antica

Steve got to choose this day, and his choice was Ostia Antica, outside the city of Rome, but critical to Rome in its heyday. It is also one of the best places to get a sense of what an ancient Roman town was like.

Like Pompeii, Ostica Antica is well preserved with clear streets, houses, shops and public buildings.



Still evident are floor mosaics, bits of frescoes on walls, doorways and stairs, and inside some shops there are even counters and shelves. Bill played bar keep.















One of the bathhouses still features a 21 seat public latrine.




People of all walks of life lived in Ostia so there are large houses as well as apartment buildings.


This very cosmopolitan town also featured a variety of religious buildings including quite a few temples to Mithras, a Persian god who worship featured images of bulls and, I believe, bull sacrifices. There is also a early, 1st C. Jewish synagogue and a Christian church.











Steve found a mill and demonstrated for us how the millstones worked.


Unlike Pompeii, Ostia Antica was not buried suddenly but was gradually abandoned as the harbor silted up and trade declined in the 4th century.
Even worse, malaria became a real problem for the populace.

Instead of being destroyed by armies or looted by subsequent residents, Ostia slowly became buried in sand.

The day was very beautiful and this was a great place to spend it. The sun was out, the grass was green, and the air was very fresh. The site has a cafeteria where we had a light lunch, and a small museum that unfortunately we missed. However, to really see the site, more visits will be necessary. I can't wait!

The Blessing of the Vehicles

I've been looking forward to today ever since I heard about it shortly after arriving in Rome. And, as is so often true, the story is better than one hears at first.

(This tuba player is warming up for the festivities. The photo is for you, Fannie, as most of this day was.)

At the southeastern end of the Forum, near the Colosseum, is a (relatively) small church called Santa Francesca Roman. This church is dedicated to a 14th century Roman noble woman who spent her life caring for the poor and sick and founded a group of other women like her to do the same. This was a dangerous time in Rome, and it came to be believed that she had a guardian angel who accompanied her on her missions into the poorest parts of the city with a lamp to light her way. Because of this, she has in modern times been declared the patron saint of vehicles. Now every year, on March 9, there is a blessing on the Via dei Fori Imperiali very near to her church.

So, I bought a couple of SMART cars and an old racing Mini and today headed down hill. As soon as I left home I saw that Via Cavour (the extension of my street towards the Forum) was blocked off as was the main street alongside the Forum. I had understood that the tradition was that people parked their cars as close as possible to the church in order for the potency of the blessing to be strong. I guess not. What I found, though, may be as good. In front of the place where the cardinal was to perform the blessing was parked every kind of municipal and emergency vehicle, even a giant crane, many police motorcycles and cars, a fire truck, an ambulance, a bus, an old, old Fiat and some bigger, more modern car, maybe a Lancia.

I wandered up into the church just in time to see the Touring Club of Rome getting ready to present the church with flowers and a gold cup.


The cardinal arrived a little later and services started.
Around noon, the cardinal came outside to do the blessing, which was very brief compared to the services in the church. As soon as he said the amen, all the vehicles in the street below him blasted their horns for about 30 seconds, absolutely terrifying a sweet dog that was hanging out with his people and me on the road above. Then everyone raced their motors and left to get back to work. I wandered off to check out the tourist info center. On the way home I stopped to try some tourist food. I had an incredibly thin crusted carciofi pizza with almost no taste.
I hope my efforts will help to keep the kids safe on the roads this year (and out of tourist eateries)!

Another note on this church comes from Sarah and DK's "Eyewitness Travel Rome." Inside the church are the imprints of the knees of Saints Peter and Paul. The story goes that a magician, yes, a magic man, named Simon Magus, claimed that he was more powerful than the Apostles. To prove it, he levitated above the Forum, not in ruins at the time, of course. Peter and Paul got down on their knees to pray that God humble Mr. Magus. At that moment, he plunged to his death and the knee prints of the Apostles remained on the flagstones in the church. (There were too many people there today for me to see these, so clearly I will have to visit again another time.)

International Women's Day

Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day. It is celebrated around the world in various ways, and I am proud that the US government recognizes this day. Today is mostly a time to reflect on women's participation in the workplace and the world at large. (Hilary Clinton, take a deep breath. You have a huge responsibility on this front, whether you welcome it or not!) There have been many improvements in the States and other parts of the world in my lifetime alone, but opportunities for women and acknowledgement of the contributions of women outside the home are still too few. The situation is still too fragile to take it for granted now.

"If it's better for women, it's better for all" (from the website http://www.internationalwomensday.com/). If this still needs repeating in 2008, then we have a long way to go!

That said, I'm off to get myself a bit of mimosa and see what is happening in Rome.

Sarah and Steve See the City: Day 2+

After Gallerie Borghese, we were ready to do something a bit less structured. We found Bill snoozing back from his trip to snowy Jerusalem. We woke him up and headed out. We wandered over the Quirinal with it's view of the dome of the Vatican. More consultation of maps, then into the Centro Storico, with many of the most famous sites of Rome: the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain (sadly, none of us threw coins in backwards - I hope this doesn't mean we won't return!) and then, perhaps most importantly, Giolitti's. Ah, gelato! If this place does not have the best gelato in town, it is right up there. I think Sarah and Steve's tower of yumminess won for most gorgeous ice cream at the table!

On the way home we almost literally stumbled into the Gesu', the first Jesuit church built in Rome sometime in the mid to late 1500's. Its' style is referred to as Counter-Reformation Baroque, and it is incredibly opulent. There is a mirror in the center of the nave that allows visitors to look at the ceiling without straining their necks. Rather thoughtful and it gives a viewer an interesting perspective, somewhat unreal, and so I saw that most people also looked up to verify what they had seen in the mirror! This is just a peak up into the dome. I suspect it would take weeks to see everything in this one church alone. However, I am still very uncomfortable in these places thinking about where the money came from that built and even now supports them. I cannot imagine that the poorer Catholics see enough benefit from them to make them appropriate, and for me that destroys most of what others see as beautiful about them. For example, there is a statue of Sant'Ignazio in one of the little side chapels that is framed by columns made of gilded lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone. Of course, for many of the artists of the time, these buildings were a real opportunity to experiment and show what they were capable of doing in sculpture and painting as well as in architecture. And that was a lot!

The Vatican

The next day we went off to see the most opulent and wealthy church of all! (Wringing of hands! The photo to the right is a detail from a de Chirico in the modern art section of the Vatican Museums.)

Here we separated to wend our way through the museums at our own paces. I confess that I am grateful to the Vatican for maintaining such beautiful museums. From a guest perspective, with the new improved entrances and guest services, this is a great place to spend a day. (I really can't understand all the guide books that say you can see it all including St. Peter's Basilica in half a day. It will take me several visits before I even feel I've had an introduction to the place, let alone "seen it"!

I'll do more on the Vatican later, but I did want to show this photo I got of Raphael's School of Athens. The light was very poor and there was a whole tour looking at something (exciting?) in the other direction, but look carefully and you'll see Steve and Bill joining the tour temporarily.

Bill and I enjoyed many parts of the museums including the Museums of the Vatican Library and the Modern religious Art rooms. I wonder where the reproductions of fake documents are to be found?


I also really enjoyed the room with the animals. Many were quite beautifully done such as this lion and deer, a favorite theme of the Romans and the Church, hmmm. Perhaps my favorite animal sculpture was the head of a camel, life size and looking at me and laughing. What could it have been thinking...