Itinerary 2 – Ancient Rome to Baroque Magic
Walking in Rome is magical and involves considerable time travel. Only in Rome can you walk from the Baroque Trevi Fountain fantasy to Ancient Roman Pantheon harmony then medieval magic Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and end with a perfect example of an Ancient Roman Basilica at San Paolo. Enjoy the 2nd of our six Amazing Roman Walks!
For a map of walk 2 see Amazing Sights of Rome Map. See walk 1 at Amazing Ancient Rome.
Fontana di Trevi — Trevi Fountain
You will probably be coming from the Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) as it is the nearest Metro stop in the heart of the shopping district. Pull yourself away from this touristy area to begin your time travel magic. Head south along Via Propaganda curving into one of the three streets (tre vie) leading to Trevi Fountain (hence the name Trevi).In this small piazza, a palace was turned into a Baroque water fantasy (1762). The whole wall is decorated with ornate Corinthian pilasters with many statues filling the niches. In the central ceremonial arch, Oceanus (god of water) sails on his shell chariot. It is drawn by Triton (son of Poseidon and messenger of the sea) blowing through a conch that controls the size of the waves.
Water cascades over “rocks” down to the bottom of the “sea”. This multi-level diorama is made of travertine stone. The water is fed by a real aqueduct (Agrippa 19 BC). No you cannot see the aqueduct because in Rome it runs underground.
Ever since coin throwing was made popular by the famous 1954 movie Three Coins in a Fountain, a considerable bounty is collected for charity each year. Fashion mogul Fendi spent 2.2 million Euros to restore Trevi in 2015! Yowdza! With all the art and architecture, Italy is a world leader in fashion, design and restoration. On our first trip to Bangkok we met Italians working on restoring their temples and palaces. It is a reflection of how much art and beauty are a part of Italian culture.
Piazza di Pietra — Square of Stone
The imposing wall with eleven massive columns are all that remains of the Temple of Hadrian in the Square of Stone. This impressive colonnade is now incorporated into the Borsa Italiana, the stock exchange. While Italy is no longer a powerful empire, it should be noted that it is the world’s 7th largest economy.
The column base is now below street level — we forget how human detritus keeps raising the level of cities. But think back to the Roman Forum which is well below street level.
Piazza di Monte Citorio
Palazzo Montecitorio is the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the lower House of Parliament. After the Roman Empire, Italy was either divided among European powers or a set of independent city-states. Italy has only been a unified country since 1871 – it’s younger than Canada!
Only in Rome can you go back in time to Ancient Egypt! The Obelisk of Montecitorio (Obelisco di Montecitorio) is the oldest Egyptian obelisk in Rome. The red granite monument (589 BC) came from Heliopolis, now a suburb of Cairo. In 10 BC, Emperor Augustus brought it to Rome to serve as a sun dial!! There were 48 obelisks shipped to Rome to be used as gnomon in each major piazza. Montecitorio is one of two that still have a ball and point on top that can cast a clear shadow needed for a sundial.
Gelato
OK, now it’s time for a modern treat, Gelato. The Ancient Roman emperors had snow brought from the mountains and mixed with fruits et al. But these are really called granite (ices), which you can still buy today. As usual, Ice Cream was invented in China in 200 BC. Marco Polo brought back the recipe to Italy. I think we have to change China’s Four Great Inventions (do all humans have a fascination with lists?) to the Top Five as ice cream should be right up there with paper, printing, compass and gunpowder!
Italian-style ice cream was invented in 16th century Florence (real name Firenze) in the era of Catherina dei Medici. It is made from 3.5% whole milk with about 1/3 of the fat of North American ice cream (10-12% fat). But gelato also uses at least four types of sugar, which decreases the freezing point and increases the viscosity. The consistency should always be soft. As it is served at a warmer temperature, the flavours are more intense. We had the chance to meet the Perfetto family who manufactured cones as well as gelato and were able to see the whole process.
Gelateria Giolitti
There are 37,000 gelaterie (plural of gelateria) in Italy. A short zig-zag northwest of the Obelisco brings you to Giolitti’s. It was one of the best in all of Italia when we worked in Roma. See our favourite flavours in the food section below.
Palazzo Capranica
Palazzo Capranica was built in the late 15th century and shows elements of medieval and Renaissance architecture. Note the traditional medieval trefoil window arches. Head south then west passing Caffè Tazza D’oro for your cappuccino fix. Then turn south at the corner.
Pantheon
If there is one building that is the must-see in Rome, it is the Pantheon (open 0900-1800 hrs, free). In fact, it is probably the most important architectural building of antiquity because of its engineering techniques. It was only saved because the Byzantine Empire gifted it to the Pope (AD 608). Instead of being a temple to all the gods (pantheon), it became the church of St. Mary and all the martyrs.
The exterior is non-descript, especially since the figures in the pediment were removed. Contrary to the inscription on the portico, Agrippa did not built the Pantheon: he built the original temple. Did you know that Emperor Hadrian was responsible for building the Pantheon (118 to 125 AD)? Yes, we always say emperor X built this temple but they did no more than sponsor it. But in this case, Hadrian trained as an architect in Athens.
Once you enter the interior, rather than being overwhelmed by the massiveness, there is a calm sense of harmony. The height of the dome is exactly the same as the diameter. They are in balance, and comes from Greek architectural concepts. BTW, the diameter is larger than St. Peter’s. In fact, the dome was the largest in world history until the first modern domes were built in 1960s
The interior looked very different than now as it used to be covered with gilded bronze sheets. Some of the bronze in the portico was plundered by Pope Urban VIII and was reused to build the serpentinata columns of the Baldacchino (altar canopy) in St. Peter’s and the cannons of Castel San Angelo!So how did such a large dome survive? Did you know that the Pantheon used concrete? The Romans invented concrete and we have been using it ever since.
Concrete was mixed with tufa and pumice to make it lighter. Volcanic rock is riddled with empty spaces caused by gas bubbles. The concrete was poured into temporary wooden forms. The walls of the drum supporting the dome are 6 m (19 ft) thick! Relieving arches in the walls help distribute the weight. The coffering of the dome is not just decorative; it also reduces the weight.
The marble and porphyry floor and walls were restored in 1873 to look like the original. Porphyry is an Ancient Greek word meaning purple, the color of royalty. This rare igneous stone was shipped from the Egypt!
Raphael is buried here under this sculpture of the Madonna. He lived for years with his model, La Fornarina. She was not allowed to attend the burial.
The hole in the dome, the oculus (eye), provides the only light! In fact, it is best to visit when sunlight shines through the oculus at an angle like a stage spotlight. The oculus is a wonderful feature. It draws your gaze to the clouds in the sky and allows rain to fill the porphyry basin below.
Arches, vaults and concrete enabled the Romans for the first time in history, to create vast, awe-inspiring interior spaces. It s for this reason that we would say if you could only go to one sight in all of Rome then this is the one. This was a history-making architecture that influenced all future and for us current architecture.
Piazza Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
This square is named after the adjacent church with the same name. BTW, the middle name of every Catholic woman used to be Maria. Sopra means above. Minerva is a Greco-Roman goddess. So what does this mean? It is wrong! The Gothic church was built over the foundation of a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis. An obelisk was found in the church grounds, which gave away that it was Egyptian.
This is one of the few Gothic churches (1280) in Rome. As usual, churches are often art museums. Be sure to see Michelangelo’s statue of Christ to left of High Altar and Filippino Lippi’s Assumption of Our Lady (1489).
But the piazza is an open air museum with a real gem. In the centre is a cute elephant sculpture with a 6th century BC obelisk on top. It’s a Bernini masterpiece completed in 1667 to glorify the reign of Pope Alexander VII. The idea came from a 15th century romance book. But Bernini only designed it. Another sculptor actually carved it.
Chiesa di San Ignazio di Loyola
St. Ignatius of Loyola was the founder of the Jesuits and a force behind the Counter Reformation. The imposing exterior faces a Rococo piazza (1727) surrounded by houses of the bourgeoisie. The vast interior is filled with gold, marble and other precious stones. The church was built in 1626 mainly by Jesuit labour. A cupola was planned but never built as the Jesuits had little money.
Stand on the disc in the centre of the nave and look up at Fra (brother) Andrea Pozzo’s amazing fresco ceiling (1684). This trompe l’oeil ceiling is considered the apogee of illusionist painting! The ceiling includes three dimensional architecture continuing into space filled by soaring figures. Motion in space is a major theme of Baroque art.
San Paolo Fuori le Mura — St Paul’s
Do you want to see what a Roman Basilica looked like? Basilica is an architectural structure invented by the Ancient Romans. It was used for legal and commercial buildings not temples. The Christians modelled all their major churches and named them Basilica.
St Paul’s is located outside (fuori) the walls (mura) of Ancient Rome, hence the Italian name. It was founded by the first Christian Emperor Constantine over the burial place of St. Paul.
It would be exciting to say that San Paolo dates to 324 AD when it was originally constructed. A fire in 1823 collapsed the roof and it was rebuilt to the same plan. The Basilica was reconstructed identical to the original plan, utilizing all the pieces which had survived the fire. It is very worthwhile to see what a Basilica really looked like. You will be blown away by 80 massive granite columns. But don’t forget to enjoy the peaceful cloisters (1241) with the unique serpentinata columns embedded with Cosmati-style tile pieces. It was the only part that survived the fires.
What to Eat and Drink
The best meals we had in Italy were at the homes of our Italian friends. Even before we worked in Rome, we met people while we travelled who invited us to stay at their houses. I swear the mama Perfetto tried to fatten us up!
When we explored, we would avoid places in the famous piazza or fountain sites. They would be geared to tourists and not be good value. Italian meals are usually three courses with plenty of wine – you will be thoroughly stuffed afterwards! We often would order just pasta (primo piatto or first course). If it was not tasty and served al dente, we would leave afterwards. If an Italian restaurant cannot make good pasta there is no point eating a protein dish (secondo piatto or second course). They usually gave huge quantity of pasta anyways and you are well fed.
Be careful about using Trip Advisor or other travel and food sites. Many times we found the food was not anywhere near being superb as people claimed. We currently look for very high ratings (≥ 4.5) on Google Maps.
Gelato
If you want to try Italian gelato be sure the shop is a true gelato artiginale. You used to be able to trust the label in the window but today that is no guarantee.
Gelato is not made the same way as ice cream. Gelato uses more sugar and less fat so it is creamy and soft. Ice cream is higher in fat and is hard.
Giolitti’s Gelato is just up the street north from the Pantheon. It was one of the best in all of Italia when we worked in Roma. My favourite flavours are nocciola (hazelnut) and bacio (literally means kiss, made of hazelnut and chocolate). Other great flavours are gianduia and tiramisu. There are also fruit flavours like myrtillo (blueberry) and limone. Even “ordinary” flavours like fragola (strawberry) taste better as a gelato. Yummy!
Coffee
Fourteen billion espressos are consumed in Italy each year. Sant’ Eustachio Caffe was my favourite but you also get coffee at Giolitti’s when you go for gelato. Caffe Tazzo d’Oro is also renown and very conveniently located right on this itinerary.
What to Read
The Companion Guide to Rome, Georgina Masson, Collins – is too in-depth for tourists. But it is great for expats and budding archaeologists and art historians living in Rome.
Eyewitness Rome, Dorling-Kindersley – has brief information but often some gems about major sights. Their real crown jewels are their “Street by Street” pages where they detail the sights on their attractive 3-D map of a neighbourhood.
History of Art, H. W. Janson, Prentice Hall – is for learning about art and architecture. It is not for lugging around on your trip. It weighs about 20 kg – ok, would you believe 2.6 kg (5.7 lbs)?
