Carry On Up The Tiber

Tuesday, our second day in Rome, was Tony's 60th birthday and over our sumptuous hotel buffet breakfast we plotted our route for the morning, deciding to walk along the banks of the River Tiber.

This is a stele dating back to Ancient Rome that once marked the boundary of the Area Saturni, the area in front of the nearby Temple of Saturn. The inscription says that it was restored by Pope Paul IV Carafa (1555-1559).

Standing in the shadow of the Palatine Hills, Circus Maximus, now a public park, was an ancient  chariot-racing stadium, the first and largest stadium in the Roman Empire. Measuring 2,037 ft in length and 387ft in width it could accommodate over 150,000 spectators. If you're fans of the drama series, Those About To Die, this is where Scorpus (a real-life gladiator and not a fictional character) would have raced.

Our steep climb up the Aventine Hill was rewarded with some wonderful views of the city. The forecast had been for rain all day but so far, it had held off, although the skies were starting to look distinctly ominous.

The rather imposing Victor Emmanuel II Monument, built between 1885 and 1935, is often referred to as The Wedding Cake. 

 Time for a selfie before our journey continued....

The Piazza of the Knights of Malta was decorated by Giambiattista Piranesi in the 18th Century. To honour the order of the crusading knights, founded in 1080, the architect adorned the walls with dwarf obelisks and trophy armour in the ancient style. 

Everyone comes here for the famous keyhole view of St Peter's Basilica, ideally framed by an arbour of perfect trees....gotcha!!

Behold the Cemetery Gates (I love any chance to reference The Smiths) and if you're not a fan of graveyards you'd better scroll down quickly...

Known in Rome as the Non-Catholic Cemetery, this one of the oldest burial sites in Europe. It was used from around 1716, the date granted by Pope Clement XI, originally for English Protestants fleeing the Stuart Court but later extended to other people of non-Catholic faith. Over the years, the number of people buried has increased to over four thousand, among them are many young men from Britain who died whilst doing the Grand Tour in the 18th & 19th Centuries, but also Germans, Americans, Scandinavians, Russians, Greeks and some Easterners, of all religious faiths; from Islam, to Zoroastrianism, from Buddhism to Confucianism.

Many poets, writers, artists and musicians are buried here including the English Romantic poets (the rock stars of their day) Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats who lived together in Rome 

 

Bordering the cemetery is the astonishing Pyramid of Cestius, a lofty 12 BCE edifice, built in honour of Gaius Caius Cestius who was instrumental in quelling the first Jewish-Roman War. It is 118ft tall and took around 330 days to erect, according to the inscription on it. Unlike Egyptian pyramids, it is built from brick and subsequently covered with marble.

John Yeats tragically died from consumption at the age of 25. His dying wish that his tombstone bore the inscription, Here Lies One Whose Name Was Writ in Water, rather than his name. 

The English artist Joseph Severn was Yeats' deathbed companion, holding him through his dying hours. The palette represents his profession, as the lyre represents Yeats'. 

The tombstone below was inspired by those used by the Ancient Greeks. The figure on the right represents the recently departed, a woman being led away to the Underworld and to the right are those she has left behind, a grieving husband and their four children.

 The cemetery is home to a legion of cats.

On October 7th 1895, the American sculptor William Wetmore Story died in Rome, having lived and worked there for over 40 years. His sculpture of The Angel of grief Weeping Over The Dismantled Altar of Life was created for the grave of his wife Emelyn, who had died the year before. 

Story, who was devastated by his wife's death, described the sculpture: It represents the angel of Grief, in utter abandonment, throwing herself with drooping wings and hidden face over a funeral altar. It represents what I feel. It represents prostration. Yet to do it helps me.

Sadly, by the time Shelley died there was no space for him to be buried beside his beloved friend, Yeats. Shelley drowned after falling from his boat. Rumoured to have died by suicide, when his body was recovered ten days later, a book of Yeats' poetry was found in his pocket. 

This grave commemorates one of the Dambusters, a member of the RAF's 617 Squadron. Born in Coventry and later making Rome his home. 

On the road opposite the cemetery was a row of osterias. I've no idea what the name of the place we ate at was but it there were a row of recycling bins right outside and a beautiful girl with very long hair waiting on the tables. We ordered the house specials, Spaghetti Bolognese and Tagliatelle al funghi porcini. The pasta was made in-house every morning and I can honestly say it was the best any of us had ever eaten( and I thought last night's was the best!) Except for us, the clientele were all office workers, a sure sign the food's good!  

Next stop was Res Militares (The Roman Soldiers Museum) where David, a local historian, explained how Roman armour had evolved over the centuries and taught us how to handle swords and javelins and how to use shields to form a phalanx. I can't tell you how much fun we had! 

After over an hour of grappling with a fit young Roman we were in need of a drink. By now the threatened rain had started in earnest so we dived into The Nag's Head, the nearest pub. Originally only planning to stay for a pint, the rain got so bad we ended up trapped in there for hours!  

We ended up braving the monsoon and dashing back to the Osteria where we'd eaten the previous night for pinse (prounced pin-sa), a pizza-like flatbread made to an ancinet Roman recipe and known for its airy and crisp texture, made from a blend of wheat, rice and soy flours, leavened for up to 72 hours, making it a lighter & more digestible alternative than pizza.

Mine was topped with grilled aubergine, roasted cherry tomatoes and mozzarella, Tony's with Ariccia porchetta and caramelised red onion and Jon's with mozzarella, bacon and pecorino. 

Rome's still beautiful even in the rain!

With the hotel rooftop out of the question, we sat in the lounge with our takeaway beers. 

The birthday boy had a bostin' 60th!

Stay tuned for our third day in Rome.