Set like a jewel in the Aventine Hill, with breathtaking views of the Circus Maximus, the Palatine Hill and the Celio, stands the Municipal Rose Garden of Rome, 10,000 square meters of pure delight and poetry.

This garden was the cemetery of the Jewish Community of Rome from 1645 to 1934, when it was merged with Verano in the Israelite sector, after numerous burial remains had been dismantled and reassembled at the new site, but it was equally certain that much of the Jewish community's legacy still remained in the depths of the original site.

After the transfer to Verano, the green area now used as a rose garden was forgotten, until it became a "war garden" during the Second World War.

In 1950 the President of the Jewish Community agreed to establish the new Municipal Rose Garden in this area (the previous one was on Colle Oppio, severely damaged during the war).

Two stems with the Tablets of Moses were then placed at the entrance, and the paths were designed in the shape of Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum, an ancient symbol of Jewish culture.

The rose garden is divided into two sectors: the largest one houses a collection of 1,200 varieties and species that traces the history of the rose from antiquity to the present day.

The other hosts the roses that participate in the international competition "Rome Prize", which takes place every year, naturally, in May, the traditional month dedicated to the queen of flowers.

The competition took place for the first time in 1933, at the old rose garden of Colle Oppio, in the presence of the American countess Mary Senni, the proud creator of both the rose garden and the competition, and was inspired by the Bagatelle competition, near Paris.

The annual competition among new rose varieties is one of the oldest in the world.

In addition to this, our rose garden boasts a large collection of spontaneous roses, as well as ancient roses, which - as experts well know - are the only ones giving off an intense scent.

Among the most famous roses in the collection it is worth mentioning the Rosa Primula, originally from the Middle East, with leaves that emit a strong scent of incense; Rosa Eglanteria, so dear to Shakespeare, which gives off an intense scent of green apple; the Rosa Sempervirens, also called the Rosa di San Giovanni, because it blooms around June 24th; Rosa Moscata, which takes its name from a Tibetan goat from which the perfume Musk is obtained; the Rosa Pteracantha, originally from China, with the thorns in the shape of a bird's wing, a unique rose with four petals; the ancient Rose Kazanlak, from which the expensive essence is extracted and used as a base for the finest perfumes; the Rosa Arvensis Splendens, which reaches a height of five meters and smells of myrrh, and then the oldest of all, the Belle Portugaise, from the ripe old age of about ninety, a pastel pink visiting card of the splendid setting of the Municipal Rose Garden of Rome.

It must be said with no doubt that the Aventine Hill has a deeply floral "DNA".

In fact, as early as the third century BC, the first temple dedicated to Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, stood right here.
At a short distance from the Circus Maximus, between the end of April and the beginning of May, the Floralia, the celebrations dedicated to Flora, were held.

After more than two millennia, we can continue to dream among the petals, essences and colors of the Aventine.

I'm waiting for you!

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Today there is a splendid basilica near Piazza di Spagna, which today is in the heart of the city, but which in medieval times was an inaccessible place and located outside the town, precisely between the fracts. This is the reason why the Basilica of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte bears this very peculiar name.

In it, next to the altar, we find two marble angels, a late work by the great Gian Lorenzo Bernini

They were sculpted around 1669 on a commission by Pope Clement IX Rospigliosi, and were intended to decorate, together with eight other angels, the ancient bridge that crosses the Tiber in front of Castel Sant’Angelo.

Of great scenographic effect, these two angels bearing the symbols of the Passion of Christ, should have constituted a sort of celestial procession along the access path to St. Peter's Basilica.

It happened, however, that the Pope considered them too beautiful to be exposed to rain and snow, and he decided to give them to his beloved nephew, Giacomo Rospigliosi, to be taken to Pistoia, his hometown.

After their transfer to Pistoia, for about sixty years, there were no more news of the two angels.
They reappeared, just as mysteriously, only in 1729 at Palazzo Bernini.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's nephew, Prospero, donated them to the Basilica of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, which was opposite the family palace, and therefore also the parish of reference of the family itself.

For centuries the fratte have given way to the city, but the angel with the Crown of Thorns, and the one with the Title of the Cross are still there, with those wings made of that marble that no one, like Gian Lorenzo Bernini, could life and lightness.
Their incredible beauty and poignant expression are a real pearl set in the center of Rome.

Along the steep Via Garibaldi, on the slopes of the Janiculum, a baroque architectural pearl, unknown to most, takes us by surprise: it is the Church of Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori, designed by Francesco Borromini in the second half of the 1600s for the Order of the Oblate Augustinian Sisters of the Child Jesus, commissioned by the Duchess Camilla Virginia Savelli, wife of Pietro Farnese.

It is an incomplete jewel, as Borromini was at the same time busy in the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, employed by Pope Innocent X.
The project did not remain incomplete only due to Borromini's lack of time, but also because the funds to carry it out ran out before its completion.
However, it is such incompleteness that makes it very special, and that also enhances the beauty of the adjoining convent.

The unfinished facade and the austere style of design are inspired by the strict rules of seclusion that characterized the monastic order that was housed there, as well as the intrinsic humble and rustic spirit of that obedience.

For about fifteen years the convent has been transformed into a luxury hotel.

However, from the hotel hall you can still access the church and, having breakfast between a croissant and a cappuccino, you can still enjoy the perfectly preserved cloister.

We will start from Largo di Torre Argentina, or simply Largo Argentina (very easy to reach), a place traditionally associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar, in 44 BC.

After an introduction to the history and archaeological evidence, we will enter the heart of the Jewish Ghetto, founded in 1555 to house the Roman Israelite Community, and where the Jewish community still lives today, being the most ancient Israelite Community of Europe.

As we enter the narrow streets of the old quarter, we will also notice the many shops and restaurants with their offer of typical kosher products.
We will admire the famous and splendid Fountain of the Turtles, we will see the remains of the Portico d'Ottavia, the majestic structures of the Teatro Marcello and the Temple of Apollo Sosiano, and then we will reach the Synagogue, one of the largest in Europe.

From the Ghetto, crossing the Tiber on the oldest bridge in Rome, we will arrive at the Tiber Island, from which we can enjoy breathtaking views of the bridges and domes of our beloved city.

From the Island, in a few minutes, we will officially enter the Trastevere district, which is the most popular and bohemian district of the historic center, and - walking on the mythical cobblestones of which its alleys are paved - we will reach the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of the most impressive churches in the city, the pride of the district that hosts it, decorated with splendid (and perfectly preserved) medieval mosaics.

We will then admire the famous Piazza Trilussa, embellished by the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola, overlooking the Lungotevere and the fifteenth-century Ponte Sisto.

But our visit will not end here, because the time has come to aim high!
On Viale Garibaldi, along a path full of surprises, we will reach the summit of the Janiculum, the so-called "Ottavo Colle di Roma" to be able to admire the church of San Pietro in Montorio, and then be dominated by the great beauty of the "Fontanone" (The Big Fountain), wanted by Pope Paul V Borghese in the early 1600s.

We will conclude our walk at the Belvedere del Gianicolo, from which you can enjoy the most evocative panorama of the historic center; a view celebrated for centuries by painters and photographers, as well as immortalized in countless movies and TV shows.

Here, in Piazzale Garibaldi, at noon every day, since 1904, three soldiers load a cannon with blanks and fire a shot that signals noon to the whole city.

And it will be right here, at noon, that we will say goodbye, with the background of the sky of Rome.

This is the best tour for those who want to get to know St. Peter's Basilica in depth: the one that is not only the largest church in the world, but also the largest and most important museum coinciding with a religious temple.

This tour will remain in your memories forever, as it will allow you to reach the highest point of Rome: the dome, from which you can enjoy, at 360 degrees, the widest panorama that in Rome is visible from the top of a building, photographing incredible views with your eyes and your smartphone, and discovering, from above, the smallest state in the world: the Vatican City.
The dome of St. Peter's is the only place from which it is possible to "spy" what is happening within the walls of the Holy City.

The tour will introduce you to the history of the Vatican, starting from St. Peter's Square, a Bernini's masterpiece.

You will see the obelisk, the fountains, the balcony (the famous "Loggia of the Blessings"), the window from which the Pope usually looks out, the Apostolic Palace, the colonnade, and the roof on which the most famous chimney on the planet stands : that of the Sistine Chapel.

We will then leave, at a brisk pace, for the ascension to the dome!
This tour, of course, also includes the ticket for the lift which will allow you to save 231 of the 551 steps that you would have to climb to get to the "top" of the Eternal City.

After the breathtaking view from the panoramic terrace of what in Roman tradition is called "Er Cuppolone", we will descend directly inside the Basilica to admire the countless historical and artistic masterpieces that it has preserved for centuries.

Michelangelo's Pietà, Bernini's Baldacchino, the medieval bronze statue of St. Peter, the Papal Altar, the tomb of St. John Paul II, the statues of the Saints, the Chapels and funeral monuments of the Popes, the Holy Door that is opened only on the occasion of the Jubilees.

Finally, we will go down to the basement of the Basilica, the so-called "Vatican Grottoes", or "Crypts", unknown to most despite their importance.

Here, in fact, there is the tomb of St. Peter, buried after being crucified by Nero in 64 AD, as well as the "stone" on which the Basilica was built by Emperor Constantine in 326 AD.

In addition to the fundamental sepulcher of the first Pontiff, a place of strong transport and emotion for all Christianity, among the underground tunnels we will also see tombs of Popes and Sovereigns (such as those of Paul VI, John Paul I, the Pope of 33 days, Boniface VIII, as well as that of Queen Christina of Sweden).
In this place rest 147 Popes.

We will conclude the tour by returning to the sunlight and meeting the Swiss Guards in the setting, unique in the world, of St. Peter's Square.

Rome is inextricably linked to water: the Tiber, the aqueducts, the baths, the lakes, the proximity of the city to the sea, the ancient cisterns, the naumachias, the Cloaca Maxima, the thousands of fountains (there are more fountains than churches !), the noses (small drink-fountains in the streets), many little decorative fountains...

Sometimes, however, it can happen that you come across the fountain you don't expect.

We are on the Palatine Hill, the most important of the Seven Hills, the place where the city was founded.

Here centuries of history and construction have been stratified.
In the 16th century, the Farnese family built on the ruins of the Emperors palaces a residence immersed in a garden of delights, rich in rare exotic plants, as well as aviaries where one could admire gaudy peacocks and colorful parrots; ancient statues that were reused in that place, in a setting of surprising water games.

We are surrounded by the splendor of the Horti Farnesiani, on top of the Palatine Hill, a place from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Capitol City.

As we wander around the ruins of the Domus Tiberiana, making our way through bushes and centenary trees, suddenly - descending a flight of stairs - we meet a real surprise: the Nymphaeum of Rain.

A cascade of pouring water, immersed in semi-darkness; a real ghostly apparition inside a largely forgotten place, unknown to most, almost erased by earthquakes, by centuries, by abandonment and - as if that wasn't enough - by the demolitions carried out by archaeologists who, between the nineteenth and the twentieth century, brought to light the ruins on which the Farnese gardens had been built.

Among the few structures that survived the many adversities previously described, we can still admire the portal with the lilies, symbol of the Farnese family, the recently restored Nymphaeum of Mirrors, the Aviaries, the Teatro del Fontanone, as well as the main object of this article: the Nymphaeum of Rain.

It was a refuge in which the wealthy owners went to shelter from the summer heat; a dark, cool, shady triclinium, to protect themselves and their guests on the days when the "ardores solis", the flames of sun, proved all their power.

Imagine this place, so pleasant to see, scattered with statues and frescoes, in a cool, mild temperature.

A magical place, where even the ear could enjoy the sound of an artificial waterfall reproducing the sound of abundant rain, creating a subliminal effect inside the grotto, artificial itself, which, even in the middle of August , offered the sensation of stepping out of time and finding oneself in a dimension able to provide relief and serenity.

The Nymphaeum is fed by the overlying Fontanone, a system of overlapping basins from which the water overflows, flowing into small waterfalls and then collects in an invisible channel that creates the rain effect in the artificial cave below.

A magnificent fountain, which still today triumphantly overlooks the Roman Forum from a terrace where, in the Farnese times, a number of hidden jets inside the floor created water tricks to cheer and surprise the lucky guests.

But what happened a few days ago near the Colosseum is certainly one of the nicest episodes that the annals of the Rome-Hollywood relationship remember.
Tom Cruise, who is shooting the new episode of Mission Impossible in the streets of the capital, is notoriously a motors enthusiast and an excellent driver, so much so that he does not need doubles and stuntmen when he shoots the scenes based on chases and various stunts with car and motorcycle.
When the American actor saw the insanely cute BMW motorcycles supplied to our Traffic Police, he heard no reason: he wanted to try one at all costs, and our agents allowed him to do so.
The expression of joy, almost childish, on the famous actor's face tells much more than a thousand words.

A subway officially arrived in Rome in 1955, and to be exact on February 9 of that year.
At 10.15 that morning, the first train of what we now call "Line B" leaved Termini Station to reach EUR.
An interesting tip: on board the inaugural train, among the authorities joining the President of Republic Luigi Einaudi, there is also the Minister of Transport of the time, Bernardo Mattarella, father of our current President.

The inauguration trip to EUR is not a random choice: the underground transport network, in fact, was conceived in the 1930s precisely to connect Termini Station to the site of the Universal Exposition E42, which then could not take place due to the occurrence of the events of the Second World War.
Of course, for the same reason, the construction of the subway is also interrupted, t in order to be resumed after a decade.

Rome, in the complexity of the stratifications that have occurred for twenty-seven centuries, is a vulnerable city.
The idea of running convoys under sites such as the Colosseum or the Circus Maximus has presented very complex problems since the very beginning of the project, and of course the constant probability of unexpected and exciting archaeological discoveries.

In this context, already complex in itself, it must be considered that, from the earliest years, the network was equipped with convoys capable of easily reaching 70 mph per hour which, equipped with comfortable and soft green leather seats, stood out for their modernity, if compared to those of other contemporary subways.

After the inauguration of 1955, the development of the underground transport network continued in the following years, with various projects concerning the line that from the Prati district leads to Cinecittà, through the intersection of Termini.

In view of the 1990 Soccer World Cup, Line B was refurbished and extended up to Rebibbia.

Later in the 1990s, after the extension of line B, line A was also put into service, which was extended to the current western terminus of Battistini.

And here history takes us almost to the present day.
The dream of a fast Rome is always alive, even if the times of realization - if compared to those of other European cities - are necessarily slowed down not only by the continuous archaeological finds, but also by the bureaucratic result that each of them inevitably entails.

In fact, when a company working on the line is faced with a new archaeological discovery, the law obliges it to stop the works to allow the intervention of the committies for conservation of cultural heritage, and this inevitably ends up extending the times of realization in an indefinable way.
We are in a city that has no equal in the world, and all this is part of its destiny.

Pending the project to create lines C and D, the archaeological investigations that the project itself involves continue to reserve daily surprises.
Just think of Piazza Venezia, where for years they have been trying to create a coveted station, but where even the bowels of the earth continue to return all kinds of preciousness of the past centuries and millennia.
The same goes for Via dei Fori Imperiali.
And the critical issues don't stop at archaeological sites alone!

While the projects, in their first draft, took into consideration a passage of the line under the riverbed of the Tiber, it was recently discovered that about sixty meters below the historic Capitoline river a second underground river flows, mysterious and with abundant flows, and this forced the planners to permanently set aside the sub-river section, while studies are underway at the Roma Tre University to make this generous stream an alternative power source capable of bringing heating from natural sources to Roman homes.

Therefore, many conquests have already been made to equip this city with a transport network comparable to those of the most modern capitals, even if - objectively speaking - all the situations mentioned above lead us to think that a capillary coverage of the city could, perhaps, be seen by the grandchildren of our grandchildren.

But this does not scare us and does not surprise us: in Rome everything is evaluated with the millennia unit of measurement.

On February 4, 1956, and for three days in a row, Rome too was hit by the heavy snowfall that affected Italy, starting from the north of the boot, since January 27.
The minimum temperature recorded in our country, during those days, was that of -40 ° on the Plateau Rosa.
For many days, in the capital, temperatures remained below freezing, with negative peaks of -8 °, and many of the incredible scenes that characterized those days are represented in this small gallery.
The great snowfall of 1956 in Rome was, over the years, the inspiration for countless songs, stories and short stories that are still part of the popular heritage of this city today.

The possibility of these city bathing days was provided by the characteristic barges, moored along the city course of the river, the most popular of which was, without a doubt, that of the "Ciriola", which was moored for decades under Castel Sant'Angelo.

“Er Ciriola”, aka Luigi Rodolfo Benedetti, was the owner of an electrician's shop, and he alternated this activity with that of a river with his mythical float on the Tiber.

It was called "ciriola", a Roman word for "eel", because, just like an eel, it swam casually in the rough waters of the river, and not just for its own pleasure: it received 160 medals for the 160 lives it had snatched from the Tiber, diving with cold blood and great swimming skills to save generations and generations of daredevils and would-be suicides.

Since the second half of the nineteenth century, there are simply fantastic photographic evidence of this bathing use of the Tiber.
Here are just a few ...

However, hunger can take many forms: from voracity to wolf hunger; from the excellent appetite to that peckish, to that nonsocchè that makes you, as a famous spot of the 90s said, “want something good”.

For all these situations, Rome offers a one-stop solution: Er Pizzicarolo.

It is not clear whether its name derives more from the fact that in ancient times the cured meats, not being all the preservatives available today, were well stuffed with spicy spices, therefore they "stung".
Or if its name derives from the fact that, offering tastings to its customers, what the pizzicarolo offers must be grasped with the thumb and forefinger closed in a vice, therefore with the "pinch"; or even if its name derives from the fact that this profession was born, in the mists of time, mainly by selling pizzas and cheeses.

The fact is that the "pizzicherie" of Rome are one of the truest, most authentic and typical images of this city.
Otherwise called "the pizzicagnolo", this cheerful, hospitable and ruddy popular figure has always been of great importance in small neighborhood communities.

Today, perhaps, the term “salumiere” has also taken hold in popular jargon, alongside the traditional name.

In fact, over the last few decades, the signs with the historic (and philological) name "pizzicheria", from which the verb "spizzicare" derives without a shadow of a doubt, that is, to seize morsels with the fingers delicacies (what Americans call "finger-food"), with which to make life sweeter and more livable.

Small daily "cuddles", with which, as some Roman elder would say "the man lives" ...

And to think that there is also a real artistic dimension of this ancient and beloved craftsman.

In fact, in the pre-Easter time, Roman pizzicaroli usually set up and decorate their shops as if they were temples; and how to blame them: one of the main rituals of the year is about to arrive, the Easter lunch, and their shop is the temple where the most worthy ingredients to celebrate this rite can be found.

The forms of Parmesan, superimposed on each other, become columns; hams, sausages, salami, lemons and bay leaves create exceptional mosaics on the ceilings.
Candles made from animal fats are lit; with butter and ricotta sacred statues are created, comparable to those of alabaster, in a mixture of the sacred and the profane which - in one word - is Rome itself.

Mirrors placed everywhere reflect lights, sculptures and fruit pyramids.

All this is concocted by the grocery store in person, not so much and not only for mere profit, and to advertise, but above all for devotion, and for the love of beauty, which inevitably must be married to the good.

This preparation can require even two days of work from the grocery store, of creativity and effort, to delight his customers, and to delight in them himself.

As Giuseppe Gioachino Belli narrates:

Colonne de caciotte that will be
Scento a little later, they arreggono an arch
Embroidered in sarsiccie and there they are
Many animals of a new form.
Between the cave in the limb there is a Mosè de strutto
Cor stick in the air like a cop;
At the top of a mountain of ham,
And underneath it pé will whet your hunger.
There is a Christ and a Madonna de butirro,
Drento to a beautiful cave of salami.

A delight for everyone and also for the great poets of Rome, Er Pizzicarolo inspired these verses in Trilussa in which, the poet lamenting his asphyxiated economic condition, he said:

However, the exact location has remained a fascinating mystery for centuries, and scholars determined to find it have meticulously and passionately sifted the hill.

We know that, as early as 1526, the Roman antiquarian Bartolomeo Marliano descended into a tunnel on the Palatine, telling that he had seen "a temple adorned with sea shells and stones composed together ..." where, at the top of the vault, it was possible to recognize the image of a white eagle.

We also know that in the nineteenth century the famous archaeologist Rodolfo Lanciani was convinced that the site seen in the sixteenth century was precisely the Lupercale.

However, it must be said that there has always been a lively debate around the topic.

Some scholars are perplexed, and believe that this cave is nothing more than a splendid nymphaeum, or perhaps a triclinium.

From here, in ancient times, the Lupercalia festival began, linked to the totemic symbol of the city, the she-wolf.

From here the wolf priests started running around the hill, whipping the ground, the women and any person who came within range.

This fertility rite dedicated to Luperco (ancient Latin god identified with the wolf sacred to Mars) took place on February 15.

But now let's come to the present day, or almost.

In 2007, during the restoration of the House of Augustus on the Palatine Hill (reopened to the public in 2008), a sensational discovery was made: the Italian archaeologist Irene Iacopi claims to have found the Lupercale, the mythical cave we are talking about.

But how does the find happen? Thanks to a technological tool that has only been in use for a few years, a probe equipped with a laser scanner that, penetrating the belly of the Palatine, is able to transmit data of exceptional importance to the surface.

On that occasion, 27 feet below the ground level a golden dome emerges, decorated with a mosaic with glass paste, pumice stone and exotic shells.
The dome is relevant to an environment that sinks up to sixteen meters underground.

The hundreds of photos recorded and reworked by the computer also show us, on the vault of the dome, a white eagle on a blue background, exactly like the one described by Marliano in the sixteenth century!

But while Marliano descended into the cavity personally, through a tunnel that he had found, today archaeologists are still forced to use the technologies described above, since they still have not managed to find the entrance to the site.

It seems, therefore, that it is precisely the cave of the she-wolf (but will it have been a she-wolf? I'll talk about it soon), origin of Rome, a sacred place, revered and decorated for centuries, apparently up to the fifth century.

In the aftermath the abandonment, the Christianization of the city and, in the same place as Lupercale, the construction of the churches of San Teodoro and Sant’Anastasia.

I look forward to seeing you on the Palatine Hill for an unforgettable tour dedicated to the origins of our beloved Rome!

Let's start with an indisputable fact: the sky of Rome is populated with parrots. They can be seen flying in flocks, especially in the early morning and sunset hours; they crowd the crowns of trees, most frequently near the course of the Tiber, and often - as in the photo - they rest peacefully on the windowsills and on the terraces of the roman houses.

They are of two different species: Collared Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) originating in Asia and Africa, and the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)from South America.

However, as everyone knows, Italy is not certainly a land of parrots.
Where did they come from?
Legend tells that they have taken place in Rome, a city with a mild and comfortable climate, for a few centuries now, and that the first couples to reproduce freely have escaped from the aviary of Cardinal Scipione Borghese.

Scipione Borghese, passionate collector, wanted this aviary, precisely in Villa Borghese, to host his wonderful collection of birds.
A widespread practice in the 17th century, keeping birds was the consequence of the explorations of the animal and plant world of those years.
Only those who had large amounts of money could boast the privilege of keeping rare species of birds in the aviaries of their villa.
The cardinal had a great variety of birds, some fascinated him for their tweet, others for the colors.

Therefore, according to legend, one of the legacies that the Borghese have left in Rome still flies in the skies of the city, cheering everyone up with a crystalline, very cheerful, and very harmonious verse.

If for centuries the most famous and visited dome in the world, St. Peter's Basilica, has been correctly maintained, this is due to the legendary acrobatic skills of generations of workers who have developed considerable skills in reaching every point of the majestic architectural work .

Until 1938, the work of these skilled acrobats was also required to illuminate the entire Basilica with thousands of torches, on the occasion of the celebrations of St. Peter and St. Paul

Today, of course, these workers act supported by all the most modern security systems, but their ability remains, and thanks to it we can still admire the dome in all its beauty.

His gestures, witnesses report, was so spectacular that the Romans, in homage to the great director, had nicknamed him "the Riccardo Muti of traffic".

The famous Italian actor Alberto Sordi was inspired by him for a very famous movie.

It was known that every time Alberto Sordi used to drive through that square he opened the car window and greet him with a "Ciao Buffone!! (Hi clown!)"

In ancient Rome pasta was daily on the table of Romans.
In particular, the ancestors of today's lasagna (laganum), which the Romans (since tomato had not yet arrived in Europe) topped with meat, cheese and vegetables.
There was also the custom of making stuffed pasta, in which the ancestors of today's ravioli and tortellini can certainly be identified.

This smart boy knows it well, as in 1959, during the making of Fellini's "Dolce Vita", he had the honor of conferring the coveted title, to the famous actress Anita Ekberg.
Lucky boy, who will now be, without a doubt, a handsome seventy-year-old who has not washed his lips since that day.

In the background, another Italian jewel: the Iso Rivolta Grifo, one of the sport cars signed by the Italian industry which have made History in style and design.

Unfortunately, in 1993, in a dire straits time for our democracy, a hateful bomb attack will destroy part of San Giorgio al Velabro.

But Rome, defined not by chance "the Eternal City", has twenty-seven centuries of births and rebirths to its credit, and the Church of San Giorgio al Velabro, in three years of ingenious and painstaking work, will be rebuilt stone by stone, and again inaugurated in 1996 by the President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.

This is Rome: the Great Beauty that will always be reborn. Even in these hard times Rome will surprise us !!

Just think of the importance of the Tiber and the Aniene, the ancient aqueducts, the spas, the thousands of fountains, the Cloaca Maxima, the naumachies, the lakes that surround the city, the proximity to the sea, the villas that use water for the whim of wealthy and cultured cardinals, as in the case of Villa d'Este in Tivoli, commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este.

Talking about an aquatic Rome is easy, just look around yourself on a beautiful sunny day.

But .. what happens in the dark?

The darkness and dungeons in the capital reserve the most beautiful surprises.

Today I would like to tell you about something that very few know: a labyrinth of underground lakes in the belly of the Celio Hill, a stone's throw from the Colosseum.

Under the church of Saints John and Paul and the ruins of the Temple of Emperor Claudius, thirty feet underground, in silence and darkness, we can admire the clear emerald-colored lakes spectacularly framed by colored stalactites.

For some years now, a team of speleologists has been exploring this system of ancient quarries, excavated since the 4th century BC, which has an extension of over one mile.

Here the water has a constant temperature of 10°C, 50°F.

Since 2004 an attempt has been made to document this small and very ancient geological world, and among the many emotions that this brings to the people who are dealing with it there is, for example, that of finding the cracks in the rocks where the ancient workers placed their lamps, but also very old electric cables, which remind us how these spaces were widely used as air-raid shelters during the Second World War.

In Rome surprises never end, and we could draw up an endless list of them.

Also under the San Camillo Hospital, in Monteverde, in 2013 an extraordinary underground lake was rediscovered in a twenty thousand square feet cave, thirty feet high, which in the past was used as a warehouse for food to support the needs of the above hospital, while - during the Second World War - the same cave became an air-raid shelter.

It is said that there is a direct connection between this lake and the Tiber.

If, on the other hand, we decide to move to the historic center, we will discover that at the end of the 1930s, excavations conducted in the cellars of the Apostolic Chancellery Palace made it possible to discover a Roman sepulcher, which now lies on the bottom of a splendid emerald-colored pond, under twenty feet of pure water.

A pond that probably formed thanks to the obstruction of the Euripus canal, at the time of the construction of the Tiber walls.

We can, for the time being, stop here.

However, I will soon resume the topic to talk about other aspects of the wonderful aquatic Rome, and about many underground sites, all to be discovered, to go back in time and feel eternal, like our beloved city.

We are in 1920...
A man with a broom is doing his job in Piazza di Pietra.
Someone offers him a small tip, something to eat, some household items to bring to his family ...
Suddenly, an unexpected space-time equation opens up, and that man is launched a hundred years into the future, among the tourists of 2020, attracted by the majesty of the colonnade of the Temple of Hadrian ...
Tips, unfortunately for him, have meanwhile fallen into disuse ...

Among the old Roman customs, in the height of summer, there was the one going to the Ostiense district to buy the best watermelons.
In fact, the large general markets were located at the Ostiense, where all supplies of food and vegetables for the capital were concentrated.
Whoever came first got the best watermelons !!

In ancient Rome there was a tradition, during the first month after the wedding, therefore during the first moon (since the calendar was lunar) to give to the bride, every day, a good feed of honey.
Romans attributed outstanding nutritional properties to honey, largely related to fertility and physical beauty.
Giving the bride honey for a whole month, therefore, meant, for ancient Romans, helping her to be as fertile as possible.
If today the definition "Honeymoon" is used in the Anglo-Saxon world too, this is due to the fact that the Romans, through their conquests, took this tradition also to the Northern people.

Madama Lucrezia, 1940 ...

Madama Lucrezia, 1970 ...

Madama Lucrezia, 2020 : free, at last...

In 1850, an English photographer took from the Colosseum the Arch of Constantine, the Palatine Hill, Via di San Gregorio and the Meta Sudans (before its demolition, which took place in the 1930s at the behest of Mussolini)
Fifty-one years later, in 1901, a lady observes the same perspective from a similar point.

"I soliti ignoti" is a movie by Mario Monicelli, nominated at the Oscars 1959 as best foreign movie. In this perfect photo-editing, Vittorio Gassmann, Capannelle, Marcello Mastroianni and Tiberio Murgia emerge from another dimension and are launched, sixty years later, in the same point of the Appio Latino district, where this scene was shot ...

A place that we can now define famous all over the world for this tasty specialty. Many are prepared to wait in disciplined long lines, in order to arrive at the coveted counter, beyond which the two huge oil pots sizzle , from which the crispy, golden and swollen fillets come out as from cornucopias ...

The chronicles report that the Pontiff, every day, sent his secretary to the very popular fish-place, giving him the precise task of returning with that precious little bag, even if this required queuing for hours, and that the Pope's need of codfish was not limited to Friday, when Christian worship prescribes not to eat meat.

A gastronomic pleasure that the journalist and art critic Antonello Trombadori "codified" in these verses:

"To see if the fillet is well done

color, crunchiness and frying,

you must be able to feel the taste with your eyes

and imagine its flavor

go to the Librari, if you want to see them

and if you want to learn art and talent

of whitening the cod with flour"

A plate that can be served to a Pope.
On the other hand, Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli, was deeply Roman; his figure and his role during the Second World War are still being deeply examined by historians, but there has never been any doubt about his love for his city and the Capitoline traditions.

He was the first pontiff to use radio and cinema to spread his message, but he did not compromise on gastronomy: for that he loved to "fish" (it is appropriate to say it) in the most ancient Roman traditions.

Today the world of metropolitan cats has changed a lot, thanks to the sterilization and awareness campaigns aimed at eradicating the sad phenomenon of the abandonment of our little friends.

 But why tie Rome to felines?

 Well, nothing could be more logical!

 Since ancient times, the Romans have adored cats, which arrive in Rome thanks to the legionaries returning from the distant provinces, more than twenty centuries ago, from Greece and Syria.

However, it is from us that - in addition to being used to hunt mice - this pet is appreciated for its affection and for its incomparable beauty.

The citizens of ancient Rome, in fact, would not have strictly needed a cat, in their domus, to eradicate mice: this task, at the time, had already been entrusted for centuries to the weasels and ferrets, which the Romans had wisely domesticated for such a purpose.

The import from overseas of this pet marks an important novelty for Romans: while, with the honest and reliable ferrets and weasels, due to the intrinsic nature of these animals, the relationship could have limited affective bonds, a full affective interaction becomes possible with cats.
Romans fell in love with this animal, able to interact with human beings, by responding with gestures and loving attitude to human's cuddles.

Findings and ancient texts tell about the cats of imperial Rome, about the love of the emperor Augustus for his cat, about the Roman matrons who surrounded themselves with cats of all races and colors, which were decorated by them with collars, silk ribbons and embroidered bibs; about centurions who decorated their shields with the effigy of the cat, and about the temples dedicated to the goddess Isis, with statues dedicated to them, as well as crowded with cats free to circulate within such sacred places.

As we have previously said, the Romans contributed to the spreading of cat throughout Europe; this archaeo-feline walk will take you to the most cat-wise historycal places, anecdotes, tales, and above all of splendid cats, kittens and real roman strays...

We will start from the Pyramid, and from the nearby Non-Catholic place of remembrance, where important historical figures rest, such as the poets Keats and Shelley, Antonio Gramsci, as well as August von Goethe, son of Johann Wolfgang, and where - recently - they were joined by the great writer Andrea Camilleri. This place is home to one of the most famous feline colonies in the capital.

From there we will reach the Colosseum, where dozens of specimens have always lived, and we will talk about the figure of the catwoman, an all-Roman character feeding the stray cats and taking care of them. Among such kind of women we will remember the most famous of the "cat-women" Italy has had: Anna Magnani, icon of cinematographic neo-realism, who, outside the set and her work with great directors, enjoied the company of her many domestic cats, and taking care of the feline colonies that surrounded his house, not far from Alberto Sordi's, near the Baths of Caracalla.

In a few minutes, from the Colosseum we will reach Largo Argentina; here is the so-called Sacred Area, an incredible archaeological area brought to light in the 1920s.

Here, according to the most credited historycal theories, Julius Caesar was killed; here, since 1929, the cats of Rome have decided to live.

Hundreds of cats found their refuge here, and are taken care by volunteers of all nationalities, roaming free and proud among the ruins and ancient marbles.

We won't miss a visit to the Marcello Theater and the Portico of Ottavia.

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 If you already know this page, and if you share my passions, you may have already guessed the next stop: Piazza Vittorio, and the so-called "Porta Alchemica".

Here, in the gardens of Piazza Vittorio, among the ruins of Alexander's Nymphaeum, dozens of stray cats appear, play purr and dwell, regardless of the noise of trams, thousands of passing-by humans, and children who play and run .

A little-known , surprises-hiding place in Rome.

 On the other hand, cats also speak, according to us Romans.

In Rome it is also said that cats are ready to support the gaze of a king.

Are you ready for such a challenge? I'm waiting for you!

Among the most incredible architectural works of antiquity, the Domus Aurea must certainly be remembered, the mythical residence that the emperor (not so good) musician commissioned to the architects Severo and Celere, immediately after the fire that destroyed Rome in 64 a.D.

 It was a huge and luxurious 80-hectare mansion, built on three hills, and equipped with a large artificial lake (which was located in the place where the Colosseum stands today).

Among the wonders of the Domus Aurea, the latest mystery is the discovery of the Coenatio Rotunda: Nero's revolving dining room.

For centuries it was known of the existence of this very modern room for rich banquets, but decades of archaeological researches on the Esquiline and Palatine hills had not given any results.

Suetonius, in his "Lives of Cesars" , spoke about it as the "main dining room of the Domus Aurea", and described it as a "room that rotated day and night, imitating the movement of the world"

“PRAECIPUA CENATIOURUM ROTUNDA, QUAE PERPETUO DIEBUS AC NOCTIBUS VICE MUNDI CIRCUMAGERETUR” ("Special round dining room, continuously revolving day and night, imitating the world")

For centuries it was believed that this was a fairy tale linked to the legend of Nero's madness.

 In June 2009, following excavations resulting from a collaboration between the Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome, the École Française, and the Center Camille Jullian of Aix en Provence, the archaeologist Francoise Villedien brought to light on the Palatine admirable remains of the machine that allowed the room to rotate.

It is a unicum: a circular tower of 12 feet in diameter, 36 feet high, found after two thousand years in the bowels of the Palatine at a depth of 45 feet, after having walked sixty-two steps in the Barberini vineyard, which belonged the important Roman family.

This structure can be compared to a ship's engine room; it supported a circular wooden platform of at least 40 feet in diameter, with a sort of gazebo, which rotated moved by a hydraulic system that used the Claudius aqueduct, which at the time served the Palatine.

 It was the main room where Nero received his guests.

The ceiling had holes from which flower petals and perfumes descended to inebriate the guests.

This incredible structure became a prototype for Renaissance towers and military fortresses.

 Anyway, when we think about the modern era, there are many rotating public places even in the contemporary world.

Without leaving Rome, let's speak, for example, about the restaurant built on top of the so-called EUR Mushroom (Il Fungo), built in the late fifties for the Olympic games.

 At first, it was conceived as a sightseeing place, with a revolving floor, to allow visitors to enjoy the 360 degree panorama of Rome while comfortably sitting at the table.

 Coincidences?

If you are curious about this memorable finding of Imperial Rome, I suggest you a visit to the Palatine Hill, the cradle of Rome, a place of breathtaking beauty and charm, full of surprises, which you can discover with me, if you wish, to go back in time and feel the eternity wrapping this city.

Who knows if the villas of Julia Roberts or Tom Cruise will still be there in twenty centuries?