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?

This one, which is perhaps the most famous keyhole in the world, is located on the highest part of the Aventine hill, between the Giardino degli Aranci (Orange Garden) and the villa of the Priory of Malta, therefore in the Circo Massimo area, but you never can't get there by chance. 

We are talking about the exciting view offered by the lock of the gate of the Priory of the Knights of Malta, by looking inside it.

The emotion that pervades the unaware tourist is taken not only by the everlasting charm of spying on something or someone, but also by the panoramic view that, peering inside, you can discover: the Dome of San Pietro in a new and different perspective, surrounded from the hedges of the eighteenth-century garden of the Priory.

Sunset is perhaps the best time for this visit, which, anyway, offers a unique sensation at all times of the day.

The area, very quiet and peaceful, really makes it a pleasant walk outside the big tourist paths of the capital. 

But did this keyhole appear by chance?

Many wonder about it, but the answer is obviously no.

Most likely, this keyhole whose optic is well calibrated in the direction of St. Peter, is the result of a brilliant idea by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who in 1765, at the request of Cardinal Rezzonico, had the task of renovating the entrance creating, furthermore, a spectacular rococo square, sumptuously decorated with coats of arms and trophies.

The majestic entrance door to the square is the one from which, in fact, you can 'spy' on St. Peter in the distance.

Nearby the famous door there is the Municipal Rose Garden, a splendid garden swollen with nothing short of spectacular roses.

A little further on, however, is the famous Giardino degli Aranci, a park with a panoramic terrace that allows an unforgettable view of the Eternal City. 

But there was a time when the cat had a different main role in its family: to keep mice away from home.

For this reason, beautiful cats, but above all those good at following their feline instincts, were welcomed open arms in Roman houses, which, as it is well known, rest on millennial stratifications of this city, and therefore would be, if not adequately derated, easy breeding ground for rodents.

The "Carnacciaro" made the happiness of these feline Roman workers.

The Carnacciaro was an ancient craft, which, moreover, was exercised in Rome until the early 1940s, in conjunction with the outbreak of the Second World War.

This worker sold the "carnaccia" pomace, which in Roman language meant offal discarded by butchers, mainly intended for pets.

The carnacciari, before starting their tour in the early morning, boiled and flavored the offal with spices, then put them in their bags, touring the neighborhoods of Rome and distributing them shredded to domestic cats.

The carnacciari lived with the tips of the cats owners.

The chronicles tell that, at that time, the domestic cats had learned, at the sight of the carnacciaro, to rush to call their owners persistently meowing, as they were now aware that the lunch would not have been given to them but in presence of their owner, who had the task to tip the Carnacciaro.

In addition to living with the tips of the owners of the cats, the Roman carnacciari also lived from the sale of the cats themselves: when on the street they noticed a young and handsome stray, they attracted him with food, and eventually put it in a large bag that they carried with them, in order to sell it to families looking for a valid "rat-chasing associate". All in all it was a positive perspective for the cat himself, who thus went from stray living to the so-called "safe place", repaid with three meals a day.

The carnacciaro, unlike many other itinerant professions, did not shout its own motto to attract attention, also because he mainly worked in the early morning, merely whistling in order to attract the attention of cats.

The outbreak of the Second World War saw, together with the end of other itinerant trades, also the end of the carnacciaro.

Meat was scarce, many butchers had closed down; mobility was no longer completely free as in time of peace.
And so even cats, in their way, paid their bitter tribute to the painful war event.

According to tradition, Jesus replied: "Venio iterum crucifigi" (I come to be crucified again).
Peter understood the message and, retracing his steps, faced martyrdom and was crucified upside down in Nero's Circus.
In the ninth century, in this very place, a chapel called "Santa Maria delle Piante" was built, by virtue of a stone on which the footprints of Jesus were imprinted.

The church that we can admire today is the seventeenth-century reconstruction of this chapel.
On its perimeter one can observe the footprints of Christ (very large indeed).
However, the original footprints can be seen in the Chapel of the Relics, which is located in the nearby Basilica of San Sebastiano Fuori Le Mura.
In the same chapel there is another interesting relic: one of the arrows that martyred Saint Sebastian at the time of the emperor Diocletian and his persecutions against Christians.
Francesco Petrarca, in a letter to Cardinal Colonna recalls the stone with the footprints of Jesus' feet as an "adored vestige".

Although, nowadays, the traffic that surrounds it does not highlight it and does not pay particular attention to it, the heraldic symbols of the Borghese stand out on it: the eagle and the dragon.

There was, on the same site, a bronze statue of St. John the Evangelist, unfortunately disappeared after it was damaged by a lightning in the 19th century.

The monolithic obelisk above it, the tallest in the world, was found in 1588 in the Circus Maximus and erected here on the orders of Pope Sixtus V.

According to popular rumors, bathing your hands with the water of this fountain allows you to ward off the evil eye and the witches; operation to be done on the night of St. John's Feast, which is traditionally held on June 24, the day on which tradition places the birth of the Saint.

Such celebration was strongly linked to pagan traditions connected with the summer solstice.

The night before June 24 is usually considered the shortest of the year, and at that time it was also considered the one in which witches wandered around the city in search of souls.

During this festival, in addition to the traditional drinks, which were certainly not moderate, it was the custom of the Romans to indulge in big eats of snails.

Of course, many cheerful songs and dances were an integral part of the festival, in addition to very, very much noise in order to hunt the witches, who were thought to gather on the lawns in front of the Basilica in order to collect herbs for their spells.

All this uproar was only extinguished towards dawn, just before the Pope celebrated Mass in the Basilica, then officially concluding the function with the long-awaited rite of throwing gold and silver coins to the people from the Lodge of Blessings.

There was a base of an obelisk centrally superimposed on it, which Augustus had brought from Egypt.
The obelisk had the function of a gnomon, that is, an "indicator arm", because on the top stood a sphere with a tip, reaching a height of one hundred Roman feet, which is today's 110 feet.

The shadow of the sphere projected on the dial indicated the time, day and month.
In addition, at sunset on September 23, on the day and time of Augustus' birth, the shadow fell on the Ara Pacis as a tribute to the emperor.

The solar clock, conceived by the mathematician Facundus Novius, remained in operation only about half a century, because, as Pliny writes, it collapsed due to an earthquake and the floods of the Tiber, which were depositing large layers of slime on the plates of the dial.

So , everything was lost?
No. First of all, the obelisk came to light in five pieces, and was recognized for the one used as a gnomon by the Augustan inscriptions engraved on the base, which recall the conquest of Egypt.

It was restored with the fragments of red granite from the Colonna Antonina, which had been discovered in small parts not recomposable as early as 1703, and between 1790 and 1792 it was erected in Piazza Montecitorio in front of the Palazzo dei Tribunali, now the Chamber of Deputies.

And then it was decided to reactivate its gnonomic function, superimposing a globe with lots of heraldic symbols of Pope Pius VII, and pierced so that a ray of sunshine conveyed to the ground could pass through it, indicating the time on special strips to be placed in the pavement of the square.
But those strips did not arrive, and the bells of Montecitorio continued to tell the time.

Only recently the gnonomic function of the obelisk has been restored.

On June 7, 1998, with the inauguration of the new layout of Piazza Montecitorio, twelve guide-flints were in fact planted on the steps in front of the building, and the obelisk began to mark the hour again.

The Tiber, after having driven Rome's rise to the role of planetary power for centuries, was practically abandoned in the Middle Ages.

No longer came from all over the world, loaded with precious goods, the merchant ships, which, had given way to pirates who infested the Mediterranean.
However, Romans were still waiting to see ancient treasures emerge.

It was thought that the Tiber would return those treasures to those who had sought them with constancy and determination.

Over the centuries, this hope was nourished and confirmed by a large amount of findings: marble works, coins, ancient weapons ...

For centuries, the "river seeker" was a real job.
Many churches, in Rome and in the world, are rich in precious pieces "fished out" in the Tiber.

However, one of the most famous legends about the mysterious treasures kept in the Tiber, is that of the presence in his bed of the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum of the Temple of Jerusalem, which the Romans took possession of in the sacking of 70 AD.
It was solid gold made, weighed about 77 lbs., And remained visible in Rome in the Temple of Peace until the second century AD.

It is believed that it was robbed in the fifth century by the Vandals of Genserico.

Where is it now?

There are various theories about it, but the most credited is the one which the Roman people have handed down for centuries: the ancient and precious Menorah has been lying for centuries on the Tiber riverbed, between the Tiber Island and Ponte Rotto (the Broken Bridge)

In the mid-eighteenth century, the Jewish Community of Rome asked for permission to dig the Tiber bed in search of the precious object of worship.

In the nineteenth century, Giuseppe Naro dredged the Tiber, with the permission of Pope Pius VII, on board a special ship, with which he "fished" 44 precious findings near the Tiber Island, among which, however, there wasn't any golden candlestick.

On September 10, 1830, the poetry of the great Giuseppe Gioachino Belli tells the story in this graceful sonnet (unfortunately not translatable into English, but it is still a good opportunity to appreciate the writing and sound of the old vernacular language of Rome):

The most advanced aerospace technologies could, today, help to understand if the ancient legends have a background of truth.
With the help of satellites, in fact, today it is possible to locate sunken objects even hundreds feet below the surface of water, and no larger than a very common melon.
Basterebbe volerlo, o, per dirla con Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, “ssi lo vonno…”

In the opinion of experts, the underground building located in Porta Maggiore, dating back to the 1st century AD, was the tomb of the family of the Statili, considered very close toEmperor Augustus. For others, however, the underground Basilica was the site of mystery, neo-Pythagorean cults (its measurements all have a relationship with the number three) or orphic.

The latest findings of Superintendency of Rome tend to endorse both interpretations sequentially.

Very soon a new light will illuminate the internal stuccos of the Underground Basilica of Porta Maggiore, while in the teaching room, located on the ground floor, augmented reality will allow visitors to look closely at the decorations.

Since its discovery in 1917 (it was accidentally found during the consolidation works of the above railway tracks), the Underground Basilica of Porta Maggiore has always fascinated archeology scholars and more. The small building (40 feet long by 30 feet wide, for a total of 1,220 square feet in total), has the classic central nave scheme with side wings divided by pillars plus the apse at the bottom.

Three are the rooms in this ancient and mysterious building in Rome: Dromos (access from the ancient via Prenestina, a long sloping corridor that led from the surface to the Basilica underground), Vestibule (the entrance, decorated with polychrome stuccos) and Basilica (with the three naves and the apse entirely decorated with white stuccos).

Scenes from the Greek-Roman repertoire (the labors of Hercules, the kidnapping of Ganymede, Hermes and Alcestis, Medusa, Baccanti etc.) and objects used for religious rites (canteens, lustral amphorae) appear in the decorative apparatus of the Vestibule and the basilica hall. , etc.). The interpretation of the apsidal basin with the representation of Sappho in the act of launching himself from the cliff of Lefkada in the presence of Apollo and Faonte is very debated.

Currently, instead of the villa, there is Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, with its gardens. The door, which once was in another location, was built in the second half of the seventeenth century, together with four others now lost. Probably, the year of construction is 1680. On the surface of the same we find engraved alchemical symbols, as the Marquis was fond of hermeticism and esotericism.

According to tradition, the alchemical formula of the transmutation of the vile lead into gold, or perhaps part of it, would be represented on the door. This formula would have been learned by the Marquis following the discovery of some papers belonging to other alchemists; findings which are actually indecipherable cards.

It was for this reason that the Marquis decided to report these signs on the portal of the villa, hoping that someone could decipher them.

The symbols which can be found here are the alchemical one of the sun and gold (on the architrave), the seal of Solomon; the symbols of the planets (on the jambs), with their corresponding metals, and a series of indications in Latin: Saturn-lead, Jupiter-tin, Mars-iron, Venus-copper, Moon-silver, Mercury-mercury.

During this 3-hour tour I will guide you inside one of the most important international museums, the Vatican Museums. A life would not be enough to see every single work kept inside them, however I will illustrate the most prestigious collections, such as the Pio-Clementino museum with the famous Laocoon, the Apollo and the Belvedere Torso, the Pinecone Courtyard, the galleries of the Tapestries and Geographical Maps, the Raphael Rooms and of course we will reach the real pearl: the Sistine Chapel, the papal chapel par excellence, where for centuries the Pope has been elected during the Conclave. Here we will admire Michelangelo's frescoes starting from the vault with the Creation of Adam and then enjoying the famous The Final Judgement. On the side walls of the chapel we can also admire the other splendid frescoes by Perugino and Botticelli.

The last part of this tour will take us directly inside St. Peter's Basilica, skipping the line. The largest and most important church in the world ... ..We will start from Michelangelo's Pietà, then we will see the tomb of John Paul II, the ancient bronze statue of San Peter and the countless masterpieces by Bernini.

We will end this unforgettable experience in St. Peter's Square, just in time for the change of the Swiss Guards, and for admiring the famous Loggia delle Benedizioni, or the balcony from which the Pope appears for the first time after the election.

P.S. Photos are allowed (without flash). The only exception: no photos in the Sistine Chapel.

Clothing respectful of the sacred place is recommended (shoulders and legs must be covered).

Large umbrellas, bulky backpacks and tripods are not allowed. However, there is a free wardrobe at the entrance where you can possibly leave these objects for the time of the visit.