Subterranean Rome
by fishandchips
Ever thought of going underground? Roma Sotteranea (Subterranean Rome) is the vast historic ruins of a city that has been occupied for nearly 3,000 years, the first 2 millennia of which are now largely buried by natural sediment and artificial landfills. Archaeologists estimate that these processes have left the streets of ancient Rome as much as 20 yards beneath the surface. If you read Terry Pratchett then it’s very much like the city under the city of Ahnk Morpork. This is an alternative view of Rome and is fantastic as it helps build the full picture of where Rome has come from.
Many buildings on the streets provide direct access to Rome's underworld. Doorways lead down to hidden crypts and shrines. For example the 12th-century basilica San Clemente, has a staircase in the sacristy that leads down to the original 4th-century church and another staircase near the apse goes down to an earlier Roman apartment building and temple, which in turn leads down to a giant public building dating back to the Great Fire (A.D. 64). Another interesting doorway to the past is in the south exterior wall of St. Peter's, leading down to an intact necropolis. The entry in the gardens on the east side of Esquiline Hill carries you into the vast Domus Aurea (Golden House), Nero's residence built on the ruins left by the Great Fire.
This sort of travel can be dangerous and you can easily get lost however the option of a guided tour exists!! For some areas you need wading boots etc as the water can be 3 feet deep in places!!
Tour companies such as Itinera (tel. 06-278-00785 ) and LUPA (tel. 06-574-1974 ) have tours run by trained archaeologists. Città Nascosta (tel. 06-321-6059 ) offers offbeat tours to less-visited churches and monuments, and advertises the week's schedule via a recorded phone announcement that changes every week.
Expect to pay around 12.50€ to 25 for 1 to 2 hours of guiding. I generally remember Rome for its sun and monuments however a visit to the old Rome beneath the streets gives you a full picture of development of this great city.
The rome is a churchs town. Is...
by deadyn
The rome is a churchs town. Is easy know The saint Peter but is good to go at saint Paul or at saint people's Mary. But Rome is funny too: there are a restaurants say a 'bad word',where you eat and the restaurant boss say you a bads words. The people of roma are a football lovely and enter Lazio and Rome every sunday there is a war.
Church of St Francis of Assisi - Trastevere
by icunme
The church is all about St Francis of Assisi. It was built by Giuseppe Sardi and it shows the influence of Borromini in decoration which is rich, but at the same time poor as it does not make use of marble or other expensive materials - true to the simplicity of the Franciscans.
St. Francis resided here for some time when he came to Rome to gain recognition for his order. Built in 1231, the church replaced a previous one dedicated to S. Biagio. The façade (photo 1) is by Bernini scholar Mattia de Rossi.
The interior is stunning and the altar is a shrine to St Francis (photos 2 and 3).
Here to the left of the altar you will see a late work by Bernini (photo 4), where he shows once again his mastery in Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, reminiscent of Bernini's Ecstasy of Santa Teresa in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. A beautiful dome graces the chapel to the left of the sculpture.
Inside the friary (photo 5) a series of frescoes painted by Fra' Emanuele da Como in 1684-86 celebrate the Franciscan order.
eating well @ Fiumicino
by iaint
last visit i spent 5 hours hanging around airside at Fiumicino terminal B (i was a bit early for my flight, and then it was delayed 3 hours)
anyway, gave me plenty time to explore
the "cafe" type food places both seemed to be a mob scene - decide what you want, then queue to pay, then queue somewhere else to collect...plus lots of delayed flights (ATC having their fun) so very many hungry people; all for a sandwich or a slice of pizza (or both for fat boys like me)
BUT, if you look hard enough you will find a self service restaurant on the 1st floor with decent food; meat veg & potatoes, pasta, risotto, salad....
much better
The place to be, but we ask why ??
by tompt about La Gallina Bianca
Close to our hotel was this restaurant which was visted by many young italians. Every night there was a line outside. It was obviously a place people wanted to eat. So we tried it one night. Arrived early not to end up in line. But we were not impressed.
The restaurant was filled with as many tables as possible. A way to serve more customers and make more money we suppose.
We were still eating our salad when they came with the main course. Another way to serve more people the faster they serve, the sooner you leave......
The food was good, but not better than in the other restaurants we tried.
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Turtles from another angle
Emperor Commodus as Hercules
inside
Rusticated remains
