Trastevere, Rome

The Trastevere is located at the bottom of a hill and it has many restaurants and pubs. It was formerly a roman villa for workers, and it turned out to be one of Rome's centre of restaurants, pubs and roman entertainment.
So go out and walk around the narrow streets, take a sit, drink a local wine, and keep going. The Trastevere is all that with beautiful architecture.

This church (the people not the building) is said to be the oldest in Rome, dating from the 3rd C. The site of the church is where about 38 BCE a spring of mineral oil suddenly gushed ou to fht ground. This was considered by the Jews as a signal of the Messiah's coming and later by Christians as a miraculous announcement of the birth of Jesus. The church became the first dedicated to the cult of the Virgin. The building itself is magnificent, dating mostly from the 12th C although there are some columns which came from an ancient Roman temple which was on this site. The interior feels properly old and has a number of wonderful mosaics which feature very rich colors and figures that looke like early Renaissance works although this was about a century earlier. One mosaic is said to be the first depiction of Mary on the throne in heaven with Jesus.

If you are going to go for a nice, romantic and calm walk I really can recommend this place for you.
It is the old part of Rome, full of old houses, great medieval churches, restaurants...
You just have to go there for a nice walk and see it yourself.
There are few nice churches there like the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere for example with wonderful mosaics and great decor inside.
The fountain on the Piazza di Santa Maria in TRastevere was designed by Carlo Fontana and it is popular place of meetings of young people there.

'Mattia De Rossi' designed this baroque church.
The reason why I wanted to visit it and did some
effort to find this one is because it is
a Franciscan church. And the spiritual founder
of this order has been here.
He visited in 1219 - at that time there was
a hospitium. They kept his stone cushion
and his crusifix.

'Saint Francis of assisi 'has been here.
(in Dutch - Sint Franciscus van Assisi)
He was born in 1182 as a son of a rich
merchant. His father, Pietro Bernardone,
was a wealthy cloth merchant.
Well his son was sorth of the 'Paris Hilton'
of the 12th century. :-) Party here , didn't do
much study. Well an illness changed his live
intensively and he became very catholic.
He also respected nature and animals
deeply.
My mom named me after him. She is not very
religious but she had him in mind when she
chose 'frank' as my first name.
(She used to say 'Franciscus' to me when I
did something wrong)
If you have ever been before on one of my
pages you know they are filled with animals
and nature.

In the 16th and 17th century this church was
a bit special. A gang of visionary monks gathered
around here. The church became a sort of
airstrip for angels. None of these monks ever
made it to Saint.

Untill the second vatican concilie there were
glass coffins on the pillars with in cowl dressed
up monks. By a hole on top you could let a
rosary sink upon them. Strange habbit.

It's a beautiful Sunday, by chance, you woke up early, why not drop by the Porta Portese Market? Located in the Trastevere neighbourhood, it's a huge flea market where you can find anything (provided you go there early enough). It's packed, noisy,and utterly Roman. You'll find everything from Football jerseys to beach towel, from antique (or antique-looking) religious painting to genuine old books, from faux Gucci bags to real vintage Gucci bags.
Don't forget to barter though. Having a "banchinna" at Porta Portese is a sign of prestige for vendors and if you want to have a good deal (and gain their respects, which will help lower the price), don't get too impressed by their bartering abilities.
Try to get there before 9 am, at 10, it's really, really busy and most of the good deals are gone. The market is open until 1:30.

Winding, narrow cobblestone streets, piazzas full of cafes, people eating late dinners, drinking wine. Trastevere was loud and busy on a Sunday night. Reggae music from an upstairs apartment window blended with the sound of a fiddle player entertaining diners. All kinds of people were out strolling around. Kids, romantic couples, even entire families. When you live here why would you want to stay inside? There is so much going on.

Built by Paschal I where St. Cecilia awaited her martyrdom in 230, this church has a tabernacle by Arnolfo di Cambio (1293), a statue of "St. Cecilia" by Maderno, and 9th c. mosaics in the apse.
The marvelous "Last Judgement" by Pietro Cavallini, 13th c., is now in the near convent.

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Centro Storico, i highly recommend taking a walk over the hills of Trastevere along Passegiata del Gianicolo south of St.Peters. This is one of Rome's most verdant and relaxed areas, and you get some fantastic vistas over the city.
Going downhill, Via Garibaldi will lead you right into the heart of Rome's prettiest quarter Trastevere where you can relax in one of the many cafés or trattorias that are cheaper and slightly more authentic than the ones downtown.