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Rome apartments - Along the Tiber
itinerary in Rome
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Along the Tiber itinerary
This itinerary unwinds along the Tiber, always a characteristic
element of the Roman landscape. Up until the construction of the
embankments, in the late 19th century, it was completely navigable and
characterised by an unending sequence of buildings that faced onto and
were reflected in the water.
The river was used for fishing and bathing; the water was used to drink
and for motive power.
Today, from late spring through early autumn, an atmospheric river
navigation service between the Ponte del Foro Italico and Ponte Umberto
I (tel. 064463481) is offered. On the other hand, for bicycle lovers
there is a bike lane between Ponte Flaminio and Ponte Risorgimento.
Our walk starts from the Isola Tiberina, which was of exceptional
importance in the history of the birth and development of Rome.
In fact, starting in extremely ancient times, the island's presence
facilitated the crossing of the river, leading to the building of the
first permanent settlements on the surrounding high ground.
According to ancient tradition, the island was allegedly formed in the
late 6th century A.D. after the Etruscan kings were driven from Rome,
when the people threw into the river, out of contempt for the monarchy,
the wheat harvested on the royal properties of Campus Martius. Another
legend tells of a large boat grounded in the middle of the river during
a flood, and later filled up with sand transported by the current.
In reality the island is situated on an ancient volcanic rock core
similar to that on which the nearby Capitol stands, but the shape
actually does seem to resemble a ship. This did not escape the attention
of the Romans who, in the 1st century B.C., accentuated the shape,
modelling the island's sides with travertine and raising an obelisk in
the centre, like a majestic mast. This "stone ship" was meant to
commemorate the healthful ship of Aesculapius, the god of medicine, and
his miraculous intervention.
Legend has it that in the 3rd century B.C., during a plague, the Romans
went by ship to Epidaurus, in Greece, to learn from the god Aesculapius
how to escape the scourge. But when the returning ship was ascending the
river, the god's sacred serpent slipped out of it, at the point where
the island was, indicating that that island was to be consecrated to
him.
The construction of a building sacred to the god Aesculapius, where the
present-day church of San Bartolomeo now stands, determined the
definitive destination of the island to a place of medical treatment,
also facilitated by its position segregated from the residential centre.
Today, still, the Fatebenefratelli Hospital is the building which
occupies the island almost entirely, characterising it deeply.
A historic trattoria of the isola Tiberina is Sora Lella,
at Via di Ponte dei Quattro Capi 16, which belonged to the sister of
Roman actor Aldo Fabrizi.
The island is connected to the mainland by two bridges: the Cestio,
connecting it with the Trastevere bank, and the Fabricio, or Ponte
dei Quattro Capi, which was built in 62 B.C. and is the oldest
bridge in Rome which has arrived to us practically intact. From the
island it is also possible to see a third bridge, the Ponte Rotto, which
collapsed in the late 16th century. In the past the Ponte Fabricio was
called Ponte dei Giudei (Bridge of Jews) because it joined the Isola
Tiberina to the area of the Ghetto where Rome's Jews lived.
The term "Ghetto" is used to indicate the quarter lying between
Monte dei Cenci and the Theatre of Marcellus, lying entirely within the
Sant'Angelo district. It was founded by Pope Paul IV Carafa in 1555, and
abolished only in 1870, with the end of the Church State. It was
surrounded by a wall in which there were three gates, opened in the
morning and closed at dusk. In an area of approximately three hectares,
in the 17th century around 9,000 inhabitants lived there in frightful
sanitary conditions.
The Ghetto faces onto the Lungotevere Cenci with the monumental building
of the Synagogue, built in 1904,t oday also the seat of the
Israelite Museum of the Jewish Community of Rome.
Behind the Synagogue runs the Via del Portico d'Ottavia, which
owes its name to the ruins of the ancient portico built at the end of
the 1st century B.C. by the Emperor Augustus for his sister.
Inside part of the monument stands the church of Sant'Angelo in
Pescheria, so-called in reference to the important fish market held
here from the Middle Ages up to the end of the 19th century. The stone
tablet used in the market to remind customers of the obligation to give
the Municipal Magistrates the heads of any fish whose length was longer
than that of the tablet itself is still there.
The church of Sant'Angelo was one of the four churches where Jews had to
go every Saturday with the obligation of listening to the sermons aiming
to convert them. It was possible to avoid doing so by paying a fine.
Today the Ghetto is one of the zones of Rome which, more than any other,
has kept the physiognomy, aromas, and flavours of the old city: for a
taste of the specialities of authentic Roman and Jewish cooking -
carciofi alla giudia (crisp-fried whole artichokes), filetti di baccalà
(fried fillets of salted cod), coda alla vaccinara (braised oxtail
"butcher" style) - we recommend the trattorias Giggetto, at Via
del Portico d'Ottavia 21a/22 (tel. 06-6861105), and Al Pompiere,
at Via Santa Maria dei Calderari 38 (06 6868377). Also make a stop at
Boccione, Via del Portico d'Ottavia 1, for cakes, pastries, and
unleavened bread baked in the best Roman-Jewish tradition.
Continuing the itinerary southward, we reach the zone of the Foro
Boario, the site in ancient times of the cattle and beef market, and
the Velabrum, once a stagnant marsh where, according to
tradition, the basket with the twins Romulus and Remus was found.
The sons of Mars and Rhea Silvia, the twins were saved by a she-wolf who
nursed them. For this reason the she-wolf has become one of the symbols
of the city of Rome.
Dominating monuments in the area are the two famous Temples
called of Vesta (the one with a circular plan, in reality
dedicated to Hercules Victor) and of Fortuna Virilis (in reality
dedicated to the river god Portumnus). Following is the church of
Santa Maria in Cosmedin dating from the 6th century and entrusted
later to the Greeks who had fled to Rome from the East. In fact, the
church's name comes from the Greek, referring to the splendid
decorations characterising it.
Here, each Sunday at 10.30 a.m., a Greek-Orthodox mass is held.
Beneath the portico, of the church, to the left, is the famous Bocca
della Verità (Mouth of Truth), a large stone disk depicting the face
of a faun or river god, with its mouth open. It is probably a monumental
slab to close a drain but, according to legend, the stone was used to
judge people's honesty: whoever told a lie while holding his hand in the
mouth would have ended up pulling out only the stump.
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck also fell subject to its mysterious
charm in the famous film Roman Holiday!
At this point the walk continues towards Castel Sant'Angelo,
northward; we can either continue on foot or take a bus.
If, on the other hand, we want to take a short break, on the other side
of the Tiber, at the entrance to Ponte Cestio, we can enjoy one
of the most famous "grattacecche" (water ices) in Rome.
Castel Sant'Angelo was built in the early 2nd century by the Emperor
Hadrian, as a monumental tomb for himself and his successors.
It is connected to the left bank of the Tiber by Ponte Elio, today's
Ponte Sant'Angelo, decorated with ten marble statues of angels with
the symbols of the passion of Christ, carved after a design by Gian
Lorenzo Bernini. The monument's fate was decided in 403, when the
Emperor Honorius incorporated it into the city walls, making it into a
bridgehead on the river. From the 13th century it became an "annexe" of
the nearby Vatican, and Pope Nicholas III created the famous "Passetto
di Borgo", a covered corridor connecting St. Peter's to the Castle.
The fortress became famous down through time, especially as a prison;
here Benvenuto Cellini and the famous adventurer Giuseppe Balsamo, known
as the Count of Cagliostro, were imprisoned.
The name with which the fortress is known derives from a miraculous
event which took place in 590: Rome was in the midst of a severe plague,
and Pope Gregory the Great had organised a solemn procession to pray for
its end. When the procession reached the Mole of Hadrian, Archangel
Michael was seen flying up and sheathing his flaming sword, symbolising
the end of the plague. The statue of the angel, placed on the top of the
castle to commemorate the event, was replaced six times.
Leaving Castel Sant'Angelo behind us and again going along the Tiber, we
go past the Palace of Justice and reach Ponte Cavour, on the
other side of which is the Ara Pacis.
The altar of peace was ordered by Augustus to celebrate the peace in the
Empire after the conquests of Gaul and Spain. The monument, which
originally stood near the present-day Via in Lucina in the Campus
Martius quarter, was moved here in 1938.
Before the altar is the Mausoleum built by Augustus as a
tomb for himself and his family.
The monument, which fell into abandon, was at various times used as a
vineyard, a garden and, in the late 16th century, an area for
tournaments and bullfights. At the end of the 19th century it was called
"Anfiteatro Umberto", and from 1905 to 1930 it was a concert hall called
"Augusteo". At the end of the 1930s the monument was separated from its
surroundings, with the creation of the large square, piazza Augusto
Imperatore.
Right on the piazza, at no. 9, we recommend the restaurant Gusto
(06 3226273), with extremely refined cuisine and decor; on Saturdays and
Sundays it is also open for lunch. Also, for excellent fettuccine, at
no. 30 there is Alfredo all'Augusteo (06 6878734).
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