Sunday 20 April: The flea market and the imperial forums

For years, maybe centuries, Trastevere has hosted a famous flea market on Sunday mornings. Beth and I decided to check it outs, so we headed toward the southern part of the area. The Porta Portese flea market is truly a sight. We found block after block of booths selling everything: antique furniture and beautiful handcrafted tiles and textiles, silk and linen scarves and bags, jewelry, imported luxury goods, new and second-hand clothes, kitchen wares, toys, and junk. The inevitable forgeries of Fendi, Versace, Prada, D&G, and other Italian designers also made their appearance. Plus, the flea market is a fantastic place for people-watching (and pickpockets). We browsed for a long time, and then caught the bus across the river for some ancient Rome. I highly recommend a visit to the Porta Portese market if you’re in Rome on a Sunday and decided to skip Mass (since there are a thousand churches in Rome, you could probably squeeze Mass in too).

In the center of the city, Beth and I walked along Via dei Fori Imperiali and viewed the great monuments at the heart of the Empire, from the Colosseum and the Imperial Forums to the Forum Romanum itself, as well as the Markets of Trajan. The street was closed off for some sort of festival, which actually made our progress slower than usual because of the crowds. Particularly interesting was a decidedly non-Roman spectacle, a South American street band with drums and pan flutes. Stalls were selling preserves, cheeses, and other food products from various regions of Italy.

Heading into the Centro Storico, we passed an ancient Egyptian obelisk (Augustus brought back several after he defeated Cleopatra, made himself Pharaoh, and declared Egypt a personal estate of the Emperor). This one is on an elephant-shaped base, designed by Bernini in the 17^th century (and you know how I feel about Bernini!). We visited the Pantheon had a nice late lunch or early dinner of bucatini all’Amatriciana and pasta with ham and cream sauce. We finally headed back to Trastevere where we each made notes for our own research and blogs.