Sunday 30 October 2011

I awoke very early today. The weather was holding up again: sunny and upper 70s so I decided to take advantage of it once again and go for a long tour around parts of town.  I crossed the river at Ponte Sisto, walked to Piazza Venezia, and strolled along the Forum Romanum and imperial forums.  The marble ruins glowed golden in the early morning sunlight as I headed toward the Coliseum, its vast bulk shaded with the sun behind it.  I shared the streets with only a few people at first, the numbers increasing as the morning advanced.  Rounding the Coliseum, I headed toward the Circus Maximus, the great chariot racetrack taking up the entire valley between the Palatine and Aventine Hills.  A little more than a week ago the Circus had been flooded by the huge storm the night before my arrival.  By now the water had all drained, and the entire Circus was filled with activity.  The Italian government is putting on a military exhibition here, and the Circus was filled with soldiers, tents, helicopters, and even military boats.  I walked along the Circus with the Aventine Hill next to me and the Palatine across the way.  The Palatine Hill was the most valuable real estate in ancient Roma.  In the Republic the most important and wealthiest senators lived here. During the Empire the emperors pretty much bought everyone else out and turned the entire hill into the immense Imperial Palace (the word palace comes from the name of the hill).  The huge ruins remaining are mostly just the foundations of the palace.  Most of the marble, bronze, and other materials was taken over the centuries to adorn the churches and palaces of medieval, Renaissance and baroque Roma. 

On my left side was the Aventine, another area of prime real estate even after twenty-five centuries. I passed a rose garden with dozens of varicolored bushes still in full bloom despite the fact that it was almost November.  I could smell their fragrance as I passed them.  I came to the far end of the Circus Maximus and headed to the Piazza della Bocca della Verità This area in antiquity was the Forum Boarium, the cattle market.  An ancient church stands here, Santa Maria in Cosmedin, famous mostly for the Bocca della Verità, or Mouth of Truth. This is a large marble drain cover or fountain from ancient Roma in the shape of a face with open mouth. In the Middle Ages it was mounted into the portico of the church, and legend said that if you put your hand in the mouth while testifying, the mouth would bite your hand off if you lied. As always, there was a long line of tourists waiting to have their pictures taken with their hand in the mouth.  Gary and I did this long ago, so I didn’t wait in line but entered the old church instead. Since late antiquity Santa Maria in Cosmedin has been home to Greek Catholics, and the Eastern rite is still used here. Since it was Sunday a Greek mass was being held.  The ancient building was filled with the smoke of frankincense.  I stood in the back for a while and listened to the ancient liturgy sung in Greek, then went to a side chapel.  The chapel’s altar was surmounted by a crystal case containing a skull crowned with wilted flowers. This is the relic of St. Valentine (yes, that Valentine).  I wondered what folks would think if next February 14^th I distributed cards decorated with a photo of the skull.  At least it would be a change from the usual bow-carrying cupids.

In front of the church is a small piazza and baroque fountain, where I rested for a few minutes before continuing on. On the other side of the piazza are two temples dating back to the Roman Republic: the round Temple of Hercules and the rectangular Temple of Portunus, the god who protected harbors. Portunus is undergoing more restoration right now. These are two of the best-preserved temples in Roma after the Pantheon.  Right past them is a building dating from the Middle Ages with earlier ancient Roman marble architectural fragments built into the exterior. This juxtaposition of art from different periods is one the things I really love about Roma.

I crossed the Aventine Bridge and headed back to Trastevere.  Once I arrived at my apartment I called Gary. While speaking with him I discovered that, unknown to me, Europe had gone off Daylight Saving Time the night before, a week before the US did.  This means that for the rest of my stay I’m only five hours ahead of home instead of six.  I spent the rest of the day preparing for my conference, which begins on Monday.