Rome blog for Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

This Rome blog article is written for the tourists staying at the Hostel Chaplin Bed & Breakfast Rome and the B&B Little Italy.

Maurizio Anastasi, of the Rome Superintendency for Archeology, at an international art meeting in Ferrara, has announced plans to restore the Trajan Column, one of Rome’s most famous monuments, to its original splendor by using the innovative technique of “painting” the column with light beams.

The Trajan Column is one of Rome’s most famous and most visible artworks, standing almost 100 feet tall. Its spiral relief sculpture winds 23 times around the column and depicts the story of the emperor Trajan’s triumphs in Dacia (in what is now Romania).

It was erected in 113 A.D. and is made completely of marble, which used to be painted, like many Roman statues of antiquity, in many bright colors.

One of the best preserved of all Roman artworks, the monument has however lost what might have been it most distinctive feature — color. The city of Rome will now try to recreate these original colors, without causing damage to the monument.

This Rome information blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast in Rome.

Rome’s “long-noses”

Everywhere you go in Rome you will see water fountains in the streets. The water from these “long-noses” as the Romans call them is perfectly drinkable and even in mid-summer, when the temperatures are very high, so fresh that it would seem to come straight from the fridge.

The acqueducts

What most visitors to Rome are not aware of is that this is thanks to the aqueduct system invented by the Romans more than 2000 years ago.

The ancient Roman canalization system (260 miles, except for 35 of these, mostly subterranean) was built and maintained by a legion of workers (a legion, during emperor Augustus’ reignin the 1^st century B.C., consisting of more than 5000 men), under the supervision of the curator aquarum.

The aqueducts were ingeniously built, with possible repairs already in mind, by installing ways of access (with marble covers) at always the same distances from each other.

Rome’s oldest acqueduct

The oldest aqueduct is the Acqua Appia and dates from 312 BC. It is 16 kilometers long, nothing compared to the Acqua Claudia, which, with its 68 kilometers, is the longest acqueduct. Like most of the acqueducts, it passes by Porta Maggiore.

This Rome information blog article about the Terme di Caracalla is written for the guests of the Chaplin Bed and Breakfast in Rome.

History of the Baths of Caracalla

The Terme di Caracalla costitute one of the biggest and most impressive monuments in Rome. They were built between 212 and 217 by Caracalla, the son of the Emperor Settimo Severio.

The word Terme comes from the Greek thèrmai, “warm springs”. In Roman times the Terme were public baths where the citizens of Rome used to come together in order to relax and to discuss things. The baths of Caracalla were among the most important and imposing ones: even today the height of its walls still impresses.

In the times of the Roman Empire 16 hundred people could visit the Terme di Caracalla, the ruins of which can be found on the slopes of the Aventine Hill.

Description of the Terme di Caracalla

The gigantic complex was structured with a big building in it center, surrounded by green spaces, with 4 gates of admission.

Inside the Terme the building is almost perfectly symmetrical, with a central basilica covered by three vaults (the frigidarium, the tepidarium and the calidarium). The gyms (palestre) and the dressing rooms can be found on the sides.

The order was to visit first the gym and the Turkish bath and to end in the frigidarium, which, unlike the tepidarium and calidarium was not heated.

The Terme di Caracalla were restored several times until Vitige, king of the Ostrogoti, cut off the water supply through the acquaducts.

In the 16^th century the two granite tubs that nowadays decorate the Piazza Farnese were found during excavations at the Terme di Caracalla. Other works of art that were found there can now be seen in Rome’s Vatican Museums and in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Napels.

This Rome informatie blog about the Terme di Caracalla is written for the guests of Rome Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel.

Adress:

The address of the Baths of Caracalla is Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 52. (From Chaplin B&B Rome you walk to Termini station where you take metro line B to the Circo Massimo stop.

Opening hours of the Terme di Caracalla:

The Terme di Caracalla are open every day from 9am until one hour before sunset (the ticket counters close one hour before colsing time):

• From Januari 2nd until February 15th: 9am-5pm;
• from February 16th until March 15th: 9am-5.30pm;
• from March 16th till 24th: 9am–7.15pm;
• from March 25th till August 31st: 9am-7pm
• from September 1st till 30th: 9am-6.30pm
• from October 1st till 27th: 9am-5.30pm;
• from October 28th till December 31st: 9am–4.30pmOn Mondays the Terme di Caracalla can only be visited from 9am till 2pm.

The Baths are closed on:

January 1st and December 25th.

Tickets:

The ticket for the Terme di Caracalla is a ticket that is valid for 7 days for the following 3 tourist attractions in Rome: the Terme themselves, Villa dei Quintili and the Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella. The ticket price is 6 Euro, tourists between 18 and 24 years old from Europese member states only pay 3 Euros 3 Euro. European visitors to the Terme di Caracalla that are younger than 18 or older than 65 have free admittance.

Information and reservations:

Tel: +39 0639967700 (Monday-Saturday 9-13.30 and 14.30-17); Online booking: www.pierreci.it

Extra services:

There are audioguides as well as guided tours available. The Terme di Caracalla also have a museum store.

This Rome information blog about the Ara Pacis is written for Chaplin B&B Rome.

The original Ara Pacis

Augustus, in his Res Gestae, tells of the Senate’s decision to construct an Altar to Peace, following his conquests of Spain and Gallia between 16 and 13 b.C.

The dedication of the Ara Pacis took place on January 30^th of the year 9 b.C. (Augustus’ wife’s birthday). It had been placed on the Campus Martius, the Field of Mars, near the Via Flaminia, which at the time was the main road for pilgrims entering Rome from the north. That way all those travelers would know straightaway what a great man Augustus was.
At the same time as the Ara Pacis, a sundial – the sundial of Augustus - was built.

Unfortunately the inundations of the Tiber made the land rise and the Area Pacis got buried and virtually forgotten, until 1536, when by chance a piece of the altar was found.

The modern Ara Pacis

In 1903 Friedrich von Duhn recognized the Altar, of which, mostly through fortuitious findings, more fragments had been unearthed throughout the years, for what it was. Excavations were started and stopped when the Palace of the Via Lucina underneath which the Altar was found threatened to collapse.

In 1937, 2000 years after Augustus’ birth, the excavations were started again. The use of more modern technology enabled the rescue of the monument and on September 23^rd, 1938 Mussolini inaugurated the Ara Pacis.

Since it was impossible to rebuild the Ara Pacis in its original position, Mussolini chose to build the monument near Augustus’ Mausoleum. The Altar was to be protected from the Roman climate by glass, but because of the war and lack of time and money, it never got made the way the designer, Dita Vaselli, had envisaged it.

The glass got removed, and the monument got protected by, first, sandbags and later an anti-shrapnel wall: kind of ironic really, for an Altar for Peace.

Several attempts, in the early 50s, in 1970, and in the 80s, were made to clean up and restore the Ara Pacis, but soon problems began to manifest themselves again, largely due to Rome’s difficult climate with big temperature changes, humidity and, of course, the city’s pollution.

In 1995 the Municipality of Rome started thinking about replacing the Pavilion. The new museum complex for the Ara Pacis was designed by Richard Meier, an American architect, who came up with a design that was very controversial, in that it placed an extremely modern building in the midst of an area full of Rome’s ancient archeological treasures.

Ara Pacis opening hours, ticket prices and directions.

This Rome information blog about the Ara Pacis museum was written for the guests of the hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast.

Ara Pacis Opening hours

Tue-Sun 9am-7pm; Dec 24,31 9am-2pm (the ticket office closes an hour before closing time)

Closed

Monday, Jan 1, May 1, Dec 25

Ticket prices

Full price € 6,50; Reduced price € 4,50 (for European citizens beteen the ages of 18 and 25).

European citizens under 18 and over 65 years of age do not pay. Handicapped citizens of the European Union and one assistant or family member have free entry.
During special events or exhibitions the tickets prices may vary.

Booking

Booking can either be done online at www.ticketclic.it or by phone (+39-(0)60608) from 9am to 10.30pm. Individuals pay a 1 Euro booking fee.

Reservations are obligatory, but free for schools. Other groups (of a minimum of 12 people) pay a 25 Euro booking fee. Booking for those groups is obligatory on Saturdays and public holidays. Groups cannot book online.

How to reach the Ara Pacis from Rome Termini and B&B Chaplin Hostel.

The address of the Ara Pace Museum in Rome is: Lungotevere in Augusta - 00100 Roma. Take metro line A, get off at Flaminio and walk down the Via Ripetta. Or, get off at Spagna, walk down the Via Condotti, and continue down the Via Tomacelli till you come to the river Tiber.

This Rome information blog is written for the guests of the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome.

Lupercale

A large vaulted hall found 16 meters beneath the Palatine hill in Rome is almost certainly the fabled Lupercale (from the Latin word for wolf) - a sanctuary believed by ancient Romans to be the cave where, according to legend, the twin boys Romulus and Remus were suckled by a she-wolf.

Remus and Romulus’ founding of Rome

According to the myth, Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of the god Mars, were abandoned by the banks of the river Tiber in Rome. A wolf found them and fed them with her milk. Later, they were reared by a shepherd and grew up to found Rome, supposedly on April 21^st, 771 BC. Romulus became its first king after killing Remus, who mocked the height of the walls he was building.

Emperor Augustus and the Cave

The cave, decorated with mosaics, seashells and pumice stones, was found in a previously unexplored area during restoration work on the palace of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. Augustus had probably wanted his residence built in a place sacred to the city. He had restored the sanctuary and connected it to his own abode.

When a camera probe was let down from the surface to examine the underground structure the outline of a white eagle was found at the apex of the vaulted ceiling. Since ancient texts indicate that the sanctuary was near the palace and a 16^th century document recorded that the emperor had embellished the cave with just such a white eagle, the cave is indeed believed to be the famous mythical Lupercale.

More than two-thirds of the 8 meters high and 7.5 meters wide cavity, is filled with earth and debris and the location of the entrance is as yet unclear.

Many Euros
The Italian government is spending 12 million euros ($17.7 million) to restore the, so far surprisingly neglected despite being studded with monuments, Palatine ruins. In February 2008 the remains of Augustus’ palace will reopen to the public after having been closed for decades out of fear that some of its buildings could give way.

Fertility

The cult of the Lupercale was kept alive until the 5th century when Pope Gelasio I forbade the Romans to whip their wives. This whipping business took place while running around within the holy Palatine Hill and was supposed to make the ladies more fertile.

At the moment Italy has the lowest birthrate of Europe.

Nicknames

Not everybody admires the monument for Vittorio Emanuele (or the Vittoriano), hence its nicknames “typewriter”, because of its shape, and “wedding cake”, because of its kitschy character and white colour. Unlike most of the other Roman monuments, it is not made of Travertine, but rather of Brescian marble. Because of this it does not harmonize with its surroundings, which is enhanced by its proportions: the Vittoriano towers over the surrounding buildings and can be seen from virtually anywhere in Rome.

The monument for Vittorio Emanuele

The Vittoriano was built by Giuseppe Sacconi in order to commemmorate the unification of Italy (1870). It was named after the new country’s first king, Vittorio Emanuele II, depicted as a warrior on horseback. The two fountains symbolize the Adriatic en de Tyrrhenic seas bordering Italy. Two bronze statues of winged chariots are on top of the monument. Construction lasted from 1885 to 1911.

Monument for the Unknown Soldier

After World war I the Altare della Patria (the “Altar of the Fatherland”), the Italian version of the Monument for the Unknown Soldier, was added to the building. Sentries are posted there day and night and the flames on either side are to be kept burning forever.

Museum

The Museo Centrale del Risorgimento, with a collection of 3000 drawings of Italian army uniforms from 1866 till now, is to be found inside the monument.

From Chaplin Bed and Breakfast to the Vittoriano

From B&B Chaplin Hostel Rome you walk to Rome Termini, where you take bus 64 of 40E. You get out when you see an enormous white building that reminds you a bit of a typewriter or a wedding cake.

Spanish Steps in Rome

The Spanish Steps, or Scalinata di Spagna, connect the Spanish Square (Piazza di Spagna) in Rome with the Trinitá dei Monti church on the Pincio hill. It is one of Rome’s most popular places to hang out, especially for young tourists who turn it into an enormous international meeting place during the afternoons and evenings.

The Spanish Steps are at their most beautiful in May, when gigantic flowerpots full of azaleas decorate the terraces.

Why “Spanish” Steps?

One of the questions my guests at the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome ask most often is why the Spanish Steps are called “Spanish”. The steps are named for the Spanish Square at the foot of the steps, which in its turn is called Spanish because the Spanish Embassy used to be located on it.

Description

At the foot of the steps lies the Fontana delle Barcaccia (1627-1629), desigend by Pietro Bernini, father of the better known Gianlorenzo. Legend has it that the fountain is built at the exact spot where a small boat was stranded after the Tiber flooded the area.

The Keats-Shelley Memorial can be found on the right hand corner at the foot of the steps.

Having climbed the 138 steps you will come to the Trinitá dei Monti church. Initially the French, whose idea it was to connect the church (which is French) with the square by means of the Spanish Steps, found their plans rejected, since the Pope did not like their idea of building a huge statue of Louis XIV at the top. It was not until 1723 the the architect Francisco de Sanctis came up with a design that found favor with both the Pope and the French.

Building the Spanish Steps took 3 years (1723- 1726) and was financed by the then French ambassador Etienne Gueffier.

The style is baroque.

No eating or drinking

It is not allowed to eat or drink at the Spanish Steps, a law which is hardly obeyed and even less enforced.

From the Chaplin B&B to the Spanish Steps

From Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome you take subway line A from Rome Termini and get off at Spagna (3 stops). Take the main exit and turn left.

MacDonald’s

An unexpected tourist attraction is the MacDonald’s situated on your right when you are facing the Spanish Steps. For a while it was apparently the branch which made the most money of all the MacDonalds’ in the entire world. There used to be lines, not only at the cash register, but also to get into the place. It is not that bad anymore, so if you have a couple of minutes to spare, walk up to the entrance, think of the MacDonald’s in your home town, walk in and compare. Then walk out and go eat some real food.

Why George W. Bush never visits here

The Bocca della Verità (Mouth Of Truth) hangs in the portico of the church Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy. It is a statue of a round face, shaped like a man’s face and made of Pavonazzetto-marble.

It is thought to have been part of an ancient Roman fountain or manhole-cover. The statue, probably of some pagan God, was not placed in Santa Maria in Cosmedin until the 17^th century.

Legend has it that, if one sticks one’s hand into the Mouth of Truth while telling a lie, this hand will be bitten off. This legend is a.o. used in the famous film “Roman Holiday”.

Directions from B&B Chaplin Hostel to the Bocca della Verità

From Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome you take metro line B to Circo Massimo. Walk down Via dei Cerchi, with the Circus Maximus on your left, till you come to the Piazza della Bocca della Verità.