Wingspan on the Tiber

Last night I logged into my bank account to take care of some financial matters and discovered my first 'paycheck' for this Rome job has been deposited.  For a moment, looking at the sum that represents four months of work (without taxes deducted) it seemed a little surreal to be paid for this Italian adventure. But only for a moment. The hours spent working on this project are substantial - as are the challenges this job has presented.      

Out for a walk along the river again this morning.  The birds provided interesting compositional content.

I kept walking southerly and then backtracked a bit and headed west.  I was trying to find the southern edge of the old Aurelian wall, inspired by this map I noticed on a wall near the apartment.

It reads: 'You are 2851 steps from the Aurelian wall.'

And there is it! The structure at the end is called the Pyramid of Cestius. 

Within the wall are these outposts for viewing, though many of been filled in.

I turned to go home and saw yet another armed carabinieri.  Since the embassy bombings here earlier this week, they have become even more of a presence on the streets.  Not far away, a bunch of young teenagers were terrorizing the neighborhood by exploding something like extremely potent cherry bombs every block or so. 

Note the street name is Via Guerrieri which translates as Warriors.

In the evening, I hoofed it over to Trastevere for dinner at my favorite restaurant.  Splurged, courtesy of Gitta's christmas gift (Thanks Gitta!) and had my first glass of wine since arriving in Rome.  As I hadn't eaten since breakfast,  the wine's effect was immediate and, well, intoxicating. It 'forced' me to linger for a cappuccino and a bit of their dolce del giorno (sweet of the day.)  I am sure I scandalized the waiter by leaving a bit of wine in that glass when I left.

Piazza Navone at Christmas

Everything I have read about Christmas in Rome remarks on the Christmas Market in Piazza Navone.  On Christmas Eve Eve (Dec 23) I attended a concert of Baroque music at Sant'Agnese in Agone and passed through the market to get there.

 I made a few night-time snaps and planned to go back on Christmas Eve.  A little adventure - that I will write about later - prevented my return trip until today.  As it was already Christmas Day, I was expecting to find an empty piazza. Not so...

 Is he shielding himself from the commerce below?

 Witches appeared to be a very popular item.

My own Christmas was sweetened with treats from my boss:  homemade Umbrian Christmas cake  and olive oil from Umbria.  I am going to try and bring the olive oil back with me if I can figure out how. The Christmas cake will not last long enough to bring any back.

It is a dense fruit and nut cake with lots of chocolate and cinnamon.  Very good!

it is different here, #2

While out walking this morning, I came upon a small piazza not far from home.  It was mostly empty except for two armed carabinieri.   Law enforcement  here comes in several flavors and the carabinieri  is one of those flavors, having military as well as civilians responsibilities.  Some carabinieri look very much like police officers in the US - driving patrol cars and wearing less military-looking uniforms - but these guys are pretty common too. It still surprises me to run into someone so significantly and evidently armed. What they are guarding is a mystery to me.  That building houses some part of the municipal archeology department - and has a tourist attraction built in the front door. Through the keyhole, you get a remarkable peek across the river at St Peter's Basilica. While it is popular, it is not drawing crowds now during the gloom of winter.

And this is the view through that keyhole.

Yesterday, I walked up through the Quirinale.

 ...and stopped in the Quirinale Garden.  When I peered over the edge of the wall, there was this quiet, very Italian-feeling space.  

 Looking down from the Spanish Steps at Christmas shoppers taking over Via Dei Condotti.  These narrow streets are eligible for auto traffic, but at times like this, it is very slow going if they try.

 These are a part of the front fencing around the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.

In the background of this photo is the church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and that there is one of the four fountains that can be found on this corner.  This is a small church and my photos don't really do it justice.  There is a 3-d presentation on the web put together by Columbia University that let's you look all around this space.    http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/related_sites/rome_san_carlo_360/mov/1rome_san_carlo_church.mov

After visiting the crypt of that church, I found this beautiful line in the stairway coming up.

even colder - and snow!

 A cold, cold morning. That 15 € coat I scored at Porta Portese has come in very handy during this cold snap.

Favio, Amadeo, Mauro & Sergio heading back after lunch.

a light dusting of snowflakes can be seen on Favio's jacket.

Santo Stefano Rotondo, Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva and San Giovanni dei Fiorentini

A walk around Celio last Sunday morning. This day had a little more of a plan than usual, based on reading the Mason/Fort book Gitta and Bliss gave me.

Santo Stefano Rotondo
This building was  quite literally breathtaking on entering.  It is a very old (late 400's) structure and  contains a mithraeum in its foundation that is still being excavated and is not open to the public. (How they manage these excavations without damaging the structure(s) on top is remarkable.)

Santo Stefano Rotondo

These photos do not convey the wonder of this place. I had been wondering if I should ease up on 'sightseeing'. On entering Santo Stefano,  it occurred to me that I would have had deep regrets to have missed this place had I learned of it later...

 Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva

It was in this church that Galileo was require to disavow his teachings about the heliocentric universe in 1633.  Some things never change. 

Saint Catherine of Siena's body is buried here - her head is buried elsewhere. The story goes that after her death, people from Siena - who felt that Catherine would have wanted to be buried in her birthplace - smuggled her head out of Rome.  When the Roman soldiers inspected the bag with her head, they saw only rose petals. 

San Giovanni dei Fiorentini

San Giovanni dei Fiorentini

I  only had a few minutes in this church because an attendant asked all the visitors to leave shortly as I arrived - but this piece in the altar was very beautiful.

Cold!

...and the forecast hints at the possibility of  a little snow tonight

Child's Play

Out walking this weekend I encountered a few hints of children's play things - but with an oddly dark mood about them.

Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere

Walking in Trastevere last weekend, I found myself in front of the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere. What a marvelous place!

It can be dizzying in these basilicas.  The walls, the ceilings, even some of the floors are decorated. This ceiling is above the main altar. 

There were several chapels in this basilica.  Many were in use during my visit so I avoided making photographs in those.  Others were simply too dark to photograph.  The one below had so many ornate surfaces, it was hard to decide how to make any meaningful images of the space. 

And this is a bit of the floor from the same chapel.  Francesca, the guide DarleneF had recommended, taught me to pay attention to these sorts of floors. The colorful marble mosaic inlay was often taken from older ruins - giving some evidence to Francisca's  assertion that ancient Rome wasn't the pale, mostly white place one thinks of when walking through the Roman Forum.