Zurers in Italy 2024: Monday, May 13
Day 15: Rome
I am afraid to jinx us but it is another sunny, warm morning...we have been very fortunate with the weather since the first few days of our trip. After an okay breakfast, which is served in our room, we get in the car to begin our adventure of driving in Rome.First stop is the Giancolo above Trastevere, one of Rome's hills that has parks and fabulous views over the city.
We pass grand houses, an impressive fountain (Acqua Paola), and an ever-present statue of Garibaldi.
After a brief stop back at the hotel (I am finding the driving quite enjoyable), we next go to the Fascist era section of Rome called EUR. Built under Mussolini for a planned international fair, it has a lot of Rationalist architecture, large parks, and planned communities. The most famous landmark is the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known as the "square Colosseum". We have never actually been to EUR in all our years and I am glad that we finally have the chance to see the neighborhood up close.
Another modern landmark is the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul built in 1955.
We drive around the area through rows of attractive apartment blocks, big parks with lakes and waterfalls, and a thriving business district.
We next head across the city looking for the Parco degli Acquedotti, one of the large parks south of the city with many Roman remains, including the Appian Way. The drive takes us through parts of Rome we never visited before...much of it countryside inside the city limits. We have some difficulty finding the park but we happily find a porchetta truck parked on the side of Via Appia Nuova.
The owners are extremely welcoming and kind...wiping off the picnic table and making sure we are comfortable. The sandwiches hit the spot...I have been waiting for one the whole trip.
We get back on track and arrive at the park without further trouble. The park is a large open field with the remnants of two of the older aqueducts in its middle. The larger of the two was built in the 2nd century B.C. and was still being used in the 16th century.
There are people jogging, biking, lying on the grass in the sun, and hanging out around a turtle filled pond...it is very quiet and peaceful.
There is even a golf course right next to the aqueduct.
We drive back to the hotel and I set out on another exploration of the neighborhood while Diana goes to the roof to quilt. On my walk, I cross two quite different bridges
and see some more impressive street art on the sides of buildings
In the late afternoon, we hop back in the car to go to the center and walk around the neighborhood of the Campo de' Fiori where we often stayed. Again, the driving is easy and we find a metered spot on the nearby Lungotevere. We walk through familiar territory...the beautiful Via Giulia and the Campo.
We stop for an aperitivo at one of the cafes in the Campo and are surprised that two glasses of prosecco don't come with the usual snacks. The area is mobbed with tourists and we are glad to be staying in a different part of the city on this trip.
It's sad walking past the site of the hotel where we stayed for many years--the Hotel Teatro di Pompeo--which is now closed.
No dinner for Diana tonight...the porchetta sandwich was too much--but I slip out for a slice of pizza and a gelato.
Tomorrow we will go to the Museo Centrale Montemartini...a decommissioned power plant now a sculpture museum - which we visited and liked very much, many years ago.
Jim and Diana
