My heartfelt thanks for the helpful tips to Hejo Emons, Alwin Epple, Vincenzo Ferrari, Emanuele Gigli, Marlene Schlett Capanna, Peter Seiler, Philipp Zitzlsperger
Bibliographical information of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographical data are available on the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.
© Emons Verlag GmbH All rights reserved © Photographs: Annett Klingner, except AcquaMadre: AcquaMadre, Prospettiva Borromini: Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Roma Design: Eva Kraskes, based on a design by Lübbeke | Naumann | Thoben Maps: altancicek.design, www.altancicek.de English translation: David Shallis Printing and binding: Grafisches Centrum Cuno, Calbe Printed in Germany 2014 ISBN 978-3-95451-469-4 First edition Did you enjoy it? Do you want more? Join us in uncovering new places around the world on: www.111places.com
Foreword Rome is fascinating, exciting, impressive, chaotic – and irresistible. Twenty million tourists flock to the Eternal City annually. On their first visit, most of them will have the same itinerary in mind. They want to sit on the Spanish Steps, and see all those well known sites that have fascinated so many previous generations: the Colosseum, St Peter’s, the Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain. When they return to the city, as most people do, it will not only be as enjoyable as their first visit but even more rewarding. They will know from experience, for example, that they have to get up early to avoid lining up for hours at the Vatican Museum, that postcards usually arrive more quickly if they are handed in at the post office than if they are put in a postbox, that bus and tram timetables should be treated as approximations, that they can get around the historical center more quickly on foot anyway, and that the best way to cope with the notorious cobblestone streets is to wear comfortable shoes. They will be able to spot the typical tourist traps immediately and wonder how on earth anyone could fall for them. Most of all, they will discover the real city, noticing unobtrusive details and sensing even more intensely that every stone and crack in a wall is suffused with history and can tell a gripping story. Even the most famous sights have their secrets, to say nothing of the many overlooked spots that the guidebooks do not mention. This book will lead you to beautiful, unusual, hidden, forgotten, and sometimes bizarre, but always special places off the tourist track. It will whet your appetite for a living Rome, a city with a rich past, that – with all its churches, ruins and palaces – is also thoroughly contemporary.
111 Places 1_ The AcquaMadre Bathing culture – ancient Roman style | 10
2_ Appartamento Borgia Where a disreputable pope had his lodgings and a murder was committed | 12
3_ The Arco degli Acetari A medieval oasis | 14
4_ The Art Nouveau Market Hall Rome’s first covered market | 16
5_ Babette Artichoke packets and wild boar ravioli | 18
6_ The Baker’s Tomb How a freed slave made history | 20
7_ The Biscottificio Innocenti The retro bakery | 22
8_ The Borromini Perspective An illusion of space | 24
9_ The Botanical Garden A hidden jewel | 26
10_ The Bottega Mortet Where gold and silver are transformed | 28
11_ The Bramante Monastery A café in a Renaissance cloister | 30
12_ The Bridge of the Four Heads The grim legend behind Rome’s oldest stone bridge | 32
13_ Campo Santo Teutonico Into the Vatican through the side door | 34
14_ The Cannonball Fountain A queen’s direct hit | 36
15_ Capo di Ferro, 31 A bit of the Middle Ages | 38
16_ Casa di Goethe Where the great poet lived incognito as a painter | 40
17_ The Cat Colony Pussycats roam where Caesar died | 42
18_ The Chapel of the Female Pope A little lane and an incredible legend | 44
19_ The Chimpanzee Tower Feeling its age | 46
20_ The Chocolate Factory Tasty tidbits in the backyard | 48
21_ The Christmas Crèche Museum Every day is Christmas Eve | 50
22_ The Church of the Three Sails An ultra modern place of worship | 52
23_ Cimitero del Verano The VIP cemetery | 54
24_ The City Walls Museum Exciting history and a very private view | 56
25_ The Column of Augustus There is a grain of truth in every legend | 58
26_ The Convent Guesthouse A safe haven with a great view | 60
27_ Corso N° 494 The shop window that is actually a fountain | 62
28_ Corviale Europe’s longest high-rise | 64
29_ A Courtyard of Antique Copies A treasure trove of special souvenirs | 66
30_ The Creepy Crypt Engraved skulls and the man with the scythe | 68
31_ The Criminological Museum The fascination with horror | 70
32_ The Dancing Church Tower A very active architectural gem | 72
33_ Dar Filettaro Deep-fried goodness | 74
34_ Death Behind Bars Not alive here, not dead there | 76
35_ The Denunciation Box Naming names on the Piazza delle Coppelle | 78
36_ The Devil’s Stone A failed assassination | 80
37_ The Doll Hospital An old-time shop | 82
38_ The Drogheria A message from the 15th century | 84
39_ The Ecstatic Teresa The scandalous joys of a saint | 86
40_ The Entrails of the Popes A resting place for holy intestines | 88
41_ Fairy Houses Gino Coppedè’s remarkable district | 90
42_ The False Dome In Sant’Ignazio things aren’t always what they seem | 92
43_ The Fama A goddess who was too ugly | 94
44_ Filmtown Cinecittà A visit to Italy’s Hollywood | 96
45_ The Flood Plaques Reminders of nature’s wrath | 98
46_ The Former Pasta Factory Once a squatted ruin, now a cultural center | 100
47_ The Fornarina’s Window Where the painter Raphael’s lover lived | 102
48_ Galleria Sciarra The fairytale courtyard of the virtuous women | 104
49_ Il Goccetto A good drop | 106
50_ The House of the Hangman Where the pope’s executioner lived | 108
51_ The Ice Club A bar where it’s best to wear gloves | 110
52_ The Keyhole A reward for something you really shouldn’t do | 112
53_ The Laghetto Japanese cherries and paddleboats | 114
54_ La Sapienza The university city | 116
55_ The Lighthouse But Rome isn’t even on the coast | 118
56_ The Linea Clementina Astronomy in a church that was once a bathhouse | 120
57_ Little London As British as you can get | 122
58_ MACRO Modern art in a former brewery | 124
59_ The Madonnina Rome’s guardian on the Monte Mario | 126
60_ The Magical Gateway With a formula to turn lead into gold | 128
61_ The Marble Stadium Fallen heroes | 130
62_ The Medical Museum Alchemical laboratory and bone saw | 132
63_ The Mercatino The real flea market | 134
64_ The Meridian A calendar on St Peter’s Square | 136
65_ The Midday Gun When the clocks are set by a howitzer | 138
66_ The Monastery Game Even monks sometimes got bored | 140
67_ Il Mondi di Laura Kosher biscuits | 142
68_ The Mosque Mecca in Rome | 144
69_ The Mouth of Hell The monstrous entrance to the Zuccari house | 146
70_ The Museum in the Power Station Antique sculptures among the generators | 148
71_ The Museum of Horrors Spooky things down in the cellar | 150
72_ The Nasoni The best drinking water is free | 152
73_ The Necropolis under St Peter’s The tomb of the leading apostle | 154
74_ Old Berta’s Door How a granny defied the pope’s family | 156
75_ The Oldest Baby Hatch Where, from 1202, unwanted babies could be left | 158
76_ The Owl House A prince’s fairytale palace | 160
77_ The Palazzo Cenci The home of Rome’s most famous patricide | 162
78_ The Parco della Musica The avant-garde concert hall | 164
79_ The Park of the Aqueducts Water for the “Caput Mundi” (Capital of the World) | 166
80_ Pasquino The gossiping statue | 168
81_ The Passetto di Borgo The popes’ escape route | 170
82_ The Police Car Museum Eight decades of vehicles for the carabinieri | 172
83_ Pompi The kingdom of tiramisu | 174
84_ The Prima Porta A cemetery with a racetrack | 176
85_ Pulp Vintage fashion at flea-market prices | 178
86_ The Purgatory Museum Where lost souls send up smoke signals | 180
87_ The Quiet Tiber Walk Against the stream | 182
88_ The Refuse Signs No dirt, please! | 184
89_ The Regina Coeli The prison | 186
90_ The Relief of the Rejected A home for unwanted children | 188
91_ San Carlino The first and last church of a genius | 190
92_ Sant’Eustachio The deer on the church roof | 192
93_ Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza The most original church in Rome | 194
94_ The Sash of the Pietà Michelangelo’s only signature | 196
95_ Sciascia Caffè A historic temple to coffee | 198
96_ The Six-Hour Clock Different times in Rome | 200
97_ The Smallest Obelisk It bears the weight of wisdom and was almost stolen | 202
98_ The Soup Tureen A wandering fountain | 204
99_ The Square Colosseum The icon of the E42 | 206
100_ A Tidy Square Praised a bit too soon | 208
101_ Torre della Pulzella Where two popes found asylum | 210
102_ The Toy Cellar Four decades of memories | 212
103_ Tram Jazz Music on wheels | 214
104_ The Turtle Fountain What an offended man can do | 216
105_ Via Margutta The street of the artists | 218
106_ Via Piccolomini A fascinating optical illusion | 220
107_ Villa Doria Pamphili The two-part park | 222
108_ Vineria Trimani Rome’s oldest wine shop | 224
109_ A Wall of Gratitude The wondrous powers of a pottery Madonna | 226
110_ The Water Clock A mechanical masterpiece on the Pincio Hill | 228
111_ The Weirdest Bathroom… …and its equally odd bar | 230
1__ The AcquaMadre Bathing culture – ancient Roman style Think of Rome and it probably isn’t only the Colosseum, St Peter’s Square and the Spanish Steps that you remember: there is also that incomparably blue and sunny sky. However, a visit in late autumn or winter can leave you with a very different impression of the Eternal City. At that time of year it often rains so heavily and consistently that parts of the city are flooded, Metro tunnels and subways are impassable and the pavements lie under several centimeters of water. Sad days like these are a good opportunity to try an old Roman ritual. In classical times the proper way to look after your body was to go to a public bath. However, there was more to this than mere washing. For ordinary citizens, the local bath-house also provided a temporary escape from their constricted homes, while the monumental imperial baths were important centers of public life, where people came to socialize, discuss, engage in political activities, teach, exercise, eat and read. The baths were heated by an underfloor system, the hypocaust, and bathers moved unhurriedly through a series of rooms and pools, from the hottest to the coolest. Rome’s bathing culture ceased abruptly in 537 AD, when the Goths besieged the city and destroyed the entire water supply. The AquaMadre has taken up the old tradition and is in fact located close to its classical predecessors. Its vaulted ceilings may be modest compared to those of the gigantic Baths of Caracalla or Diocletian, but a visit there – which must be booked in advance by telephone, fax or email – is a thoroughly relaxing experience. Reservations can usually be made on short notice and massages can be booked in the same way. Take note: At AquaMadre bathing suits are obligatory. 10
Address Via di S. Ambrogio, 17 − 00186 Rome, Tel. +39/06-6864272, E-Mail: info@acquamadre.it | Public transport Tram 8 to Argentina, all buses via Argentina, e.g. Bus 30, 40, 46, 62, 64, 70 | Opening times Ladies’ days: Weds and Fri 11am – 9pm, mixed: Tues 2pm – 9pm, Thurs, Sat, Sun 11am – 9pm, last admission: 7pm | Tip For a fruity “energy bomb” after your bath try Pascucci, a small shop in the Via di Torre Argentina, 20, that serves freshly-pressed juices and shakes daily from 6am – 11pm.
2__ Appartamento Borgia Where a disreputable pope had his lodgings and a murder was committed In the papal conclave of August 1492, Rodrigo Borgia staked everything he had. He was the richest of the cardinals and not only owned palaces and lucrative bishoprics but also had immense cash reserves. This enabled him to promise generous compensations to those of his competitors who voted for him – and after four strenuous days he succeeded in becoming pope (Alexander VI). For his lodging he chose several rooms in the northern tract of the Vatican Palace and added a tower with two more chambers, which he had decorated by members of the Umbrian painter Pintoricchio’s workshop. Although it was clear that the rooms were not his property and would be occupied by other popes after his death, the new pontiff commissioned frescoes that glorified him personally, with his heraldic beast, a bull, emblazoned in hundreds of places. Borgia also commissioned portraits of himself and four of his children by his long-term Roman mistress. He lived openly with them in the Vatican and used them unashamedly to further his dynastic ambitions. His daughter Lucrezia, in particular, was a valuable tool, since her marriage would bring the bridegroom’s family into a close relationship with the Holy See. As a result, the girl became a pawn in the machinations of the various parties. Her first marriage was annulled on the grounds of her spouse’s supposed impotence, and in 1500 her second husband became an annoyance to the pope as well. An attempted assassination in front of St Peter’s failed because the victim defended himself vigorously and dragged himself into the Vatican. There he was strangled in the Room of the Sybils in the Borgia apartments, by the chamberlain of the pope’s son, Cesare. Today thousands of tourists pass through the Borgia apartments, which are close to the Sistine Chapel. The brutal murder that occurred there over five hundred years ago, however, is never mentioned. 12
Address Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano − 00165 Rome | Public transport Metro A to Cipro-Musei Vaticani) | Opening times Mon – Sat 9am – 6pm (last admission 4pm) | Tip The Vatican Gardens can be visited on weekdays (except Weds): guided tours only. Reservations must be made at least three (and sometimes 60) days in advance. http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=it&do.
3__ The Arco degli Acetari A medieval oasis Hidden a few steps from the Campo di Fiori is a picturesque courtyard. Its unusual name may stem either from the acetari, who sold a mixture of water, sugar and vinegar, or perhaps from the dealers in acqua acetato, a mineral water from a spring to the north of Rome which was popular for hundreds of years. If you pass through a dark archway in the Via del Pellegrino, you arrive in a small square where time seems to have stood still for the last five hundred years. It is enclosed on all four sides by picturesque houses that, despite some alterations in the 16th century, have kept their late medieval character, thanks to their outside staircases and overhanging roofs. Inside the archway are obvious spolia: parts of classical buildings that were discovered in the Middle Ages and used as quarries for new constructions. Later, the houses were fitted with small balconies, where lethargic, overfed cats prowl among luxuriant blooms. There is greenery everywhere you look, and even the streams of tourists on the nearby squares and the traffic on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele seem lightyears away. Until the end of the 19th century there were many such courtyards in Rome. Far more people lived in the historical center then, and despite all the antique structures – the grand villas, palaces, churches and squares, the city retained the feel of a village for a long time. It was not until 1871, when it became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, that its rapid growth began. Since then, the population has shot up from 220,000 to 2.7 million, and many buildings and courtyards in the central area have been demolished. Yet, so far, the charming Arco degli Acetari has managed to survive. 14
Address Via del Pellegrino, near house number 19, 00186 Rome | Public transport Bus 40, 62, 64, 70, 87, 492 to Navona | Tip A few houses further on, at Via del Pellegrino, 78, is the small, friendly Libreria del Viaggiatore (Traveller’s Bookshop). Along with up-to-date tourist guides it stocks current and historical plans, maps, prints and antiquarian curios (open Mon 4pm – 8pm, Tues – Sat 10am – 2pm and 4pm – 8pm).
4__ The Art Nouveau Market Hall Rome’s first covered market Rome has many lively markets selling everything you could want: cheese, meat, bread, wine, fruit, vegetables, flowers and clothes. It isn’t only Romans who prefer to do their shopping there than in an anonymous supermarket. It is no wonder that many tourists feel they simply have to visit the picturesque Campo di Fiori, with the famous sculpture of Giordano Bruno who died at the stake there. The complete opposite of this noisy, hectic and – especially at the Campo di Fiori – often overpriced open-air trading, is the city’s first indoor market. The Art Nouveau building was erected in 1923 on the Piazza Principe di Napoli – named after the son of the last king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, whose title was the “Prince of Naples.” Since then, this quiet square, which lies a little to the north of the city center and near Michelangelo’s celebrated Porta Pia, has been renamed Piazza Alessandria. And the high entrance, which once allowed you to walk straight through the market or drive through it in a wagon or car, has been closed to make room for more stalls. Apart from that not much has changed. It is still mostly local residents from the nearby streets who shop here. They go to their favorite vegetable seller and select the ingredients for their minestrone, or a dozen of the tender artichokes for which every Roman cook has his or her own personal recipe. They then do the rest of their shopping in the hall or rummage through the numerous stalls that have spread around the outside of the building. When they return, their vegetables will be washed, chopped and packed. Radiating out from the Piazza Alessandria are six roads with a number of straightforward trattorias serving honest Roman food at comparatively modest prices. 16
Address Piazza Alessandria – 00198 Rome | Public transport Bus 60, 62, 82, 90 to Porta Pia; Bus 63, 83, 92, 360, 490, 495 to Piazza Fiume | Opening times Mon – Sat 7.30am – 3.30pm | Tip Chinappi, one of the best fish restaurants, is nearby on the Via Augusto Valenziani, 19 (open daily 12.30pm – 3pm and 7pm – 11pm; Tel. +39/06-4742454.) Beside the normal menu there is a daily degustation of three fish courses, water and a glass of Prosecco for 50 Euros.
5__ Babette Artichoke packets and wild boar ravioli At the end of the 1980s a book by the Danish author Karen Blixen was made into a film. It ran in the cinemas under the title of “Babette’s Feast.” The plot: the cheerless and ascetic inhabitants of a village are invited to a gala dinner by a French cook named Babette. Although the guests do their utmost to resist, they finally give in, and relax and enjoy the delicious dishes and warmhearted atmosphere. A place that would pamper all the senses: that was the dream of the Sallorenzo sisters, Silvia and Flora. The realization of that dream was Babette, just a few paces from the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo, but appealingly different from all the tourist trattorias in the city center. Warm colors, niches, metal lamps and the large tiles behind the bar give the restaurant its cozy ambience, which is made even more pleasant by the dependably good service, the cheerful acquiescence to little extra requests, and the friendly touches. For example, when the manager hears that it is a guest’s birthday, nothing will prevent her from congratulating them personally and topping their celebratory dessert with a candle. On the menu are typical Italian dishes, exchanged and refined according to the season. Instead of the usual “Spaghetti Bolognese” Babette serves fettuccine with a ragout of finely chopped Argentine beef. Other pasta dishes also come in creative variations, and the juniper rabbit is fantastic. Lunchtime guests can choose between the buffet and à la carte. In the small interior courtyard (reached through a gateway next to the restaurant) meals are served under white parasols – a perfect spot for summer evenings and candlelit dinners. Reservations are recommended, particulary for the courtyard in warm weather months. 18
Address Via Margutta, 1 – 3 − 00187 Rome; Tel. +39/06-3211559 | Public transport Metro A to Flaminio | Opening times Tues – Sun 12.30pm – 3pm and 8pm – 11.30pm. Closed on the evening of 6 Jan, from 7 – 16 Jan and for two weeks in August. | Tip There is another friendly restaurant nearby at Via Della Fontanella, 12. Il Brillo Parlante is not as hidden away as Babette and is more “country style,” but the quality is consistently good. It serves Roman dishes and pizzas, and has a large, well-chosen wine list. Tel. +39/06-3243334
6__ The Baker’s Tomb How a freed slave made history The massive ruins on the outer side of the Porta Maggiora gate resemble the remains of a majestic building. In fact it was a former Greek slave who created a monument to himself there. As a freedman, Eurysaces was allowed to carry out a profession and became a baker, but the status of Roman citizen was denied to him at first. In order to achieve that he was required to bake 100 bushels of grain a day, single-handedly. In addition he had to work for the state and sell all his bread at a low price for a period of at least three years. The ambitious Eurysaces fulfilled all these requirements, grew extremely wealthy and finally became a full-fledged Roman. By 30 BC he had amassed such an enormous fortune that he was able to purchase a piece of land directly in front of the city gate and built himself a huge tomb there. The inscription reads: “This is the monument of the baker Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces. He is an entrepreneur and a lower civil servant.” Three rows of cylindrical openings represent the kneading troughs for his loaves. A frieze shows scenes from the bread-making process, and the roof was originally in the shape of a pyramid. When the Emperor Honorius strengthened the Aurelian city wall at the beginning of the 5th century, the monument was used as a quarry. The remainder was built into a tower, which survived undamaged for the next 1500 years. In 1838 the outer shell was dismantled and the ruins that emerged caused astonishment. Excavations inside the monument brought to light a marble sculpture of a couple in Roman togas and a memorial plaque reading: “Atistia was my wife. She was a wonderful woman, whose mortal remains are in the bread basket.” Eurysaces had clearly been widowed. A little later an urn in the form of a bread basket was unearthed nearby. 20
Address Piazza di Porta Maggiore – 00185 Rome | Public transport Trams 2, 3, 5, 8, 14, 19 to Porta Maggiore; Metro A to Manzoni | Tip Street Art in Rome is far less common than in Berlin or London but there are some interesting examples in the pedestrian tunnel (under the railway line) on the Via San Lorenzo, going towards the San Lorenzo district.
7__ The Biscottificio Innocenti The retro bakery The charming thing about this shop is the feeling it evokes of a time long gone – when, even in the big city, life was more leisurely, the bakery was a central meeting point for the people of the quarter, and customers enjoyed a few friendly words along with their purchases. Although the Biscottificio Innocenti is situated on one of the most popular streets in the trendy Trastevere district, many people rush past it. After all, there is no inviting sign hanging above the door and no reason to expect anything unusual behind the steamed up window. But then there is that seductive smell of sugar and vanilla, and on a second, more careful look, you notice the numerous large trays of tarts, biscuits and small slices of pizza. The interior of the shop is dominated by a large pale yellow oven. It is eleven meters long and dates from the 1950s. It has been in action for many hours a day since it was first installed and looks every bit its age. One end is in the bakery, the other is in the shop itself. Everything for sale is fresh out of the oven. The big scale on which the biscuits and pizza discs (the thin, crispy kind) are weighed is also a collector’s piece. The business is run by Stefania Innocenti, a small delicate woman with closely cropped hair who smiles frequently and clearly enjoys her work. She took the bakery over from her mother years ago, just as her mother did from her father before that. The family has been baking here for over 100 years. Aside from a door plastered with pictures of cats, the walls are bare, which makes the merchandise look even more attractive. Especially good: fave dei morte (beans of the dead), brutti ma buoni (ugly but good) and torta di mele (apple cake). 22
Address Via della Luce, 21 − 00153 Rome | Public transport Two stops from Argentina with Tram 8 to Belli | Opening times Mon – Sat 8am – 8pm; Sun 9.30am – 2pm | Tip The Museo di Roma at the Piazza Sant’Egidio, 1b, in Trastevere has many genre paintings of the town and its inhabitants between the 16th and 19th centuries (open Tues – Sun 10am – 8pm).
8__ The Borromini Perspective An illusion of space When Cardinal Bernardino Spada set out to look for a suitable home in 1631, his eye was caught by the Palazzo Capodiferro. It was a large building and the price was reasonable. But major alterations were necessary to meet the great cleric’s requirements, and these ended up costing Spada double the original price. First of all, of course, the previous owner’s coat of arms had to be replaced with his own; later the artists Angelo Michele Colonna and Agostino Mitelli were brought in from Bologna to paint the great hall. But the cardinal had a problem: almost the entire site was taken up by the building itself, leaving no room for the spacious garden that traditionally went with such a grand establishment. And unfortunately the piece of land he had bought from a neighbor wasn’t much bigger than a bath towel. When Spada employed Francesco Borromini to restore the facade of the building in 1635, he asked the artist and architect to suggest a solution. Borromini created a colonnade that looked as if it was at least 25 meters long. In fact it is only eight and a half. He achieved this optical illusion by reducing the dimensions of the passage from six meters high and three meters wide at the entrance, to two meters by one meter at the far end, and creating a floor that sloped gently upwards. The statue of Mars at the end of the colonnade looks huge, but is actually only 80 centimeters tall. The effect was enormously successful. When the cardinal received eminent guests in his courtyard, they could see the colonnade through a window and admire the apparent size of the property. Even those who were in on the secret were impressed. Nowadays there is an exhibition of the cardinal’s superb art collection in the palazzo, which is also the seat of Italy’s Council of State. 24
Address Galleria Spada, Piazza Capo di Ferro, 13 – 00186 Rome | Public transport Bus 46 to Via Torre Argentina; Bus 23, 63, 271, 280, 810, N10 to Lgt. Dè Cenci/Arenula; Bus 30, 46, 56, 62, 64, 70, 81, 87 to Corso Vittorio Emanuele/S. Andrea della Vale; Bus 628 to Teatro Marcello; Bus 23, 116, 271, 280 to Lgt. Tebaldi/Armata | Opening times Tues – Sun 8.30am – 7.30pm | Tip If you don’t want to take the museum tour which ends with the Borromini colonnade, you can see it through the glass pane on the left-hand side of the courtyard.
9__ The Botanical Garden A hidden jewel Even in the center of the bustling city of Rome there are a surprising number of green “oases.” One of them is the Botanical Garden. It is situated in the middle of Trastevere, between the Gianicolo ( Janiculum) Hill and the Tiber. Its origins can be traced to the Middle Ages when Pope Nicholas III (1277 – 1280) had a “Hortus Simplicium” created on the outskirts of the city. At that time there was often uncertainty about the identification of plants described by the famous doctors of antiquity. Errors and fraud were common and gardens of medicinal plants were to remedy this situation. A later pope, Alexander VII, wanted to extend the research and – in the middle of the 17th century – made over a large area of land near the Fontane Paolo on the Gianicolo to the University of Rome. An aqueduct that once supplied water for the many plants, as well as the Trastevere district, has just been restored there. Since 1883 the Botanical Garden has been located in the park of the Palazzo Corsini. Its 12 hectares belong to and are cared for by the La Sapienza University. Nearly 8,000 plants from around the world are grown in the garden, among them Rome’s two oldest plane trees, which are reckoned to be nearly 500 years old. Unfortunately one of them was struck by lightning in 1990 and was almost completely destroyed. There are cactuses and tropical plants in some of the greenhouses (which can only be visited in the morning), and the extensive park is impressive and well-tended. Along with the sequoias, gingkoes, palms, orchids and pineapple plants, there are magnificent fountains, shady walks, a rose garden, a small bamboo forest, a section devoted to medicinal plants, and Mediterranean and Japanese gardens as well. 26
Address Largo Cristina di Svezia, 24 – 00165 Rome | Public transport Bus 23, 125, 271, 280 to Lgt. Farnesina; Bus 40, 46, 62, 64, 70, 81, 87, 89, 492 to Chiesa Nuova, then c. 800 meters on foot | Opening times March–July and Sept–Oct: Tues–Sat 9.30am–6.30pm; Nov – Feb: 9.30am–5.30pm; the greenhouses close at 12.30pm. | Tip Hidden away at Via Lungara no. 18 is a delightful, picturesque courtyard with lush vegetation, an old fountain and a striding marble nymph in a niche. The entrance to the house is open on weekdays.
10__ The Bottega Mortet Where gold and silver are transformed A hundred years ago, craftsmen could still be found all over the center of Rome. Innumerable shoemakers, tailors, carpenters and goldsmiths labored in small workshops that could be seen from the lanes and served as shops as well. Today nearly all of them have vanished or been transformed into expensive design stores. Step through the gate of the medieval “Chimpanzee Tower” (see p. 46) in the Via dei Portoghesi, 18, and you’ll find not only the tower staircase but also a picturesque, recently-restored courtyard. This is the home of the Bottega Mortet, which is dedicated to the rare, old craft of the gold and silver smith. This traditional business dates back to 1890, when the Frenchman Aurelio Mortet settled in Rome and two of his five sons founded engraving workshops. They were evidently good at what they did since they were soon carrying out commissions for the rich and mighty, creating – among other objects – King Victor Emmanuel III’s “Victory Sword” and lamps for his mother Margarethe’s tomb in the Pantheon. In 1943 one of the two firms moved into its present quarters and is still operating there as a family business. Master Aurelio, his nephew Paolo and grandsons Dante and Andrea produce medals, jewelry, religious utensils and art objects. Among their most important assignments was to fashion a golden cross for the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, which he wore around his neck on special occasions, and a silver stand on which his white zucchetto (skullcap) and the Ring of the Fisherman were placed when he took them off. But the Bottega Mortet also makes “worldly” objects, such as reproductions of the best-known sights of Rome. If you are looking for a special gift or want to have something made to your own design, this is the place to go. 28
Address Via dei Portoghesi, 18 – 00186 Rome | Public transport Bus 30 to Corso del Rinascimento; Bus C3, 70, 87, 116, 116T, 186, 492 to Zanardelli; Bus 46, 62, 64, 70 to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II/Navona | Opening times Mon – Fri 9am – 1pm and 3pm – 6pm | Tip Directly opposite the entrance in the same courtyard is an interesting fountain: a group sculpture of a mother, child and dog guarding an original 3rd-century Roman sarcophagus that was once the resting place of a married couple.