Sabato Interessante

It is saturday and the place is quiet, not that it is terribly noisy at other times,  Most of the men are on an overnight to Monte Casino.  I did not go because I have some friends arriving in the Eternal City this evening who are coming to the "Nose Bleed High Mass" (hemorrhage) tomorrow.

So I took the opportunity to stroll about the ancient center this morning to photograph some "interessante" (interesting) things on this fine Sabato (saturday).

Okay, this first photo is actually from last evening, after the rain stopped.  I never get tired of this view! But there is a down side.  All those photos of the City scenes I show you come at a price, the climb back up to my computer is quite steep.  Some day I will have to show you photos of just how steep!  It's ALL vertical to get home!

View from 3rd Floor Casa O'Toole

 Yesterday I told you about the Campo de Fiori, the camp of flowers but I did not take many pictures due to the torrents of rain.  Here are some shoots from today, now you get a sense of why this is the Campo of the flowers.

Girasole, Sunflowers.  If you travel the train you see great fields of these in Italy.

Rome has character and "Characters".  When you walk the streets (hey, no prostitute jokes) you start to recognize some of the regulars.  This fellow is always pedaling about the city on his bike in the finest Italian clothing. Romani in general are fashion hounds, you see people all dolled up everyday, even if only to run out for milk!!!

During the the Imperial period the Emperor's brought back to Rome from Egypt many obelisks, some 22.  Today there are 13 that survive.  Though there are many more in the city because at one point in history there was 'obelisk mania'. Some clever Rome "businessmen" manufactured them and then "discovered them", tricking many people into thinking these copies were ancient.  The deception was successful because they scribbled some hieroglyphic's on them.  No one since no one knew how to read the hieroglyphics until the discovery of the Rossetta Stone.  When the Rosetta Stone made it possible to accurately translate the script it put these thieves out of business since the fakes were discovered to be all gibberish!

The one below is fairly famous.  It was brought to Rome by the Emperor Domitian with another of the same size, just under 19 feet, and the two of them flanked the entrance of the Temple of Isis and Serapis.  During the Baroque period Bernini was commissioned to move this one to the Piazza Minerva in front of the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.  Romans love curiosities, don't we all, so he added an Elephant (yet anther animal!).  Roman's always love a good story.  The Roman's say that they never let the truth get in the way of a good story.  So whether this story is true or not, who knows, but it is widely repeated.  Bernini was a deeply religious man, he attended Mass every day of his life and his son became a priest. Well, the story goes that the elephant was supposed to face the Church but during construction of the monument the parish priest so annoyed Bernini with his constant supervision and suggestions that the Master decided to send the pesky priest a message.  When the monument was put together he ordered his men to have the Elephant face out from the Church.  In this fashion it's rear end and tail faced the Rectory!!  Bernini thus had the last say!

Bernini Elephant, S. M. Sopra Minerva

Obelisk

Obelisk outside the Pantheon

Not only did the ancient Romans favor Obelisks but they also loved Columns, in imitation of the Greeks.  Columns were used not only to bear the weight of a buildings but also to support Portico's, for decorations in gardens or public spaces and also to tell stories.  There are two story telling columns in the City I will show you another time.  Columns also were surmounted by statues of gods or important citizens, like the emperors.  Christians continued the tradition. Here is one from the Courtyard of the Casa Santa Maria, the old seminary.  It combines two distinct forms.  The first is surmounting the column with a saint instead of a roman deity.  The second form can be found in the streets where votive shrines of Mary are commonly found, some 750 in the City proper!  In front of the shrine is a little light which had two purposes, one to illumine the street and the second to say it is Mary who always points to Christ the Light of the World who illumines Man's darkness.  In the Courtyard Mary is surmounting the Column but also has a small lantern in front of her like the street votives.  By-the-way, these street votive altars were common in Ancient Rome and usually had a local neighborhood deity in them.  Christians baptized the pagan custom and switched out the pagan god for a saint or the B.V.M.

Virgin with lantern, Casa Santa Maria

Here is a Church facade built around the late 1700's with a pagan sculpture above the door, the same image is on both sides of the entrance to the Church.  It is Romulus and Remus with the She-wolf that raised them.  You can see one of the brothers suckling at her breasts.  The Romans are very earthy!

Image of Romulus and Remus on a Church

Here are some truly outstanding early Christian Fresco's from the crypt of the Church of St. Philip and St. James the Less.  The saints bones are interred together in the same sarcophagus.

Jesus the Good Shepherd, in period dress as a Roman Shepherd

St. Peter

 Here is the tomb of the Apostles Philip and James the Less, you will recall there are two Apostles named James who are distinguish by their titles, James the Greater and James the Less.  I had lunch today with a priest named James on either side of me.  I asked the one who his patron was and he said, "James the Greater", then I asked the other who his patron was and he said, "James the Less".  Wonderful!

Tomb of the Apostles SS. Philip and James the Less

Fountains are many in Rome.  The Emperors brought water into the City to keep it both clean and healthy, the Popes continued the expansion of the fountains.  These fountains are filled with good clean pure mountain water.  They have great nutritional value according to the Sister of Mercy who is our Nurse here at the Casa.  But here is an ancient fountain that has fallen into disuse.  It appears that the physician may have suffered from tremors while performing the circumcision.  LOL, alas no more water!

abandoned fountain

Here is the Tiber, I cross it several times a day since I live on the "trans-tiber".  In antiquity it was called "Albula".  It was later renamed "Tibertinus" in honor of the King of Alba Longo who drowned in it's raging waters.  All 22 obelisks of were floated up the river and then brought by carts drawn by animals and slaves to their locations.

Tiber River

Picturesque area on the Via Guilia

The end, for today.  A rather grim reminder to passers-by to give to the poor lest you end up in Hell.  Now there's a Capital Campaign slogan if there ever was one, inspiring no???  Think how much more pleasant our poor boxes are without the threats...hmmmm but maybe not as lucrative??  Memento Mori - Remember death, be kind to the poor!