Our Roman Holiday started with us leaving Dubai at 9:10 am. It was a six and a half hour flight, but since we were 'gaining time', we landed at 12:35. We were met at the airport by Robert Spano and professional driver Sergio Provenzano. Sergio loaded us into his van and transported us all to our rented apartment downtown.We got there at about 2:00 to find that Robert had prepared an Italian feast for us. We dined on homemade spaghetti carbonara, fresh prosciutto and several cheeses. We downed a glass of wine and began our tour.
We stayed on the Via Della Stelleta in a second floor, walk-up three bedroom, two bath apartment. By Rome standards, it was HUGE. There was a small grocery, bakery, wine store and cheese shop on the block. Along with close proximity to restaurants, shopping and all the sites, I have to say, the apartment was a perfect resting place between our sightseeing.
The overarching theme is happy workers, working hard. All the bas reliefs show crops being sown, animals being tended, mothers teaching children and men at work. It is so completely alien to the surrounding architecture. Makes me glad that Fascism was defeated.
We took a walk through the crowds along the Via Del Corso to the Piazza Del Popolo to see the church that was constructed over Nero's tomb. In Santa Maria Del Popolo, we saw paintings by Caravaggio (the crucifixion of Peter and the conversion of St Paul) alongside several other period frescoes.
There's a palazzo up there that was once owned by the Medici family that is now a very swanky restaurant. The grounds of the estate are now a public park that is just beautiful.
Also up on this hill are several universities, academies and/or consulates. In fact, the Spanish building there was one of the reasons that the Spanish Steps were created. Reputed to be the widest staircase in Europe, these steps link the Piazza de Spagna at the base with the church of the Santissima Trinita dei Monti at the top.
At the base of these steps is a fountain called the Barcaccia Fountain. It's a fountain that looks like a ship. Legend has it that when the River Tiber flooded once (and it flooded a LOT) a ship was left foundered right there. So, the Romans being a funny lot decided to build yet another fountain, this time of a wrecked ship.
The Spanish steps featured in some popular films, so as a result, the area is rife with tourists who are dropped off by the busload. On an interesting side note, Rome is full of piazzas with fountains and very few of them have any benches or seating. So folks just sit on the steps of whatever building is around. Or in this case, on the Spanish Steps themselves. It was all I could do to keep from using their heads as handrails as I walked down the steps.
From there we walked down the Via Condotti, which Spano assured me was Rome's "street for high maintenance women". A shopping district. We strode down the Via Della Croce to the Gambero Cafe where we had a glass of wine and watched the strollers pass us by.
From there we went down the block to the Otello alla Concordia where we celebrated our first night in Rome, and ostensibly the reason for our trip, our thirty third wedding anniversary.
We decided to each order a pasta and a main dish and to share all the food. We had Pasta Cacio & Pepe, Carbonara Amatriciana, Fried Brains with Zucchini, Veal Saltimbocca and Chicken Milanese. It was a lovely meal. I tried everything but the brains. I ate the fried zucchini.
After that wonderful dinner, we took a leisurely stroll back down the cobbled streets to the Via Della Stelleta and our apartment home for the week. On the way back, we stopped in Piazza Navona which is built atop Domitian's Stadium to admire the fountain by night. By the time we got to Tre Scalini's, we managed to consume a wonderful Tartuffo, which is like a frozen chocolate bomb. Delicioso!!
-- Sandee Wagner
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