From the Moses Fountain I went on to the Piazza della Repubblica because I wanted to visit what looked like a very old church. It is the Basilica of St. Maria of the Angels and Martyrs. Michelangelo was commissioned for this work by Pope Pius IV who wanted to consecrate the most monumental parts to the 40,000 Christians who were martyred. The basilica itself was built in what had been the Baths of Diocletian. "Michelangelo utilized the great central hall and some of the side rooms and succeeded in leaving intact the great sense of grandeur that the ancient building possessed without imposing his own architecture on the building." The great bronze doors were created in 2006 by the Polish-born sculptor Igor Mitoraj. There is an interesting history about the meridian line created in the basilica and the reasons for it. Some were scientific: the height of the walls, the building was already oriented towards the south, etc., but what might have been the more important and real reason was an opportunity to reinforce the dominance of the Christian calendar over the pagan calendar. It is a beautiful church and building. Some other reconstruction is going on to the right of the building, but it was difficult to tell what. I have to say that one of the things that really struck me is how large the church is once you step inside. The exterior, unless you have already wandered over to the right to see the construction area, looks deceptively small.
From San Vitale, I went back to the hotel to regroup and recharge my camera batteries. I need to get a newer camera and/or be sure I travel with more than one charged battery. I'd had an extra battery, but it was the old original battery and neither were holding charge at all well. Then I dropped the original battery in a puddle and that was that for that one.
In the afternoon, I went back over to Castel Sant'Angelo to get a few shots on a nice day, but also in search of a particular street vendor who had some drawings I thought I wanted. He wasn't there on Monday, so it's possible he's there only on holidays and weekends. Ah well. I'd seen similar work elsewhere, so hoped I'd find something I liked.
And then I head along the Tiber River towards Trastevere, which is a little neighborhood, I think we might call it. Rather Bohemian-like in its own way. As noted by Matters of Taste, what's wonderful about Trastevere are the little shops and the overall delightful quaintness. It was easy to be "lost" here for quite awhile. I walked back up to St. Peter's to get another look and that grand space. It was nearly 4P and the lines to get into the Basilica were incredibly long.
By then I was quite exhausted. I stumbled back to my hotel, cleaned up a bit, had a beverage in the salon and chatted with some of the other guests of the hotel: a family from South Africa and another group from the UK, both England and Scotland. Basically killing time until the restaurants opened at 7:30P and trying not to be that person pacing at the door.
Some random observations, some of which may have been stated already and may get repeated again:
- Romans don't yield. They have a way of walking so they manage never to look at the on-coming pedestrian traffic. They don't crash into people very often, but they seem to expect others to yield because they don't. This is true when walking in the street. Unless death or injury is imminent, they do not step aside for a car. Though some roads/alleys are designated for pedestrians, the Romans seem to treat every cobblestoned byway as a pedestrian walkway. Cars, scooters, buses, trucks just have to wait. What's amazing to me is how little honking there is.
- Romans, perhaps Italians, have perfected the art of the stroll. These are not a hurried people. Even people walking to work, unless it's raining and they don't have an umbrella. And they think nothing of spreading out across the sidewalk or street, walking arm-in-arm as they chat and wave their cigarettes. If you're in a hurry, tough.
- There are Hello Kitty stores and a number of the United Colors of Benetton stores.
- There are no pooper scooper laws in Rome. Watch where you walk.
- I saw two Burger King places and a few McDonald's restaurants. Thankfully, not many and very few franchised chain restaurants. Other than these two, the only other I saw was the occasional Friend's Bar, which made me laugh.
- Dogs may be in restaurants, but you will rarely see children. The dogs I saw were incredibly well-behaved. Much better behaved than many children I've seen (and heard) in restaurants. Still. . .
- The rule for parking seems to be: "If there is room, park it." Unless there is an explicit sign that indicates parking isn't allowed, cars and scooters are parked pretty much anywhere. And sometimes parked in such a way that they look abandoned.
- PDA is not uncommon in Rome. Anywhere in Rome. And often with much gusto that could border on embarrassing except most people don't seem to notice except Americans who were often clearly uncomfortable with such unabashed passion.
- Absinthe can be purchased in almost any store and certainly those selling wine and other spirits, such as grappa. I did not try any; I saw Moulin Rouge. And the labels were a little scary looking anyway.
- Grappa comes in flavors: chardonnay, pinot noir, Scotch. Seriously, Scotch. I tasted it. It was not particularly smooth as, for example, a 12yo Balvenie or an 18yo Macallan. Actually, it wasn't smooth at all.
- Italians don't really have bacon, but I have to commend the Hotel Senato for attempting to cook some sort of ham to try to replicate bacon for its guests.
