We do this all the time. First day we arrive at a place, we pack in everything we can in one day. We are so excited to be here we can't help ourselves in saying yes to every possible suggestion. So today we saw the Baths of Diocletian, Santa Maria Degli Angeli church (with a neat sun dial) the Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo (5 floors of ancient sculptures and Roman coins), had dinner in Trastevere and finally a night stroll through the Forum. We navigated all by foot (10 miles or 16 Km as we Europeans like to say) and by the end of the day we collapsed on our beds.
First thing, the Baths of Diocletian. You all know or heard about the Roman baths, a place to hang out, conduct some business and generally feel good about the world. This was one of the main staples of the Roman society. Diocletian (one of the good emperors) built a public bath system that was huge. I don't mean Kohler big. It could serve 3 thousand people at once. This would be the ultimate high school locker room.
Then we saw t he Santa Maria Degli Angeli church - really, part of the Baths of Diocletian that the Catholic Church "repurposed" many centuries ago. To me (an uncultured slob) it was an average Italian church filled with floor to ceiling art by the great master Ginosomebodyineverhearof. I am religious, but more the sit-quietly-in-the-corner-and-think type. I get a little unnerved with all this opulence. Most of the churches we visited ask you to adhere to a very easy dress code. No bare knees or shoulders. What surprised me was the number of people who blow off this request and walk around in near beach wear. This time we saw in front of the church there was a person offering to loan/rent you a large scarf to use as a sarong or a shawl. (Not mandatory, but there was a little basket and most women tossed in a Euro.) It was nice that they offered this service and it was equally nice that many women took advantage of it.
What really excited me (and I do mean EXCITED!) was a gnomon built into the church. What is a gnomon you say? Let me tell you. A gnomon is simply a hole in the ceiling that shines a spot from the sun onto the floor. There is a north-south line also marked on the floor. Each day someone records the sun spot's location and the time it takes to cross the line. This data is folded into calculations to measure the inclination of the earth's axis or to test the new Gregorian calendar. The church drilled a hole in the ceiling and built a meridian (north-south line) into the floor. Enclosed are pictures of the line, the spot as it crosses and the hole in the ceiling. Cool, yes?
So, there was a little old lady sitting in the corner selling postcards, books and other religious items. Off on the side was a pamphlet describing the gnomon for 2 euros. When I saw this I raced around the church to find Ann. Like a 4 year old boy I was saying "buy me this, buy me this, please, pleeeease!!". (Earlier we had exchanged some of our money and all I had was a 50 euro note - which the lady absolutely refused to accept. Ann had all of our small bills, so I had to promise to make it worth her while to fork over a five euro bill.) Anyway, the pamphlet describes how the gnomon is used. Only 8 pages, it contains lots of diagrams and plots; enough to keep a geek like me busy for a while.
After the church, we trucked over to the Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo. This was a huge museum filled with ancient sculptures. Art that was before the fall of the Roman empire. This stuff was old. In Rome, people apparently find stuff every time they dig a hole. In fact, one room was dedicated to the stuff they found when they built the train station. There are rooms on room of emperors, gods, decorations and stuff. They also found mosaics art from the same period. Enclosed is a photo of Ann looking for redecorating ideas (we are about to remodel our bathroom).
For dinner we visited Trastevere. This was one of the general night-life spots of Rome. This 5 by 10 block area is filled with restaurants and bars. It is just over the Tiber river from Rome and a brisk walk from where we were. Each summer the city sets up a strip of tents for various vendors to sell the food and other wares (photos enclosed). Our last visit to Rome was in early May 2012; maybe too early in the season for these tents to be out yet. It was really nice to eat right on the river. We found a nice outside spot and enjoyed a Roman Happy Hour. Roman restaurants really know how to do happy hour! Ten euros for a glass of wine and one small plate to take to the food spread. But they let you take as much food as you can balance on that little plate ... and, boy, there were some SKINNY beautiful girls with some HEAPING FULL plates! And the food is really GOOD. Not like chicken fingers and taco ships.
Lastly we walked by the Forum at night. I took a few night shots and enclosed them for your enjoyment.
Ciao
bill
