Feelings of the Day: During my 25 years with my wonderful wife, I have often been away from her: sailing on a ship, somewhere in Canada for short term tasks, or in the Maritimes seeing friends and family. There have been moments during these travels when I would have wanted her with me to see the things I was seeing and done the things I was doing. You can now take pictures, send emails, and make video calls from around the world, but that cannot bring them beside you physically. However, we do not wear matching tracksuits either. Both of us have our interests and hobbies that do not involve the other. Both of us are strong willed and can be apart from each other, for a while, until we again can give each other comforting hugs and butterfly kisses and settle into the smooth standard of being near each other again. Still, having physical distance in the middle of us is not easy. Being retired and going to Europe again, the temptation was to remain in Europe longer. We discussed this before the trip and that day, where we temporarily inhabit different time zones, has occurred. As mentioned, it will not be easy but it will also not be for long. Bear with me as I introduce some maudlin emotions from time to time. I now return you to your regularly scheduled daily travel report.
Full Day’s Events: Time to go to the airport. Helping my wife with her big backpack we ordered a taxi, talented driver included, and was dropped off at the airport a little under schedule. After getting boarding passes, we embraced before the security checkpoint and gave each other endearments of our deep love for one another. Making sure she safely made it through the initial security gate I now looked for a way back to Rome.
Yesterday, arriving at the Termini station from Tivoli, I noticed several buses advertising direct service pulling up. Logically, that means that somewhere at the airport there is a way to find them. Looking for bus signs, I saw the train symbol which might mean a more economical trip. Sure enough, when I arrived at the train depot an express was leaving in three minutes for 14 euros. Having worked the machine yesterday, I had my ticket within a minute and was seated by the second minute. While getting my book out, and marvelling at the displayed speed and arrival time, I asked myself why can’t all airports, of cities over a certain size, have public transportation (train or bus) to go to major longer distance modes of transport? In Victoria the public bus drops folks a kilometre away from the airport yet brings them right to the ferry. My inner voice answered, with some snark, “Strong taxi unions mean less options.” Yeah yeah. I know. With the train arriving at Termini station, I didn’t have to go far for my planned bath. It was right next door to the station!
The Baths of Diocletian were built between 298 and 306 CE. They were the largest of the imperial baths and serviced the people living in the three Roman districts around it. Some Ostrogoths broke up the pool party, in 537, and sacked Rome. The basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (Saint Mary of the Angel and Martyrs), using the existing ruins in the 1500’s, made the old baths their place of worship. The whole place is now part of the National Museum of Rome. The NRM has three museum sites that are open (this one, Palazzo Altemps, and Palazzo Massimo alle Terme or NRM HQ) and two that were closed for renovations (Crypt Balbi and the Medal Cabinets located in the basement of NRM HQ). Today I would be visiting two of those locations and the third later, as I have 20 days to visit them all for only four euros more. Score one for history, art buffs, and economical travellers!
The first subsection I went to was the Roman Written Communication section. I was impressed by the scope of different materials displayed that led the visitor on a journey through Rome’s written record, as the language changed. The rest of the section led me through the centuries of the rise of ancient Rome - kingdom, republic, empire - showing these changes to its society. Strong examples of sources, with the importance of what was written, were provided (unlike social media). Interwoven amongst this was sculpture and statues from the time the items were written in. Particularly appealing were the grave goods of a military leader from 475 BCE and the life size terracotta statues of gods that would be in their temples.
Surprisingly interesting were the lead curse plates. Yup. Don’t like someone or something? Then write their name, what you don’t like about them and/or what they did, and all the horrible things you want done to them. After that effort you crunch it up and throw it into a pit where the god who owns it will take it under advisement. Hmmm. Remember what I said about social media?
What one looks like unwrapped.
What it looks like once analysed.
Next subsection was the cloister of Michelangelo. He never worked on it because it was started after his death, based on his plans, and commissioned by the pope of the time. Each side is 100 metres, has a total of 100 columns, and was worked on from 1565 to 1676. It also has seven ancient Roman animal heads in the centre, found around Trajan’s column in 1586, that were very well sculpted. Under the roof, and in the open on the circumference of the cloister, are a multitude of marble items: rough ones in the elements and semi rough under cover. The most interesting to me were the decorative drama masks placed higher up.
The last subsection to see were the baths themselves. One of the amazing items in there were the crypts that had been moved intact from where they were originally found and then placed here. The second was the modern art by Tony Cragg, which I liked. The smooth interlocking curves of wood, bronze, or plastic niggled nicely in my brain.
I had already eaten one of my Hornby bars, because breakfast was early this morning, and now it was time for substantial sustenance at nearby La Degusteria del Principe. A simple tomato spaghetti was followed up by chicory and pressed chicken. It wasn’t the best of lunches, but it was cheap. What I didn’t finish, of the chicken and chicory, I took back to my place.
On the way there I stopped at a toy store, Pinocchio’s, where I found two Playmobile boxes: a Roman soldier and a two for one of a devil and angel. They will go nicely on my history and religion shelves in the computer room. After quickly stopping by my apartment, Palazzo Altemps was next and just South of the where I was staying by a block.
Built on Roman era buildings, a medieval tower was built, in the 15th century, then a palace, by the Riario family who were connected to the Pope of the time. Over a succession of owners and expansions, who also had religious connections, followed. It was Cardinal Altemps who really went all out and expanded it to contain sculpture and art from around Rome and Italy. The Holy See took it over, in the 19th century, and it became a convent until sold to the state and refurbished into a museum.
There are mostly Renaissance and Egyptian items here. Some of the Renaissance statues had components which were ancient Roman and others were completely Renaissance sculptures from examples from ancient Rome. Fortunately the museum was clear, with little pictorial signs, what was what and what parts were what.
Two of the most impressive rooms were on Evan Gorga, an opera singer who embraced his hobby of collecting antiquities when he became too ill to perform. He made his own museum and was one of the first to subdivide items by era and type. An impressive selection from his collection is on display. The quality, and intact state, of the items made me whisper, “What? What!”, a lot.
Back to the apartment I wrote more for emails and FB posts, had supper, and went to bed early. 8.5 km and 17 flights walked.
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