South of Corso Still on the trail of some of the lesser-known Roman sites, at the weekend I found myself wandering around a quiet area south of via del Corso. Testaccio is still very much a people’s neighbourhood. Old men gather on benches in shady piazzas, constantly gabbling away about who-knows-what (hotly debating the government’s latest PR disaster or contesting who won the last game of boules, it’s difficult to tell in their Romanaccio dialect), while children play with the pigeons. There aren’t many tourists to be seen, even though the area holds a couple of attractions. I stop short…
-
-
Early Roman Texts to be Sent Back to Vindolanda Roman soldiers based at Vindolanda, the Roman fort and settlement at the coldest extremity of the Roman Empire, were not so different to modern Britons. While they had a job to do in maintaining order and control of the north western border (along Hadrian’s Wall, although Vindolanda was inhabited before Hadrian built his frontier), they also ensured they weren’t out of pocket for their troubles. Discovered in 1973, the Vindolanda Tablets are wooden message boards dating back to 85 AD. Their messages include an invitation to a birthday party as well…
-
If I told you a story about the eighth king of Rome, the clever ones among you might notice that something doesn’t quite add up. Your minds might start whirring, scanning the memory for facts about early Roman history… way back when, before the Republic even. And then you remember: of course! Ancient Rome was a city built on seven hills… and it had seven kings. Seven: no more no less. You might well be thinking: ‘Anyone who tries to tell me about the eighth king is either a joker or just sadly misinformed!’ Well, in that case the joke…
-
The Domus Aurea, also known as the Golden House, was the emperor Nero‘s grand palace, with more than 150 rooms gilded, frescoed and clad in marble. Spanning an area of eight hectares, it was built over the Oppio, Celio, Palatine and Esquiline hills in Rome in 65 AD, following the great fire that destroyed 10 of the city’s 14 neighbourhoods. When Nero killed himself just three years after its construction, the Domus Aurea was opened as a public park. Some of it was destroyed immediately and the giant lake, known as the Stagnis Neronis, was filled so that the foundations…
-
Birthday Candles and Controversy Every year on the 21st of April, Rome celebrates its own beginnings with historical re-enactments and musical events. Since the city was founded 2762 years ago it has almost constantly been the scene of political power struggles and conflict. So it seemed appropriate that, this year, the birthday celebration was itself dogged by controversy and accusations. The highlight of the celebrations was a music and light show dubbed ‘Romagnificat’ by its organisers. To begin with, the four-lane road that Mussolini built through the Forum area was closed to traffic and, as darkness fell, the surrounding street-lights…
-
Have you ever wondered how a gladiator might have felt waiting in the wings of the Colosseum, ready for his turn to fight? Or what it might have been like to live in a Roman apartment block, with its claustrophobic corridors, precarious steps and cool marble floors? Visitors come to Rome with all sorts of expectations but it’s hard to get a feel for life 2,000 years ago when you’re competing for camera space with hoards of fellow tourists. Of course many visitors to Italy’s capital have got different ideas of what makes a good trip. Last week 67,000 football…