Rome - palaces and oval balls!

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

Sadly our friend "6's" stay with us was coming to an end. She was flying out of Rome so the girls decided to make a day and night of it. We set off early on the train and checked in to a lovely boutique hotel not far from the Pantheon. Having had our fill of Roman antiquities it was time for something different. "6" chose to spend the afternoon in the wonderful Palazzo Doria Pamphilj.

                                             The ballroom, Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

Floor to ceiling paintings, Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

The colossal thousand room Palazzo Doria Pamphilj dates back to 1505 and is one of the largest private residences in Italy. It is also one of the most treasure filled palaces in Europe and houses one of Rome's richest private art collections with 650 works including masterpieces by Raphael, Velazquez, Titian and Caravaggio. The opulent picture galleries, decorated with frescoed ceilings and gilded mirrors, are hung with floor to ceiling paintings. We had the palace almost to ourselves and the place was brought alive by the audioguide full of background information and family anecdotes narrated by one of the current owners, Jonathan Pamphilj.

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

In need of refreshment we sat down for a welcome cup of tea in Giolitti, a well known café and one of the oldest ice cream parlours in Rome, before popping in to the Pantheon on our way back to our hotel. The following morning on our way back to the station we passed by the Palazzo Montecitorio and the gleaming Trevi Fountain which until recently had been boarded up for cleaning. Sadly it was time to finally part company with "6" and head back to our respective homes.

Squeaky clean Trevi Fountain, Rome

Palazzo Montecitorio, Rome

The Stadio Olimpico

A couple of weeks later we were back in Rome for something completely different. We checked into our hotel just north of the Vatican and joined the crowds heading north by foot to the Stadio Olimpico. Round 2 of the 2016 rugby 6 nations tournament was kicking off with Italy v England. The bars were spilling out on the pavements and the roads were a mass of red and white clad English supporters and Italians sporting green, white and red. The atmosphere and costumes were brilliant. The result even better!

                                         Fun and games at the Stadio Olimpico

The final score!

Sightseeing in and around Rome

Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica

Fiumicino is proving a great choice. Not only is it a lovely little fishing port with great restaurants it is also only a short bus and train ride into Rome. The bus stop is right outside the boatyard and the bar for the tickets is just over the road. Our first trip was to Ostia Antica, the ancient harbour of Rome. It is a large archaeological site close to Ostia originally founded in 620 BC. It soon became Rome's seaport situated at the mouth of the Tiber but due to silting now lies 3 km from the sea. It is a beautiful site, not dissimilar to Pompeii, with wonderfully preserved buildings and mosaics. For some reason, probably the distance from Rome, it doesn't attract hordes of visitors. This made wandering around the ancient warehouses, apartments, villas, shops, theatre and baths all the more pleasurable.

Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica 

Ostia Antica 

Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica

Apollo Belvedere, marble

Laocoon and his sons, marble

From the sublime to the ridiculous. The first time we visited Rome we gave up on the Vatican museums due to the never ending queue. The second time the Pope resigned and the Sistine chapel was closed for the conclave. Third time lucky. We made our way into Rome and caught the metro to the Vatican. We joined the queue at lunchtime (we'd heard the tour groups are supposed to be gone by then - they weren't) and after an hour we reached the ticket office and parted with rather an excessive entrance fee. We'd both dressed appropriately having read about people being turned away at the last minute but all states of undress were being waved through. The museums were originally founded by Pope Julius II in the sixteenth century and display works from the huge collection acquired by the Catholic Church throughout the years. In 2013 the museums received 5.5 million visitors. It felt like they were all there at the same time as us. We picked up a guide map and began our tour of the 54 galleries. Despite not being a particularly pleasant experience due to the crowds we did finally get to see this extraordinary collection of treasures. We admired the famous ancient statues, Laocoon and his sons and the Apollo Belvedere in the Museo Pio-Clementino as well as works by Leonardo da Vinci, Giotto and Caravaggio in the Pinacoteca Vaticana. The Raphael rooms did not disappoint and of course we made it to the Sistine chapel and strained our necks looking up at Michelangelo's ceiling which took over four years to complete.

Raphael, Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple and The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila

Laocoon's head

Raphael, The School of Athens, 1509-1510

Ceiling of the crypt of the three skeletons

We had a couple of days off before venturing into the city again. This time we made our way to metro Barberini and the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. The church is most famous for its ossuary, known as the Capuchin crypt. It is a small space beneath the church comprising six rooms, five of which feature a unique display of human bones believed to have been taken from the bodies of 3,700 Capuchin friars who died between 1528 and 1870. In 1631 the friars left their old friary and arrived at the church bringing with them 300 cartloads of their deceased brothers. The bones were then decoratively arranged in the burial crypt. The soil in the crypt was brought from Jerusalem by order of Pope Urban VIII. As friars died the longest buried friar was exhumed to make room for the newly deceased who was buried without a coffin and the newly reclaimed bones were added to the decorative motifs. Bodies typically spent thirty years decomposing in the soil before being exhumed. We passed through the crypt of the three skeletons, the crypt of the leg and thigh bones, the crypt of the pelvises, the crypt of the skulls, the mass chapel and into the crypt of the resurrection. The Marquis de Sade visited the crypt in 1775 and wrote "I have never seen anything more striking". It was very weird yet beautiful at the same time.

Crypt of the skulls

Up the Tiber

We only had a 24 hour weather window before strong southerly winds were forecast so we decided to do an overnight passage from Elba to Rome rather than break the journey in Giglio on the way. We kept ourselves busy fishing. The waters were literally teeming with tuna jumping all around us. Despite having five lines trailing behind us with a variety of lures we failed miserably in securing our evening meal. We were later informed by a seemingly knowledgeable local that leaping fish doesn't necessarily indicate a feeding frenzy but very often quite the opposite...

Busy Ostia Lido beach

Fiumicino fishing fleet 

Our final destination was to be a berth up the Fiumicino canal beyond two bridges. Unfortunately the bridges don't rise every day and typically we were due to arrive on a non lifting one which meant we had to find an alternative berth for the night. We opted for the large marina in Ostia, Porto di Roma, and were tied up in our berth by 7.30am ready for a good breakfast. Despite a lack of sleep the four of us then went for a stroll along the waterfront. Ostia, not far from Rome, is an uninspiring residential area and is home to the capital's beach. Needless to say it was a heaving mass of bodies, sunbeds and umbrellas. On our way back to the boat we spied a rather tempting wine bar at the end of our pontoon. They served up a delicious spread of Tuscan meats and cheeses which was washed down with some delicious chilled rose wine. We were soon all ready for a snooze.

View up the canal to the road bridge

Ponte 2 Giugno road bridge rising

Julie leading the way "under" the pedestrian bridge

Ride of a Lifetime is moved alongside the wall

We were up early again the following morning as we had a bridge to catch! We motored up the coast for three miles past the Fiumicino river and into the canal. The first bridge we had to negotiate was a pedestrian bridge which was due to open at 9am. There was quite a strong current flowing out of the canal and we've heard that with strong onshore winds entry can be a bit hairy. Thankfully conditions were favourable and there were soon a few boats milling around. Bang on time the pedestrian bridge opened up for us. We then had to negotiate the Ponte 2 Giugno, a road bridge which literally went straight up in the air with a maximum headroom of 22 mts. Having negotiated both bridges we then looked for our boatyard, Constellation Nautica, on the north bank of the river. We soon spied Piero who helped us tie up alongside a motor boat. It is a no frills friendly boatyard which also offers alongside river moorings for a reasonable price as well as a shower and washing machine!

Ride of a Lifetime now without neighbours

A tile advertising the popular GePaGi restaurant delicacy

Fiumicino is a small town in the province of Rome most well known for its international airport. It is also a lively fishing port. Safely tied up we all went for a stroll before stopping for a well earned lunch in one of the many canal side fish restaurants. We couldn't resist trying the popular local delicacy of Fritto di calamari al cartoccio, fried fresh squid with half a lemon wrapped in a brown paper cone. Delicious. Sadly our crew Rob and Julie had to leave for the airport the next morning. Time for us to explore more of Rome.

Fiumicino waterfront

A long weekend in Rome

 

Olbia ferries

We decided on a return trip to Rome primarily to see Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine chapel which we had missed on our previous visit a few years back due to the never ending queues. With the ferry and flights booked and a hotel chosen close to the Vatican museum, Pope Benedict XVI resigns and the Sistine chapel is shut for the conclave coinciding perfectly with our visit. Never mind, there was still lots left to see and do. We decided to experience the overnight Tirrenia ferry from Olbia to Civitavecchia. The marina courtesy bus dropped us at the ferry terminal and we boarded the Nuraghes. We retired to the lounge area for a drink and joined the predominantly male passengers watching the football on tv. Despite the ship not being very full we decided we would have a quieter night in the reclining chairs a couple of decks up. It was a calm crossing and on arrival we were taken by courtesy bus to Civitavecchia train station. From there it was a 5 euro ticket to Rome Termini station. We stocked up with metro tickets and soon arrived at our hotel which was only a couple of minutes walk from Cornelia metro. We were allowed to check in early and were grateful to be able to catch up on some much needed sleep. We ventured out into the rain in the afternoon and surveyed our neighbourhood. It appeared to suit all our needs with a choice of cheap and cheerful restaurants close by as well as a couple of well stocked supermarkets.

 

MAXXI



MAXXI

The following day much to our relief the sun was shining and we emerged refreshed and ready to stretch our legs. We took the metro to Flaminio and took a leisurely stroll along the Tiber. We soon arrived at our destination, the MAXXI, Rome's new contemporary art museum. It is a stunning building designed by the Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and has been awarded many prizes for its innovative design. We spent the best part of the day here and enjoyed our picnic lunch in the public courtyard admiring this fascinating building. Finally we walked back to the Tiber, crossed over and made our way back to the metro window shopping as we went. Our hotel had a small wellness area which included a jacuzzi for two which our legs gratefully enjoyed at the end of the day.


St. Callixtus

The weather was kind so the next day we embarked on another grand walking tour. We took the metro to Garbatella and continued by foot to the Appian Way and the catacombs of St. Callixtus. They are among the most important in Rome and are part of a complex which occupies an area of 90 acres with a network of galleries about 12 miles long, in four levels, more than 20 metres deep. They originated around the middle of the second century and in it are buried 16 popes and many martyrs and christians. We arrived just in time to join a fascinating guided tour. We had our picnic lunch in the grounds and then continued walking along the ancient paving slabs of the Appian Way the main part of which was started and finished in 312 BC. Eventually it stretched some 400 miles from Rome to Brindisi in south east Italy. We tried to imagine the 6000 slaves who were crucified along here after the failure of Spartacus' rebellion in 71BC. We stopped for a thirst quenching beer along the way before we set off in search of the nearest metro, Arco di Travertino.

 



Piazza Santa Maria in Travestere

Fontana delle Tartarughe

Our final day found us crossing the Tiber on the 15th century Ponte Sisto footbridge and exploring the picturesque area of Trastevere. We enjoyed strolling around the narrow cobbled streets lined with medieval houses and people watching in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere. We made our way back across the Ponte Cestio to Tiber island which has been associated with medicine and healing since the 3rd century BC. We walked back through the Sant' Angelo district to Piazza Mattei to see the wonderful tortoise fountain, Fontana delle Tartarughe, designed by Giacomo della Porta in the sixteenth century. It was time to rest our weary legs and for a final visit to our excellent local restaurant, Joseph, in via Accursio.



Piazza Santa Maria in Travestere