Rome Day 2: Via Appia and much other interesting old stuff

We agreed to meet at 18.00 so I had all day to visit some parts of Rome. I just started walking along the river Tiber towards the center (although there is no real center, or there are many). I already saw many interesting buildings ending at the outside of the Colosseum. So close it is a magnificent ancient architectural masterpiece, and will go in later. 

I took one of the buses to get me to Via Appia, an ancient road which extended in the past for 500 Km to the south. These days only the first part from Rome is maintained and treated as touristic spot. 

The Roman army depended for its success on the use of bases in which to prepare for battle and to refresh and re-equip afterwards. Bases allowed the Romans to keep a large number of soldiers in the field waiting for the opportunity to strike. However, the bases needed to be connected by good roads for easy access and supply from Rome. The Appian Way was used as a main route for military supplies since its construction for that purpose in the mid-4th century BC. The Appian Way was the first long road built specifically to transport troops outside the smaller region of greater Rome.

There is still a lot to see, and I decided to visit the San Sebastiano fuori le mura (Saint Sebastian outside the walls), or San Sebastiano ad Catacumbas (Saint Sebastian at the Catacombs), is a basilica in Rome. Up to the Great Jubilee of 2000, San Sebastiano was one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, and many pilgrims still favor the traditional list. Under the church there are the catacombs. Catacombs are ancient, human-made underground passageways or subterranean cemeteries composed thereof. Many are under cities and have served during historic times as a refuge for safety during wars or as a meeting place for cults. The first burial galleries to be referred to as catacombs lie beneath San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome. The derivation of the word itself is disputed and it remains unclear if it ultimately derives from the cemetery itself or from the locality in which it is found. There is no doubt however that the San Sebastiano catacombs are the first to be referred to as such.

In these … more than 100.000 people have been buried. As the guide told us as land was expensive so they had to burry the dead under the ground. Later most people were cremated.

I walked most of the road back to the last bus stop at the Appia itself and from there took the bus to the last stop, the Termini Station.

The first big church I visited was S. Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri and to my opinion also one of the most interesting. The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs at the Diocletian Baths, the last great architectural project from the genius of Michelangelo. It is a monument to history, to faith, to art and to science.

The basilica was created by the will of Antonio Lo Duca (Duca or Del Duca), a Sicilian priest devoted to the cult of angels. Lo Duca, who was born in Cefalù in 1491 and died in Rome in 1564 expressed his passion from a young age when he was appointed choir-master of the Palermo Cathedral (1513 – 1515). During this time whilst teaching choir to a group of clerics, he discovered an antique painting of the Seven Princes of the Angels which had miraculously re-emerged after centuries of neglect in the small Church of Saint Angelo .

He went to Rome in 1527 and became chaplain to Cardinal A. Del Monte who was uncle of the future Pope Giulio III. He succeeded in securing recognition of the devotion to the Seven Princes of the Angels as well as composing a Mass for them.

After the death of the patron cardinal (1533), Antonio became chaplain to the Cardinal of the Count of Cifuentes who was ambassador to the Emperor Charles V. Since his arrival in Rome , Antonio had hoped that the Mass of the Seven Angels would be officially approved. But his attempts proved to be in vain even after the arrival of Pope Paul III Farnese. In fact, he was to receive appointments and prebends from the Pope which sent him back to Sicily .

After a few years he returned to Rome and became chaplain of Saint Mary of Loreto at Trajan's Forum. It was in this church that, during the summer of 1541, he saw a vision: a “light whiter than snow” emerging from the Diocletian Thermal Baths and at the centre were the seven martyrs (Saturnino, Ciriaco, Largo , Smaragdo, Sisinnio, Trasone and Pope Marcello). From this moment on, Antonio was convinced that a temple dedicated to the Seven Angels must be built in the middle of the majestic thermal ruins. He marked the columns of the great ancient tepidarium hall with the names of the seven angels (Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Jeudiele, Salatiele, Barachiele and Uriel). He began to entertain the idea of building a church dedicated to the Seven Angels and the Seven Martyrs. However, he did not have the support of the then Pope Paul III.

In 1543 he went to Venice to print the booklet for Mass, prayers and angelic images. At this time he commissioned a painting of the Virgin with the Seven Angels which was a copy of an existing mosaic in the Basilica of Saint Mark. Today the painting can be found in the centre of the apse, behind the high altar of the Basilica.

When he returned to Rome as rector of the Orphans of Saint Mary in Aquiro, he continued to frequent the Thermal Baths with two ideas in mind: to transform them into a Church and to create a college for Orphans. Once again Pope Paul III did not agree. Antonio had to wait for the arrival of Pope Giulio III del Monte, nephew of Cardinal A del Monte for whom he had previously been chaplain, to fulfil his dream. In fact, in 1550 the Pope ordered the Vicar of Rome, Monsignor Filippo Archinto, to sign the decree for consecration of the Church with the name of Saint Mary of the Seven Angels.

The enthusiasm in fulfilment of his dream was cut short by the Pope's nephews who drove Antonio out of the Thermal Baths and transformed them into hunting and riding grounds instead. After the short Pontificates of Marcello II (22 days) and Paul IV Carafa, the new Pope, Pius IV Medici finally fulfilled Antonio's dream in the most majestic and solemn way. With a Papal Bull dated 27 July 1561 the Pope ordered the construction of a church in the ancient Diocletian Thermal Baths. And, in a ‘Brief' (issued immediately after conceding office to the Carthusian monks of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem ) it was given the name “Beatissimae Virgini et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum.”

Trevi Fountain, the present one

In 1629 Pope Urban VIII, finding the earlier fountain insufficiently dramatic, asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to sketch possible renovations, but when the Pope died, the project was abandoned. Bernini's lasting contribution was to resite the fountain from the other side of the square to face the Quirinal Palace (so the Pope could look down and enjoy it). Though Bernini's project was torn down for Salvi's fountain, there are many Bernini touches in the fountain as it was built. An early, striking and influential model by Pietro da Cortona, preserved in the Albertina, Vienna, also exists, as do various early 18th century sketches, most unsigned, as well as a project attributed to Nicola Michetti one attributed to Ferdinando Fuga and a French design by Edme Bouchardon.

Panorama of the Trevi Fountain.

Competitions had become the rage during the Baroque era to design buildings, fountains, and even the Spanish Steps. In 1730 Pope Clement XII organized a contest in which Nicola Salvi initially lost to Alessandro Galilei — but due to the outcry in Rome over the fact that a Florentine won, Salvi was awarded the commission anyway. Work began in 1732, and the fountain was completed in 1762, long after Clement's death, when Pietro Bracci's Oceanus (god of all water) was set in the central niche.

The asso di coppe Salvi died in 1751, with his work half-finished, but before he went he made sure a stubborn barber's unsightly sign would not spoil the ensemble, hiding it behind a sculpted vase, called by Romans the asso di coppe, "the "Ace of Cups".

The Trevi Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini, who substituted the present allegories for planned sculptures of Agrippa and "Trivia", the Roman virgin.

Pantheon

Not checking the map, just walked, stumbled upon the Pantheon and the very nice square in front. Although a bit noise, with so many tourists and a few street musicians, it gave a very nice atmosphere.

The Pantheon (pronounced /pænˈθiː.ən/ or /ˈpænθi.ən/, Latin: Pantheon, from Greek: Πάνθεον, meaning "Every god") is a building in Rome, built by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. A near-contemporary writer, Cassius Dio, speculates that the name comes from the statues of many gods placed around the building, or from the resemblance of the dome to the heavens. Since the French Revolution, when the church of Sainte-Geneviève, Paris, was deconsecrated and turned into a secular monument, the Panthéon, the generic term pantheon may be applied to any building in which illustrious dead are honoured or buried.

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft). A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda."

Trastevere

As I said I would arrange a restaurant for tonight I Walked to Trastevere (the other side of the river Tiber) to check for a restaurant. There are many in a relatively small area. But first I visited … kerk Santa Maria Trastevere, a beautiful small church, to my opinion the best I have seen so far. Not the biggest, not the most decorated, but all in all a great scenic holy place. 

I checked out some restaurants and found a nice one where it was possible to reserve for 10 people. I think it is much easier in Rome, compared to Amsterdam, maybe because the families are larger?

Walking back I send some SMS'es to my friends to where to meet, we did in front on the Pantheon. It was/is almost like meeting family :-). I also met the other family of five, seems to be a very nice group all together.

The kids wanted to go to the Trevi Fountain first, making the total walk tough, as it was in the opposite direction of where to eat. Some time later we walked back to the restaurant (2 Km) and had an OK dinner. We parted our ways and agreed on the meeting time for the following morning at the Vatican.

We agreed to meet at 18.00 so I had all day to visit some parts of Rome. I just started walking along the river Tiber towards the center (although there is no real center, or there are many). I already saw many interesting buildings ending at the outside of the Colosseum. So close it is a magnificent ancient architectural masterpiece, and will go in later. I took one of the buses to get me to Via Appia, an ancient road which extended in the past for 500 Km to the south. These days only the first part from Rome is maintained and treated as touristic spot. 
The Roman army depended for its success on the use of bases in which to prepare for battle and to refresh and re-equip afterwards. Bases allowed the Romans to keep a large number of soldiers in the field waiting for the opportunity to strike. However, the bases needed to be connected by good roads for easy access and supply from Rome. The Appian Way was used as a main route for military supplies since its construction for that purpose in the mid-4th century BC. The Appian Way was the first long road built specifically to transport troops outside the smaller region of greater Rome.
There is still a lot to see, and I decided to visit the San Sebastiano fuori le mura (Saint Sebastian outside the walls), or San Sebastiano ad Catacumbas (Saint Sebastian at the Catacombs), is a basilica in Rome. Up to the Great Jubilee of 2000, San Sebastiano was one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, and many pilgrims still favor the traditional list. Under the church there are the catacombs. Catacombs are ancient, human-made underground passageways or subterranean cemeteries composed thereof. Many are under cities and have served during historic times as a refuge for safety during wars or as a meeting place for cults. The first burial galleries to be referred to as catacombs lie beneath San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome. The derivation of the word itself is disputed and it remains unclear if it ultimately derives from the cemetery itself or from the locality in which it is found. There is no doubt however that the San Sebastiano catacombs are the first to be referred to as such.In these … more than 100.000 people have been buried. As the guide told us as land was expensive so they had to burry the dead under the ground. Later most people were cremated.
I walked most of the road back to the last bus stop at the Appia itself and from there took the bus to the last stop, the Termini Station.
The first big church I visited was S. Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri and to my opinion also one of the most interesting. The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs at the Diocletian Baths, the last great architectural project from the genius of Michelangelo. It is a monument to history, to faith, to art and to science.
The basilica was created by the will of Antonio Lo Duca (Duca or Del Duca), a Sicilian priest devoted to the cult of angels. Lo Duca, who was born in Cefalù in 1491 and died in Rome in 1564 expressed his passion from a young age when he was appointed choir-master of the Palermo Cathedral (1513 – 1515). During this time whilst teaching choir to a group of clerics, he discovered an antique painting of the Seven Princes of the Angels which had miraculously re-emerged after centuries of neglect in the small Church of Saint Angelo .
He went to Rome in 1527 and became chaplain to Cardinal A. Del Monte who was uncle of the future Pope Giulio III. He succeeded in securing recognition of the devotion to the Seven Princes of the Angels as well as composing a Mass for them.
After the death of the patron cardinal (1533), Antonio became chaplain to the Cardinal of the Count of Cifuentes who was ambassador to the Emperor Charles V. Since his arrival in Rome , Antonio had hoped that the Mass of the Seven Angels would be officially approved. But his attempts proved to be in vain even after the arrival of Pope Paul III Farnese. In fact, he was to receive appointments and prebends from the Pope which sent him back to Sicily .
After a few years he returned to Rome and became chaplain of Saint Mary of Loreto at Trajan's Forum. It was in this church that, during the summer of 1541, he saw a vision: a “light whiter than snow” emerging from the Diocletian Thermal Baths and at the centre were the seven martyrs (Saturnino, Ciriaco, Largo , Smaragdo, Sisinnio, Trasone and Pope Marcello). From this moment on, Antonio was convinced that a temple dedicated to the Seven Angels must be built in the middle of the majestic thermal ruins. He marked the columns of the great ancient tepidarium hall with the names of the seven angels (Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Jeudiele, Salatiele, Barachiele and Uriel). He began to entertain the idea of building a church dedicated to the Seven Angels and the Seven Martyrs. However, he did not have the support of the then Pope Paul III.
In 1543 he went to Venice to print the booklet for Mass, prayers and angelic images. At this time he commissioned a painting of the Virgin with the Seven Angels which was a copy of an existing mosaic in the Basilica of Saint Mark. Today the painting can be found in the centre of the apse, behind the high altar of the Basilica.
When he returned to Rome as rector of the Orphans of Saint Mary in Aquiro, he continued to frequent the Thermal Baths with two ideas in mind: to transform them into a Church and to create a college for Orphans. Once again Pope Paul III did not agree. Antonio had to wait for the arrival of Pope Giulio III del Monte, nephew of Cardinal A del Monte for whom he had previously been chaplain, to fulfil his dream. In fact, in 1550 the Pope ordered the Vicar of Rome, Monsignor Filippo Archinto, to sign the decree for consecration of the Church with the name of Saint Mary of the Seven Angels.
The enthusiasm in fulfilment of his dream was cut short by the Pope's nephews who drove Antonio out of the Thermal Baths and transformed them into hunting and riding grounds instead. After the short Pontificates of Marcello II (22 days) and Paul IV Carafa, the new Pope, Pius IV Medici finally fulfilled Antonio's dream in the most majestic and solemn way. With a Papal Bull dated 27 July 1561 the Pope ordered the construction of a church in the ancient Diocletian Thermal Baths. And, in a ‘Brief' (issued immediately after conceding office to the Carthusian monks of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem ) it was given the name “Beatissimae Virgini et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum.”
Trevi Fountain, the present one
In 1629 Pope Urban VIII, finding the earlier fountain insufficiently dramatic, asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to sketch possible renovations, but when the Pope died, the project was abandoned. Bernini's lasting contribution was to resite the fountain from the other side of the square to face the Quirinal Palace (so the Pope could look down and enjoy it). Though Bernini's project was torn down for Salvi's fountain, there are many Bernini touches in the fountain as it was built. An early, striking and influential model by Pietro da Cortona, preserved in the Albertina, Vienna, also exists, as do various early 18th century sketches, most unsigned, as well as a project attributed to Nicola Michetti one attributed to Ferdinando Fuga and a French design by Edme Bouchardon.
Panorama of the Trevi Fountain.Competitions had become the rage during the Baroque era to design buildings, fountains, and even the Spanish Steps. In 1730 Pope Clement XII organized a contest in which Nicola Salvi initially lost to Alessandro Galilei — but due to the outcry in Rome over the fact that a Florentine won, Salvi was awarded the commission anyway. Work began in 1732, and the fountain was completed in 1762, long after Clement's death, when Pietro Bracci's Oceanus (god of all water) was set in the central niche.
The asso di coppe Salvi died in 1751, with his work half-finished, but before he went he made sure a stubborn barber's unsightly sign would not spoil the ensemble, hiding it behind a sculpted vase, called by Romans the asso di coppe, "the "Ace of Cups".The Trevi Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini, who substituted the present allegories for planned sculptures of Agrippa and "Trivia", the Roman virgin.
Pantheon
Not checking the map, just walked, stumbled upon the Pantheon and the very nice square in front. Although a bit noise, with so many tourists and a few street musicians, it gave a very nice atmosphere.
The Pantheon (pronounced /pænˈθiː.ən/ or /ˈpænθi.ən/, Latin: Pantheon, from Greek: Πάνθεον, meaning "Every god") is a building in Rome, built by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. A near-contemporary writer, Cassius Dio, speculates that the name comes from the statues of many gods placed around the building, or from the resemblance of the dome to the heavens. Since the French Revolution, when the church of Sainte-Geneviève, Paris, was deconsecrated and turned into a secular monument, the Panthéon, the generic term pantheon may be applied to any building in which illustrious dead are honoured or buried.The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft). A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda."
Trastevere
As I said I would arrange a restaurant for tonight I Walked to Trastevere (the other side of the river Tiber) to check for a restaurant. There are many in a relatively small area. But first I visited … kerk Santa Maria Trastevere, a beautiful small church, to my opinion the best I have seen so far. Not the biggest, not the most decorated, but all in all a great scenic holy place. I checked out some restaurants and found a nice one where it was possible to reserve for 10 people. I think it is much easier in Rome, compared to Amsterdam, maybe because the families are larger?Walking back I send some SMS'es to my friends to where to meet, we did in front on the Pantheon. It was/is almost like meeting family :-). I also met the other family of five, seems to be a very nice group all together.The kids wanted to go to the Trevi Fountain first, making the total walk tough, as it was in the opposite direction of where to eat. Some time later we walked back to the restaurant (2 Km) and had an OK dinner. We parted our ways and agreed on the meeting time for the following morning at the Vatican.