I have to state my love and appreciation for the Man Bag right up front, to be honest. There are plenty of men out there who are haters of the Man Bag, as well as their women, and I find it quite baffling.
(Picture taken in Stadio dei Marmi at Stadio Olimpico, Roma after watching a Roma soccer game, September 2009.)
My son and I were out and about one rainy evening, buying him new shoes and the like. He’s grown so much this last year!
We went into the Levi’s store on Via del Corso, as Levi’s are very popular in Italy and we know their garments are of good quality. That evening, the store was filled with male salespeople. Usually, there are a few female salespeople, but not tonight. Molto testosterone!
Luckily, my son found a couple items that fit him well, so we went up to the counter to pay.
Two young gals popped into the store and one of them asked, in Italian, where the Burger King was.
One of the Italian salespeople said simply, “A piedi Via del Corso, attraversare la Piazza del Popolo, in Piazzale Flaminio.”
A look of confusion stalled the girls.
A different salesperson basically repeated the same thing.
Again, confusion on their face’s.
The Italiani had done their job and they were clearly finished.
“Do you speak English?” I asked the gals.
The gal who spoke Italian said, “Oh yes! Of course!”
Her accent wasn’t Italian, nor was it American, but her English was good.
I asked them if they knew the Via del Corso and they shook their heads no, even though, Levi’s is right on it. So it wasn’t so much as a lack of communication as it was a lack of Roman landmark knowledge. These gals were touriste!
Quickly, my son and I pointed out to Via del Corso, how Piazza del Popolo is at the other end with the tall obelisk, one walks through the arches and is standing in Piazzale Flaminio, where Burger King is located – they couldn’t miss the neon lights.
One of the gals asked me if it was far.
I’ve learned from one of my best friends, who stayed here recently, that I am a liar when it comes to distance. Since we do walk everywhere, everyday, I consider everything in the centro of Rome as being “just down the way.”
Last week, I took my friend and her two daughters, to Santa Maria in Cosmedin for a photo op with Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) and to see the famous relic in the church - Santo Valentino’s skull. I told them it was just down the street and around the corner. Honestly, I have no idea the distance, but it’s probably a mile away from our apartment. We’re all young! What’s a bit of a walk?! Well it was enough of a walk, one way, my friend and her daughters have now branded me a liar.
So when this exhausted tourista asked me if Burger King was far, I smiled and said, “No! It’s just down the way!”
The gals thanked my son and I profusely and out into the rainy night they went, looking for a slice of Americana in a Roma.
Meanwhile, our transaction was complete and our salesperson said icily to us, “Grazie. Arrivederci.”
I looked at the items folded on the counter. The salesperson looked at the items and smiled then smiled at me. He was not going to give me a bag.
I looked at the bag my son was holding. It was large enough to hold the items we had just purchased along with his new shoes –and- where we’re from, we usually travel with our own shopping bags anyway, so the idea wasn’t foreign to me. However, the fact that he didn’t offer me a bag clearly tipped me off, that I broke one of those many unspoken rules.
My son scooped the items up and put them in his bag and out the door we went.
The rule I broke? Actually, I broke several.
#1 – Italy is a machismo society - there’s no way around it. I, a woman, upstaged all of these male salespeople in front of two girls. Not only with my perfect English, but my knowledge of Rome. Slap in the face.
#2 – I am an American. THAT rule I shouldn’t have to explain, because we all know the Ugly American label. Americans who live abroad work very hard at not being labeled as the Ugly American Tourist. Yeah, well my middle name just became Brutta (ugly woman) to these boys.
#3 – My son (i.e., my treasure [little boys sit right up there with the Pope in Italian’s eyes]) was subjected to my bad behavior. My son demonstrated that he knows the same landmarks and directions I do – his accent is even better than mine. I should have allowed him to give the directions. After all, we do live in a machismo society.
Our edicola had pulled all of the magazines under cover and the employees of Canova Tadolini were hurrying to scrape their sidewalk for lunch customers. I understand the panini's here are well worth the visit - we'll go one day soon. 
Here's pretty proof we all thought spring was on the way - the yellow chain flower sits outside a trattoria in Piazza della Rotonda.
Two weeks ago, my son had a sore throat. While I was in New York, his sore throat developed into a cold. When I returned, it had gone into his chest. I've kept him home from school this week and have been taking care of him. Sorry for the lack of posts!
Last week, we played turista. We’ve been to Rome plenty of times before, so are fortunate to have seen the traditional tourist destinations: Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Baths of Caracalla, Palatine Hill, Forum, Campo de Fiore, Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza di Spagna, the Vatican, Saint Peters, and Piazza del Popolo. However, in Rome, that’s nothing. There is so much more to see!
I like to think of Rome as a face full of character. Each year of it’s life, maybe there’s a new wrinkle, or a new spot. After 2,500 years, there are so many wrinkles and spots, one can’t see them all! Even most Romans, who were born and raised here, haven’t seen them all.
One of our favorites from last week is one we really should have seen by now, as it’s our kids’ bus stop – Museo dell’Ara Pacis (Museum of the Altar of Peace) – located in Piazza Augusto Imperatore, along the Lungotevere. This stunning museum was created by Richard Meier (of Getty Museum [Love it there!] fame) and opened in 2006. I don’t quite understand why architectural critics and right-wing Italians were disappointed by this museum. The travertine and glass are architectural elements well established in this neighborhood. AND, this is Rome! There isn’t a predominant, consistent architecture displayed anywhere in this city! That’s one of the many reasons why I love Rome.
Okay, we need to cover a bit of history AND solve a mystery first.
The actual Ara Pacis monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 B.C. and was consecrated on January 30, 9 B.C. It’s actually about to celebrate it’s 2019 birthday! It was created to celebrate peace after Emperor Augustus completed the conquest of Hispania (Spain) and Gaul (France). (Those crazy Romans...)
We found it very interesting how this monument was sited! The Romans used an ancient tradition of linking the location of the monument via celestial orientation. An Egyptian obelisk in Campo Marzio acted like a sundial. On Augustus' birthday, the tip of the shadow aligned with where the center of the altar was placed. This location turned out to be on Via Flaminia (in the historic center, this road is now called, Via del Corso) at the northern edge of what was known as Campus Martius (which is our backyard). In the photo above, the Pantheon is at the bottom of the photo, Tiber to the left, Augustus’ Mausoleum towards the top, and itty bitty Ara Pacis to the right on the white paved area in the middle.
Over the centuries, this area was regularly flooded by the Tiber River, eventually breaking the monument to pieces and depositing it under four meters of lime deposits. After various invasions, plagues, “new” construction and the like, the monument was forgotten.
Enter the aqueduct work of the 1560’s. Pieces of Ara Pacis were found, although, not recognized. Nine pieces were removed from under San Lorenzo in Lucina, and were placed in the collections and walls of Villa Medici, the Vatican, Uffizi in Firenze, and Louvre in Paris.
In 1859, the Peretti Palace underwent structural work. Under the Palace, which Teatro Olimpia adjoined, the base of the altar was found, as were many other fragments, but because removing these pieces would endanger the walls of the Palace and Teatro, and no one knew what they were, many remained buried.
Finally, in 1903, Friedrich von Duhn (German scholar who headed up the Institute for Classical Architecture for the University of Heidelberg) saw the altar, put the mysterious marble puzzle pieces together, the Ara Pacis had been rediscovered (!) and he immediately petitioned the Ministry of Public Education to begin excavation work. Half of the monument had been examined and 53 fragments had been recovered, when the excavation was halted due to instability of the Peretti Palace.
In February of 1937, the Italian Cabinet ordered the excavations to recommence, as it was the 2,000 anniversary of the birth of Augustus. Only the most advanced technology could be used. Drainage ditches were dug and a team of archaeologists injected 70 cubic meters of ground with frozen carbon dioxide (!), which froze the ground to a depth of 33 feet. While the ground was frozen, the archaeologists extracted the balance of known marble pieces. How cool is that?! Even with the success of finding so many fragments, there are many large fragments still buried, somewhere under Rome today.
In 1938, Mussolini had a protective building erected in Piazza Augusto Imperatore and had the reconstructed Ara Pacis moved. Enter the brilliant Richard Meier, who redesigned the museum we visited, and a satisfying, ancient mystery is solved!
The entire monument, altar and enclosure, were carved entirely of gleaming white Carrera marble. The relief sculpture craftsmanship is so detailed, it is believed Greek or Greek-trained artists were the sculptors. Also interesting, there are recognizable faces found in the friezes, which brings an intimacy to this piece. However, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
