Rome - another treasure hunt

Today was another treasure hunt day! The months spent researching before we depart are as much part of the trip as the actual travel. Mr. Google has been invaluable for finding new and interesting places to see in Rome; the more you dig, the more you find.

First stop today was a new and free museum, the Vespa Museum. This iconic motor scooter has been a part of Italian life since shortly after WWII. They had examples of many of the models and some memorabilia related to the Vespa.

Wherever you turn in Rome you see its amazing history, its antiquity on display and being lived amongst.

It seems the Romans invented Selfies!

The Church of Sant Andrea della Valle is a beautiful church but best known amongst opera fans as the setting for part of Rossini's opera Tosca. Free head sets gave a potted history of the church, its founding and its art.

 Upper windows are giving me some unexpected views, these photos of Piazza Navona were taken from an upper window in Palazzo Braschi, part of the Museum of Rome.

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the death of the artist Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, the Museum of Rome is holding an exhibition which is "the largest collection of works ever exhibited in Italy: 67 paintings, drawings and documents selected for their beauty and their importance, (that) illustrate his thinking and method, the technique and relationship with reality." (Brochure)

I have been a fan of Canaletto and his veduta style since I first saw one of his works in England many, many years ago. Canaletto 1697 - 1768 was a very interesting collection with lots of background information. Unfortunately no photos were allowed but, as they say on the cooking shows, here is one I prepared earlier! (In Madrid)

The next instruction required us to pass through Campo de Fiori, originally a flower market but now fruit and vegetables and other produce are also included.

' From Campo de Fiori, in Piazza del Biscione look towards the dark brown end with the Madonna on the wall. The entrance is at the back on the far right.'  And there we found the Passetto del Biscione!
This passage has an interesting history and has recently been restored.

Sometimes you discover that you have seen a place before. This was the case with Santa Barbara del Librai. However it is rarely open so we have still not seen inside.

I am a follower of a blog called 'An American in Rome' and she gives good food advice as well as things to see and places to go. So lunch today was at her suggestion - Antica Forno Rosciolo in via Chiavari. This is very popular with locals but there were tourists there too. First you select your food, then you go to the cashier to pay and then you return to collect your order. All very Italian. Once you have your food you have to find a stand up bench space to eat. I had white focaccia filled with porchetta, a stuffed roast pork. Soooo delicious!

We must have walked many kilometres today and so we passed many landmarks. The Tiber River wasn't  quite its pistacchio colour.

By the time we got to Piazza del Popolo we were ready for gelati, and often listed as one of the top ten gelateria in Rome is Gelateria dei Gracchi. We sampled apple and sultana, lemon, vanilla and coffee. 

35 degrees  in Rome is very hot and after walking more than half way home we detoured into a Metro and rode two stops on a super jam-packed train to Termini. Home for a shower and a snooze ... and some blogging.

Later this evening we went to a rather smart bar near our hotel and ordered drinks and two small plates of tapas style food. It turned out that the plates were called Happy Hour, and for the cost of the drinks we got the plates of nibbles, olives and chips. How civilized!