What a big day today! How will I ever do it justice in one blog post?
In the last twenty six years that we have been coming to Italy we must have seen thousands of marble statues, burial urns, mosaics, frescoes, household items and jewellery dating from way back B.C and through to the present day.
Our visit to the Baths of Diocletian this morning was expected to be more of that, and a look at the remains of the largest public baths in Roman history. What a thrill to walk into the first room and find an exhibition on ancient writing; what they wrote, why and how they wrote. Having been a calligrapher I was immediately engaged. It is obvious that death and burial were important to all past civilizations in this area so marking burial places with names, dates and details was an obvious need. But there were others.
This display showed tools used by the ancients to mark various materials; quills and ink, wax, metal tools and picks.
One of the earliest reasons to write was to mark ownership. This cup has a name engraved into it. A copy can be seen on the stand below the cup. This dates from the end of the 6th century B.C.
Memorials, announcements and advertisements were all uses for writing.
This stone marks the death of a Christian woman, both the wording and the symbols tell that story.
After a very lengthy time in the museum rooms we moved out to the cloisters. We were still wondering where the Baths were! It then became obvious that the Baths that were built in the 300s had been destroyed by a later power group (they cut off the water supply) and eventually in C16 a monastery had been built on and in the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian. That explained the huge size of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri right next door.
This cloister is called the Cloister of Michelangelo because it was designed by him when he was 86 years old. It has four 100 metre wings and 100 solid travertine columns.
We finally spotted the remains of the Baths peeping over the top of the cloistered building.
Then I came upon some more interesting information regarding the use of writing on marble. There panels included information on upcoming events, reports and lists of names for various purposes. The first newspapers?
This panel tells of the vastness of the Baths and their story summed up better than I could do.
Then, when we thought we had seen all there was to see, we found a door leading outside to what still remains of the Baths. The size of the halls (as they are called) is incredible, and the height of what still remains makes you ask, Why?
This section has been re-roofed to give a better understanding of how this was, and also to house and preserve some valuable finds from the country.
Some marble floors and mosaics still remain.
I could go on and on, but this was all before lunch. Surprise! Lunch was sushi purchased at Termini station. The photo below gives a bit of an idea of the immensity of the Baths of Diocletian.
After lunch we went to Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, nearby the Baths, and another part of the National Museum of Rome.
We went to the 2nd floor to look at the frescoe and mosaic collection, for a little change of pace.
From the Villa of Livia is this complete room of frescoes dating from 30-20 B.C, the oldest example of continuous garden painting. The close ups show the beauty of the work and the last gives some more detail.
Mosaic work is another of my hobbies and I have always admired the detail and small pieces used by the mosaic workers of old, but these flooring panels take it to a whole new level. The pieces are so tiny. It is dated in the second half of the 2nd century A.D.
This flooring is from the 3rd century and the centre motif of Dionisis is incredibly detailed and beautiful.
These artistic treasures have been found when building or road works have been carried out, and the best outcome for these buried treasures is to remove them to archaeological protection areas after collecting all the provenance.
The photo below shows the remains of a room found in the country, and the following photo, the mosaiced floor and frescoed walls now located in the museum.
These colours were also very popular, providing a richness to reception rooms.
We then had a quick look on the next floor below as time was running out, we had another place to be!
Just a few interesting marbles that caught my attention.
Having spent many weeks in Rome, I am always looking for new places to visit. So a statement like 'Rome's Best Street' deserved attention. This street is via del Governo Vecchio, quite near Piazza Navona.
The suggestion was to arrive about 4 pm, look at the vintage clothes stores and Italian and English bookshops then at aperitivo time to grab a seat and people watch with your drink. It then suggested a pizza place worth queueing for and a gelati shop likewise worth the queue. Now that all sounds good ... and it was.
Seen in the Italian bookshop.
Yes, we had aperitivi and watched the young people going by.
It is always nice to get a little food offering with your drink but this raised the bar for others to beat. Three beautifil bruschette, three different cheeses, olives, caper berries, tomatoes and greens.
These people were queueing to buy cups of tiramisù.
There were several vintage clothing shops packed with a wide range of clothing styles.
When we got to the part about eating pizza at a place which required waiting in line, we discovered they had re-located. We decided to skip that step and go straight to the gelati. I am still building my list of different flavours and I added three new ones at this shop which is considered one of rhe best in Rome.
I had noticed this shoe shop with really interesting gym boots but it was only as we were leaving the street that I realised that they are all hand painted on site. The pair at the front have scenes from Alice in Wonderland. Oooh, I want some!
After a long day on our feet we took the bus back to Termini and later enjoyed pizza on our small terrace.
