Bolsena lake

Bolsena

• Rocca and the cupola of Santa Margherita.   A former episcopal see, it is known for its wine Est! Est! Est!!! 

• Marta, a village known for its festivals in honour of the Madonna del Monte, called Festa delle Passate, which is often called Barabbata. The inhabitants are devoted primarily to agriculture, livestock or fishing.

• Capodimonte, on the edge of the lake, has a landing stage from which the shuttles for the islands leave.

• Valentano is known for having given fame to Paolo Ruffini, after having a long time been the center of the Farnese epoch, following the destruction of Castro (1649) and the dissolution of the eponymousduchy.  The old castle of Farnèse is the location of the museum of the prehistory of Tuscia.

• Gradoli is famous for its oil and wine, particularly the wine liqueur called Aleatico. This location also preserves an imposing Farnese palace, which was built for the cardinal Alexandre Farnese, who became pope under the name Paul III.

• Grotte di Castro, in addition to the caves which its name probably derives, is a center of production of potatoes and lentils.

• San Lorenzo Nuovo, rebuilt at the end of the 18th century and known for its modern architecture, is renowned for its potato gnocchi which can be tasted on the occasion of the sagra which is held during the second week of August.

• Forum was the centre of the public life of the ancient city; it developed after the reclaiming of the marshy valley that extended from the Palatine and Capitoline hills in the 7^th century BC and the last monument – the commemorative column of the emperor Phocas – was erected there in the 7^th century AC, exactly 1200 years later.

With the passing of time and the increase in the population, the area was extended with the addition of Imperial Forums that also contributed in stressing the greatness of the empire.    Later, as decline set in, the Forum was abandoned and used as a source of building material. When the first archaeological excavations began in the late 18^th century, its monuments, by then mostly underground, had been invaded by cattle and flocks and used as pasture land.

 Forum with

Basilica Ulpia and Column of Trajan

•   Forums of Trajan and Augustus

It is probable that Domitian's projects were more ambitious than the building of the small "Forum of Nerva", and probably under his reign they started to remove the small saddle that united the Capitoline Hill to the Quirinal Hill, thus blocking the Forums towards Campus Martius, near to modern Piazza Venezia.

The project was resumed by Trajan with the construction of Trajan's Forum between 112 and 113.  The occasion was the conquest of Dacia, whose spoils paid for this celebration of the military conquests of Rome.

The preparation of the Forum required a lot of work.  It was necessary to remove the hilly saddle, and to support the cut of Quirinal Hill through the building of the Trajan's market.  The Forum square was closed by the Basilica Ulpia, with Trajan's Column at its back.  In front of the basilica, a monumental façade was the background of a large, equestrian sculpture of the Emperor.   The last Forum was also the biggest and greatest.

• Roman Forum of Caesar is the most important archaeological area in the city, the ideal place to understand that having a “historical sense” means, as the great writer T.S. Eliot says...'feeling that the people of the past are our contemporaries'

Julius Caesar decided to construct a large forum bearing his name. This forum was inaugurated in 46 BC, though it was probably incomplete at this time and was finished later by Augustus.

The Forum of Caesar was constructed as an extension to the Roman Forum, and was used as a replacement venue to the Roman Forum for public affairs as well as government; it was also designed as a celebration of Caesar's power. Caesar had placed, on the front of his forum, a temple devoted to Venus Genitrix, since Caesar's family (gens Julia) claimed to descend by Venus through Aeneas. A statue of Caesar himself riding Bucephalus, the celebrated horse of Alexander the Great, was placed in front of the temple, to symbolise absolute power.  

• Circus Maximus (Latin for greatest circus, in Italian Circo Massimo) is an ancient hippodrome and mass entertainment venue located in Rome.
 

Somewhat later, the Circus was the site of public games and festivals influenced by the Greeks in the 2^nd century BC.  Chariot racing was the most important event at the Circus. The track could hold twelve chariots, and the two sides of the track were separated by a raised median termed the spina.  The spina was set slightly diagonally.  

Statues of various gods were set up on the spina, and Augustus erected an Egyptian obelisk on it as well.  At either end of the spina was a turning post, the meta, around which chariots made dangerous turns at speed.   On top of the spina, there were rotatable metal dolphins that were turned down to mark laps around the course.   Chariot racing was an extemely dangerous sport, frequently resulting in spectacular crashes and quite possibly the death of one or more of the contestants.

 Circus Maxium  - model

Very little now remains of the Circus, except for the now grass-covered racing track and the spina.   Some of the starting gates remain, but most of the seating has disappeared, the materials no doubt employed for building other structures in medieval Rome.

This obelisk was removed in the 16^th century by Pope Sixtus V and placed in the Piazza del Popolo.   Excavation of the site began in the 19^th century, followed by a partial restoration, but there are yet to be any truly comprehensive excavations conducted within its grounds.

The Circus Maximus retained the honour of being the first and largest circus in Rome, but it was not the only example: other Roman circuses included the Circus Flaminius (in which the Ludi Plebeii were held), the Circus of Maxentius and the Circus of Nero.

Sestertius coin depicting Caracalla and the Circus Maximus with the obelisk and the spina

The Circus still occasionally entertains the Romans; being a large, green area in the center of the city, it is often used for concerts and meetings. The Rome concert of Live 8 (July 2, 2005) was celebrated here, as was the Italian World Cup 2006 victory, when over 700,000 people packed in to celebrate.

On July 14, 2007 the British rock band Genesis concluded the European leg of their Turn It On Again tour by a free concert at Circo Maximus in front of 500,000+ fans.

Today - Circus Maximus is a park .

The building is the imperial palace on the Palatine hill.

• Piazza Del Campidoglio  - with its splendid view of the Imperial City. 

The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the most famous and highest of the seven hills of Rome.  By the 16^th century, Capitolino had become Campidoglio in the Roman dialect.  Similarly, the English word capitol derives from Capitoline.   The Capitoline contains relatively few ancient ground-level ruins, as they are almost entirely covered up by Medieval palaces (now the Capitoline Museums) that surround a piazza.  A significant portion of the architecture in this area was designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536 - 1546.

Michelangelo's systematizing of the Campidoglio,

engraved by Étienne Dupérac, 1568..

Stairway leading up to the piazza.

At the height of his fame he was commissioned by the Farnese Pope Paul III, who wanted a symbol of the new Rome to impress Charles V, who was expected in 1538. Michelangelo's first designs for the piazza and remodelling of the surrounding palazzos date from 1536. He effectively reversed the classical orientation of the Capitoline, in a symbolic gesture turning Rome’s civic center to face away from the Roman Forum and instead in the direction of Papal Rome and the Christian church in the form of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The sequence, Cordonata piazza and the central palazzo are the first urban introduction of the "cult of the axis" that was to occupy Italian garden plans and reach fruition in France.

Executing the design was slow work: little was actually completed in Michelangelo's lifetime (the ‘’Cordonata’’ was not in place when Emperor Charles arrived, and the imperial party had to scramble up the slope from the Forum to view the works in progress), but work continued faithfully to his designs and the Campidoglio was completed in the 17^th century, except for the paving design, which was to be finished three centuries later.

Capitoline Museums (Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the famous Capitoline Hill.  The museums are contained in three palazzi surrounding a central trapezoidal piazza in a plan conceived by Michelangelo.  The history of the museums can be traced to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated a collection of important ancient bronzes to the people of Rome and located them on Capitoline

Hill.  Since then, the museums' collection has grown to include a large number of ancient Roman statues, inscriptions, and other artifacts; a collection of medieval and Renaissance art; and collections of jewels, coins, and other items.   The museums are owned and operated by the municipality of Rome.The statue of a mounted rider in the centre of the piazza is of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.   It is a copy, the original being housed on-site in the Capitoline museum.   Many Roman statues were destroyed on the orders of Christian Church authorities in the Middle Ages; this statue was preserved in the erroneous belief that it depicted the Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman empire.   Top

• The Appian Way
 walk along the original slab stones of the ancient Appian Way is an ideal conclusion to a stay in Rome and a last occasion to evoke historical memories in a natural context of incredible beauty. The most ancient (4^th century BC) consular road is an outstanding example of the practical genius of the Romans who conceived their road system as a way of taking possession of the world and dominating it. The great straight stretches allowed to move troops rapidly and efficiently and favoured commerce.

In building them the Romans were not conditioned by the layout of the territory but actually modified it by reclaiming marshy areas, building bridges and cutting hills. The Regina Viarum (Queen of Roads), built by censor Appius Claudius the Blind, after whom it was named, headed south and over time was extended to reach Brindisi, the gate to the East.
 

Walking along the ancient road, made up of layers of different materials, it becomes clear that the carriage way was wide enough to allow traffic in opposite directions, and that the wide sidewalks flanking it were intended for travellers on foot. The peace and quiet of today, with the long rows of pines and cypresses alternating with remains of funerary monuments, and the view of the Colli Albani, seems to make the traffic of people and carts that once animated this road, and indicated by the marks in the basalt slabs, even more remote. And yet, perhaps in the course of these Roman days the distance between the past and our times has become shorter and we can leave taking some of it home with us.   Top

• Castel Sant’Angelo
Via della Conciliazione leads to Castel Sant’Angelo, the fortress of the popes built in the Middle Ages above the remains of the tomb of the Emperor Hadrian (2^nd century AD).   Its structure is an example of the continuity between past and present in the urban fabric of Rome, where ancient buildings were often reused and adapted to serve new purposes, thus maintaining an active role in the history of the city.  

•   Piazza Navona is one of the most spectacular squares of Baroque Rome and a splendid example of how the ancient appearance of the city can often be traced and identified in the most popular places of its contemporary life. The elongated shape of the square repeats the structure of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the 1^st century AC for sports competitions, and the remains of which are still visible beneath the present street level in Piazza di Tor Sanguigna.

Piazza Navona - antic print

The square acquired the aspect we enjoy today in the Baroque period, with the creation of Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, and the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, adjacent to the Palazzo Pamphilj, that were designed in part by his “rival”, Borromini.  The giants on the Fountain at the centre of the piazza, inaugurated in 1651, represent the four major rivers of the continents known at the time: the Rio de la Plata, the Danube, the Ganges and the Nile, famous for its covered face that indicated the mystery of its origins, as its source had yet to be discovered.

The representation of plants and animals, along with the movement and sound of the water, seem to bring life and animation to the fountain, which is surmounted by one of the thirteen obelisks in Rome, and is decorated with the coat of arms of the Pamphilj pope.  The hollow section at the centre of the structure is an ingenious idea, as it allows the viewer to see through the fountain without blocking the perception of the full extension of the square.

In the past Piazza Navona was a market place and a venue for festivals during which it used to be partially flooded for the carriage parades of local aristocratic families, and is still animated by the traditional Christmas fair, performers, street artists and many outdoor cafes.   As we sit on the edge of a fountain we realize that one of Rome’s most captivating features is the correspondence between the space of art and history and our individual space. We don’t have to limit ourselves to admiring from a distance, on the contrary it seems that the city itself invites us to come closer, to become better acquainted with it and to feel that it belongs to us.  Top

•   Spanish Step - Piazza di Spagna
Heart of the most elegant and exclusive area of the historical centre, Piazza di Spagna has always been a meeting place for the Romans, but also for foreign visitors and artists who in the past used to stay in the numerous hotels and inns in the neighbouring streets.

• Trevi Fountain
The spectacular effect of the Trevi Fountain is not revealed gradually, one comes upon it by surprise, located in a small piazza it is rather the sound of the water (and the crowd esp.lly during summertime) that suggests its proximity.  

Designed in the 18^th century by architect Nicola Salvi and built over thirty years, the Trevi Fountain is the celebration of water as a symbol of life, health and change.  Its location indicates the end of the course of the ancient aqueduct of the Acqua Vergine (19 BC), the history of which is related on the reliefs in the upper section of the facade.

The charm of the fountain is enhanced by the contrast between its large size and the small square that contains it and seems to almost compress it, along with its location on the side of a building that does not allow the viewer to walk around it as it normally occurs. 

The personification of Ocean at the centre of the structure appears to emerge from the water on a chariot led by sea horses and tritons, amidst rocks that are decorated with the representation of thirty varieties of plants. The overall effect is a unique combination of sculpture, architecture and nature in which we can imagine the building blending with the rocks and the gushing water.  Don’t forget to throw the famous coin to ensure your return to the Eternal City…To respect the “proper procedure” one must stand with one’s back to the fountain and throw the coin with the right hand over the left shoulder.

The round tumuli stand close together.   Their round basic-wall is carved out of the rock by the metre.

Over that, a tumuli of earth is heaped up.  Only one narrow dead-way leads to the single tombs

.

• Tomba dell’Alcova is made up of a single square chamber and dates back to the 4^th century BC.

• Tomba dei Capitelli is completely dug out from the tufaceous surface and an access corridor leads to two small chambers plus a square central room that has three rooms at its end. The tomb dates back to the 6^th century BC.
• Tomba delle Cinque Sedie has the same type of interior layout with seats and footstools but in this case there are five of them also bearing statues. These statues had the role of welcoming the dead to the afterlife with a banquet.

• Tomba dei Scudi e delle Sedie houses six beds with pillows carved from the tufa. These were intended for the bodies of men as women were buried in sarcophagi. There are also high-backed seats and footstools where two terracotta statues rested.

• Tomba della Capanna is the second oldest tumulo of Cerveteri - 680-670 a.C.