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Travel tips, Food, Lifestyle, Street Art, Events and Exhibitions in Rome and all around Italy.

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The frightening House of Monsters in Piazza Trinità dei Monti

In the historic center of Rome there is a singular building, the Zuccari palace. The building is also popularly known as the “House of Monsters” and owes its fame to the disturbing entrance door: a giant wide open mouth, with a nose, eyes and eyebrows. Find out why it was made this way. A particular decoration that also frames the two side windows. It was built by Federico Zuccari in 1952. It currently houses the Hertziana Library (Max Planck Institute for the history of art). The Palazzetto is located between via Sistina and via Gregoriana and on the latter road it has an entrance with decorations. Federico Zuccari was a famous artist and he decided to create a sumptuous home that reflected the artist’s importance, his flair and his creativity. In 1590 he bought the land and almost ruined himself almost to complete his grandiose projects, which had to be partially resized. Over the centuries it passed from hand to hand and then became the property of Enrichetta Hertz, who then donated it to the German government, establishing the Hertziana

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March 30, 2022 10:11 am
Castel Sant Angel - Rome

Why is called Castel Sant’Angelo

The statue that peeps out of Castel Sant’Angelo, one of the best known Roman monuments, has an interesting and very troubled history. In fact, initially it was made of wood and in a short time it was ruined. From there various replacements, up to the current statue. This is what happened and this is why Castel Sant’Angelo is so called. Castel Sant’Angelo, also known as Hadrian’s Mausoleum, is a monument of Rome, located on the right bank of the Tiber, a short distance from the Vatican, between the Borgo and Prati districts; it is connected to the Vatican State through the fortified corridor of the “passetto”. The castle has been radically modified several times in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It all began in 135 AD. when the emperor Hadrian asked the architect Demetriano to build a funeral mausoleum for himself and his family, inspired by the model of the mausoleum of Augustus, but with gigantic dimensions. The works lasted several years and were completed by Antonino Pio in 139. The Mausoleum housed the remains of Emperor Hadrian and

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March 13, 2022 3:06 pm
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The Pantheon was the most visited monument in Italy

Before Covid in Rome the Pantheon was the most visited monument in Italy. The Pantheon located in the Pigna district, in the historic center of Rome, is one of the most beautiful and grandiose monuments ever built by man. An extraordinary building, built in the imperial era, which has been perfectly preserved and is one of the most admired symbols of the capital. An imposing, spectacular structure, it is the most visited Italian site in 2019. The Pantheon will turn two thousand years in 2027. It is incredible how such an ancient structure has arrived so intact to this day. State property of the Italian State, since December 2014 the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities has managed it through the Lazio Museum Complex, and since December 2019 through the State Museums Direction of Rome. In 2019 it registered 8,955,569 visitors, making it the most visited Italian state museum site. Naturally, the free admission of this monument contributes to the great success of the monument in the capital. The Pantheon is a building of ancient Rome built as a temple

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March 8, 2022 11:30 am
roman-toilet

The Ancient Romans and Public Toilet

The ancient Romans did toilet in public and reused their own urine and feces. Strange but true, for physiological needs the ancient Romans used public latrines (there were about 150 in Rome) and performed in front of other people, without the need for privacy. There is more: feces and urine were collected and constantly reused, for several reasons. Find out which ones. The latrines were large functional and organized environments. The latrine was rectangular in shape, featured a series of perforated seats along two sides (today’s toilets) above a channel where water flowed. The excrement fell into the channel and was carried away by the current to the nearest sewer. In the center of the latrine there was a channel with clean water in which you could dip a sponge mounted on a stick: after the ablution, the sponge was thrown into a special container where it was recovered by the servants, washed and prepared for reuse. At home, the needs were done in containers which were then emptied into other larger containers, orcioni, in the condominiums which were periodically

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March 6, 2022 11:08 am
ROMAN-BATH-caracalla

The Baths of Caracalla were a gigantic sports center of ancient Rome

Rich in marble, frescoes and mosaics, the Baths of Caracalla were a gigantic sports center, with hot and cold baths, swimming pools, saunas, gymnastics and meeting rooms embellished with domes, colonnades and gardens. Here, citizens loved to relax, play sports, meet for an appointment (a bit like what happens now in fitness centers or even in shopping centers). The baths were a unique complex in terms of size and decoration, these baths represent one of the best preserved large imperial buildings of antiquity. The baths of Caracalla or Antoniniane are still preserved for most of their structure and do not have modern buildings around them. They were built between 212 and 216 AD. da Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, who inaugurated the central building in 216 AD. The rectangular plan is typical of the “great imperial baths”: a unique place where you can swim, exercise and care for the body, but also a place for strolling and studying. The central block is the one intended for the Baths: here are the calidarium, the tepidarium, the frigidarium and the natatio. On

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February 26, 2022 11:15 am
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The Gladiator in Ancient Rome were Sex Symbol

We all know that gladiators were particular fighters of ancient Rome but we do not know a whole series of curious aspects about these people, who are so famous even in modern times, despite the fact that many centuries have passed. The name derives from gladius, the sword of the ancient Roman legionary that was also used by wrestlers. The practice of duels between gladiators comes from the Etruscans and, like many other aspects of Etruscan culture, this too was adopted by the Romans. The gladiators were on average between 20 and 35 years old (in the majority, however, 30), in line with the life expectancy of the time. And the height was also in line with the time: 168 cm. The first gladiator show probably took place in 264 BC. In 105 BC the games became public. The number of gladiatorial shows increased enormously during the Empire. The Flavian dynasty, which began with the Emperor Vespasian, built the largest and most famous amphitheater in the world, the Flavian amphitheater, later known from the Middle Ages as the Colosseum. In

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February 20, 2022 4:00 pm

The Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona

The fountain located in Piazza Navona, called the Four Rivers, is one of the most beautiful and famous in the world. A masterpiece of Baroque art, it was designed by the immense Gian Lorenzo Bernini on a direct commission from Pope Innocent X in 1651. The fountain dominates the square, one of the most beautiful in the city, and the four famous statues that symbolize the four rivers that represent four different continents. Let’s find out which are these 4 rivers of the 4 great continents of the Earth and all the other curiosities related to this authentic artistic marvel. Just think that until 1800 the fountain was used to cool the square on hot August days, closing the drains.The fountain portrays the four main rivers of the Earth, one for each continent then known: Nile in Africa, Danube in Europe, Rio de la Plata in South America and Ganges in Asia and is dominated by the Agonal obelisk, coming from the circus of Maxentius on the Appia Antica, (the appian way). The fountain stands in the center of the

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January 23, 2022 9:22 am
Interior-pantheon-rome

The Pantheon has been a Christian church for more than 1400 years

During the Early Middle Ages the Pantheon was transformed from a pagan temple to a Christian church. In 608 Pope Boniface IV had the remains of some martyrs found in the Christian catacombs moved to the Pantheon, a marvelous Roman monument. From a pagan temple it became a Christian church devoted to Santa Maria and the Martyrs. All this allowed the structure to survive almost intact to the looting inflicted by the popes on the buildings of classical Rome Suddenly, in the streets of central Rome, you will find yourself in front of one of the most beautiful and grandiose monuments ever built by man. An imposing, spectacular structure, the most visited Italian site in 2019: the Pantheon will turn two thousand years in 2027, an extraordinary building, built in the imperial era, which has been perfectly preserved and is one of the most admired symbols of the capital. The Pantheon, located in the Pigna district, in the historic center, is a building of ancient Rome built as a temple dedicated to all past, present and future divinities. It was

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January 17, 2022 1:11 pm
Michelangelo-moses-in-rome

The legend of the Statue of Moses

In the Basilica of Saint Peter’s in Chain, in the Monti district, on the Oppio hill, there is a wonderful and very famous statue of Moses, sculpted by Michelangelo. Masterpiece of Renaissance art, the statue (which has strange horns, probably the result of an interpretation error) is also famous for a legend, which has as its protagonist the great Tuscan artist, who contemplating the statue, at the end of the last finished and amazed by the realism of its forms, he exclaimed the phrase “Why don’t you speak?”, hitting the knee with the hammer he was holding. This statue presents a number of very interesting curiosities. Let’s go and discover them. Commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1505, the Moses was to be part of the grandiose statuary complex on three levels and adorned with about 40 statues, conceived as the Pope’s mausoleum, which was to occupy a central place in the new St. Peter’s Basilica. Then, following the Pope’s death, the project underwent significant changes and downsizing and the last project was only finished in 1545. The marble sculpture

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January 11, 2022 6:00 pm
Jewish synagogue rome

The Jewish community of Rome is the oldest in the world

The Jewish community of Rome is considered the oldest in the world: it is known to exist since the 2nd century BC. At that time many of the Jews arrived in Rome as slaves, coming from Palestine which was already under Roman rule. At that time, the presence of Jews in Rome was gladly accepted and coexistence with the Romans was very peaceful. For several centuries the Jews inhabited the areas of Trastevere, and only after the year 1000, for practical reasons, did they begin to migrate towards the Tiber Island and the left bank of the Tiber river, in an area between the river, Sant’Angelo in Peschiera, San Tommaso in Monte Cenci and San Gregorio at Ponte Quattro Capi, which began to be called “Pons Judaeorum”. The area, which was soon surrounded by walls, extended over just over one hectare of land. The ghetto of Rome, also known as the Jewish quarter, is one of the oldest in the world and was born about 40 years after that of Venice, which historically was the first. It is located in

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January 7, 2022 9:02 am