Roma: Isola Tiberina

On Sunday (May 26th), I went for a walk on the Tiber Island, the island located in the middle of the Tiber with a shape that resembles a boat. It is located in "Rione Ripa" and is connected to the mainland by "Ponte Cestio" (from the side of Trastevere) and the "Ponte Fabricio" (the side of the Ghetto). From the side of Portaportese people can see the bridge called "broken bridge": that is what remains of a Roman bridge broken (even several times) by the fury of the "blond Tiber", the infamous river of Rome and that, although he did this end, does not leave indifferent the people who pass by here. Coming from the bridge Cestius, there is on the right of the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island: it definitely deserves a visit. From the side of the "bow" (the side of the island towards the Garibaldi bridge - the bridge of the tramway) there is the Fatebenefratelli hospital: the structure was founded in the Middle Ages as a "xenodochio", to accommodate pilgrims, the poor and the sick. Often, I stop to look at this hospital as it is surrounded and hidden in the vegetation which clear and hides the chaos of the city for the patients. Just before the bridge Fabricio there is the small Church of St. John Calibita: I think the smaller churches, in some ways, are almost always the prettiest. The thing that strikes me most of this island of Rome is the amount of people who, during the sunny days of summer, bring along the banks for sunbathing as if they were at sea: the sun of Rome and the Tiber Island are a winning combination for everyone! In summer it is one of the best places to spend warm evenings: there you can find "the island of cinema", from the side of "stern" (or "of the broken bridge", if you prefer) and there are also several outdoor pub, so you can spend your night outdoor in the centre of Rome! I personally think that going through this island / boat I find it one of the best ways to cross the Tiber staying in a simply outstanding historical climate (let's face it: the Romans are always the Romans). Try it and let me know your opinions. Now I launch a challenge to you: do you know that, in the stone of the island, is carved the Rod of Asclepius (the symbol of medicine)? According to the story told by Livy, in 229 BC The Romans went to Epidaurus, where once stood the largest sanctuary of Asclepius, god of medicine, to ask the oracle how to end a plague that was thrown over the city. The priests of the god handed over to the Romans a sacred snake which, as the ship arrived in the port Tiberino, jumped into the water and crawled to the island, hiding in the dense vegetation. Here, I challenge you to find it! Let me know! [On flickr you can find the set with all the pictures I took when I visited the island]

A trip to Viterbo

Viterbo, city in the "Tuscia" area, offers several monuments and things to do and see. On May 14, I went to visit this city principally for two reasons: the underground Viterbo and the medieval quarter of San Pellegrino. It was the first visit "for tourism". You can get there by train: Trains depart from Rome Ostiense station and make many stops within the city of Rome (Trastevere, quattro venti, valle aurelia, are some examples) and the journey take a couple of hours. I arrived at the station "Viterbo Porta Romana" just before 10: I decided to start my visit in the town from the Viterbo underground, so I headed to Piazza della Morte: the strange name of that square is due to the "company of death" which at one time ran the graves! In this square is located the shop/ticket office/access to the underground city: the Tours starts every half hour and the price of the ticket is 4 euro (in Orvieto I had paid 6 euro). You can visit about 150 meters of tunnels and the guide told us that as their "private company" (sorry for the quotes, but I do not know which words to use to explain) have in managing this part of Viterbo approximately from last year and they are trying to dig also other parts that can be dug, but, unfortunately, there are a lot of problems and these problem are not always easy to solve (especially everything related to the bureaucratic part of the story). The underground part of Viterbo is in tuff, such as Pitigliano, Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio. If you're nearby, you can visit this part of Viterbo: it's cute and the price is, after all, still affordable. Once you have finished your visit, you must go to the medieval quarter of San Pellegrino: when you walk along the streets of this area of ​​the city, seems to have stepped back in time: there are many details that attract the attention of visitors. There are also a lot of things which attract the attention of tourists end there are a lot of things that you can photograph. After that, I walked to Piazza San Lorenzo where I knew to find several important buildings of the history of Viterbo: the Palace of the Popes, the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and the Mansion of "Valentino della Pagnotta" (from the name of the prior who bought the building in 1458); in front of the mansion there is a beautiful building: if I'm not mistaken there is the seat of the Bishop and, if you go up the stairs, you find yourself in a terrace on Viterbo (but does not have a great view: you can see important buildings, but the biggest part of the view is on the modern part of Viterbo). Taken from the fatigue, the last leg of my day was the Piazza del Plebiscito with the government palace, the Palazzo dei Priori and the sarcophagus of Beautiful Galliana (at that link you can find some information about "Galliana", but is written in Italian). There are many other things to do in Viterbo, such as the Cathedral and many other churches that are found there. Maybe one day I will return to see those too. There is the link to the set on Flickr with all the pictures I took during my day in Viterbo.