Weekend in Rome

Last weekend we were inadvertantly caughtup in a right wing rally that attracted thousands of people. Thousands came from all over Italy by bus.
Our first inkling of it was this group of young people whe were marching and chanting that they were the young Romans marching for their rights.

Other groups joined. In the newspaper reports it was stated that Matteo Salvini invoked the words 'March on Rome' words used by Mussolini 80 years or so ago.

On the next day, Sunday we had lunch in the Jewish quarter

 It was artichoke season and there were beautiful displays of the seasonal vegetables.

We wandered around and came across a plain door. On the pavement outside, three small plaques noting the names, birth dates and dates of the inhabitants' arrest and destination. 

It was chilling.

The Church of Trinità dei Monti above the Spanish Steps

The church of Trinità dei Monti, above the Spanish steps is noted for its two bell towers It was consecrated in 1594.

This lovely Assumption was painted between 1548 and 1560 by Daniele Ricciarelli da Volterra

and so was this deposition ,done between 1570 and 1577.

Germano Paolini

Germano Paolini is an Italian painter born in 1950. His exhibition at the Galleria della Tartaruga was part of Rome Art Week.

His works - oils on canvas have a sense of the sublime.

Centrale Montemartini - exhibition space in a decommissioned power plant

This museum is situated in  the converted Giovanni Montemartini Thermoelectric Centre in Ostiense, Rome. It is an extraordinary example of industrial archaeology .
The old machinery of electricity production was left in place and is the backdrop for masterpieces of ancient sculpture, including a couple of large mosaics found in the excavations of the late nineteenth century and the 1930s. 
It works very well as a space. It was initially set up as a temporary exhibition space in the late 1990s, but it was popular and it has remained a permanent museum space.

I just loved the mosaics - and this place has the space to display them.

Mosaics at Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica is a large archaeological site that was the ancient Roman port and is situated at the mouth of  the Tiber (apparently "os" is  the Latin word for "mouth").

The settlement dates from it to the 7th century BC and was an important port for many years - with 50,000 inhabitants in the 2nd century, reaching a peak of some 100,000 inhabitants in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. 

It was crucial for the supply of grain and goods for Rome,  and large building works were carried out by emperors Claudius, Tiberius ,Julius Caesar.

It fell into decline in the 400s Ad and was abandoned in the C9th AD.

Today you can see lots of mosaics that show its purpose as a seaport, and there are some remarkably intact buildings.

It is in a wonderful setting with a well organised museum housing objects found at Ostia.

We saw the counters where food was prepared and served, complete with a picture above it of what was on the menu - boiled eggs and vegetables

The Pantheon, Rome

The Pantheon was a Roman temple,commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). It was completed by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated about 126 AD. I
Since the 7th century, it has been a church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs".
The architecture is unique - the hole in the dome means that it gets very wet in when it rains.

Amazing to be standing in a Roman temple!!!!!!! even though it is now a church.

 The annunciation by Melozzo da Forlì (1438 – 1494), below

Two important tombs are there 

And below, the tomb of Raphael