* It’s 12 noon and you’re in Rome, but are you in the central part of Rome? If you are, chances are that you will hear the bang of the cannon shot being fired at this time every day on top of the Janiculum Hill. This is a tradition that goes back to January 1, 1847, when Pope Pius IX introduced it to ensure that all timepieces would be set on the same time.
* Ever heard of the “most beautiful hole in Rome”? On top of the Aventine Hill – one of the seven hills of Rome – there is a garden known as ‘Giardino degli Aranci’, or Orange Garden, with a fabulous view of the city. At sunset, when the entrance gate closes, you can peep through the keyhole and have a breathtaking view of a line of trees and, lit in the background, St. Peter’s Dome.
* If you have toured around Rome, you are sure to have seen Bocca della Verita, or Mouth of the Truth and to have been told the story that in antiquity, if you put your hand in this mouth and you were lying, you would lose your hand. What you may not have been told is that in fact there were judges who would decide whether you were or not guilty… and your hand was safe or…gone! What’s more, that piece of antiquity that is widely admired today, once used to be the top of a sewer manhole in the Roman Forum.
* Roman Aqueducts: is this an ancient history lesson? Not at all! It’s modern-day Rome. Those glorious, huge structures you can admire along the Appian Way were in fact aqueducts bringing water to Rome. Below those arches the Romans also built other aqueducts and, strange as it may seem, these are still used to quench the thirst of today’s Romans – the water is excellent: it’s even bottled and exported – and to feed water to many Roman fountains.
* Have you ever walked up and down the Seven Hills of Rome? If so, sometimes you may have wished that uphill slopes would suddenly go downhill. Unfortunately that doesn’t normally happen, but there is a road known as the “bewitched” climbing slope, at Ariccia, a town near Rome, where objects tend to roll uphill, rather than downhill. Scientists have been wracking their brains to work out why this happens, but to no avail. Why don’t you see for yourself and try to explain it?
* We are in the year 1586. Over 800 workers are trying to hoist the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square, Rome. It’s a terrible effort which needs maximum concentration. To avoid confusion the Pope has ordered that no one should speak upon pain of death. The gallows has already been set up in the square for the purpose. All of a sudden a bystander notices that one of the ropes is giving way: the obelisk may collapse! He immediately shouts – WATER TO THE ROPES! – this way the hemp will shrink and get tougher. The workers follow his advise and the obelisk is finally up – in one piece. The man should be put to death, but the Pope decides to give him a prize and a title of honour.
* Piazza Navona is perhaps the square that Romans love most. According to one of the popular stories involving two famous Italian artists who worked there, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini were at loggerheads with each other and were anxious to show their feelings. So Bernini designed the fountains in the square in such a way that a statue representing the Nile seems to turn its back on the Church of St. Agnes built by Borromini and cover its eyes to avoid the sight of such a terrible-looking church.
* Conclaves are held in the Vatican City, Rome, for the election of each Pope. All cardinals attend the conclave because only the people actually there may be elected Pope. Cardinal Carol Wojtyla came to Rome after the death of Pope John Paul I and the morning of the opening of the conclave he was running late and risked being left out. In despair he thumbed a lift along the way. A bus driver returning to his depot noticed this strange priest looking for a lift and stopped to enquire. When Cardinal Wojtyla explained things to him, the bus driver simply said: ok, I’ll take you there, you never know, we might miss a Pope! In fact Cardinal Wojtyla did become the new Pope!
* Do you think that highways are a modern invention? Think twice. Over 2000 years ago the Romans had their version of highways. They certainly didn’t have vehicles hurtling along at breakneck speed or gas stations, but they did have a road network that even these days would be second to none in length (thousands of miles) or quality (many stretches of Roman roads are still partly in use or have been used as tracks for new highways). They were also fairly sophisticated: they had service areas where people could relax or rest during their trip, facilities to change horses and a sort of diners where you could have a full hot meal or take it away with you in hot stone containers to be left at the next service area.
* Would you ever have thought that a ship could actually reach the very heart of Rome? Well, these days it would be pretty difficult to manage, but the ancient Romans did sail their ships up the River Tiber right into the city. This was possible because the mouth of the Tiber was 11 kilometers closer to Rome than it is now and the river was deeper than it is at present. So the Romans had food and other supplies right at their doorstep from all the world known at the time. Incidentally, the current mayor has recently announced his intention to make the river navigable once again and to return the port to the people of Rome.
Tags: Excursions, family vacations, Historic sights, Rome, Rome Tours, Rome Vacations, Sightseeing, Touring, Travel, Travel and Leisure, Travel Tips, Travelling in Italy
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