Wednesday began with a trip to Piazza Vittorio, the setting of A Clash of Civilizations. Walking down the streets near Termine train station, the influence of the immigrant community is easily noticeable. Nearly all of the stores have Chinese characters on the windows, and a sparse assortment of clothing and shoes. Yuting informed us that many of these places were involved in the wholesale of inexpensive Chinese manufacturers,
a practice to which the local government of Rome is highly adverse.We also saw the wet-market of Piazza Vittorio. There was stall after stall of vegetables, fruits, meats, fish, and spices from all around the world. The merchants themselves were representative of the large immigrant community, coming from Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, China, and North Africa. We all had a great time getting produce for the week, spending only 1.75 euros on potatos, carrots, zucchini, onions, and garlic!
After returning to the Campo for lunch, we ventured out with Lisa to take in the artworks in the museums on the Capitoline hill. After Melissa gave a great presentation on the origins and Michelangelo’s renovations to the architecture on the hill, we waited patiently at the entrance while Lisa haggled for our tickets. We were able to enter for 2 euro a piece, instead of the 9 euro normal charge! Again, GO LISA!
At the Capitoline museums, we saw many important and extraordinary works of art. The first were the colossal head, hand and feet of Constantine, a marble sculpture that would have originally sat at one end of the Ancient Roman basilica, reminding the people that Constantine’s power was given to him by God. Other works we saw were the ancient bronze statues of the she-wolf and the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, and scores of marble busts of ancient notables, such as Homer. We also got to see spectacular views of the Roman Forum from the viewpoint of the Roman Tablarium, and the great foundation of the Temple of Jupiter Maximus!
After leaving the museums, we began our walk across town to the Castel San Angelo, however before arriving at our last destination of the day, we made a very important stop… for gelato.
Now, you might say, “Again with the gelato?! Why are you writing about gelato? You eat gelato everyday! What is so noteworthy about gelato?”
Let me tell you about this gelato. Il Teatro Gelateria is a tiny, family-run shop, tucked away in an unremarkable little corner of Rome. However, it makes the most fantastic gelato that I have had. The array of flavors was terrific, and all of them are made in-house...flavors like “Garden Sage,” “White Wine,” and “Tartufa” (made of 4 different chocolates.) On my triple cone, I had chocolate-orange, ginger, and coconut! The combination was truly fantastic! The ginger was my favorite, although the other two flavors were close competitors… the coconut was obviously made with freshly shaved coconut, and the orange-chocolate even had chunks of candied orange peel! The stop was well worth it, and we all sat nearby enjoying ourselves and resting our tired feet.
As our last stop of the day, we went briefly to the Ponte di Angeli and the Castel San Angelo, where Brandon gave his presentation on the history of the fortress. Afterwards, we walked home along the river, tired from a full day, but with everything glowing in afternoon sun.
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