Octobre – Oktober – Ottobre

Tags

Alitalia, dinner, ITA, life, Rome, Tirana

Well we are in mid-October already, how time flies. Thanksgiving was nice and quiet and the weather

though gradually getting cooler and the days shorter, is still very mild and pleasant. Beautiful Indian Summer on the island

and very pleasant all around, difficult to think that we will be changing time in early November and then Winter will slowly set

in.

A lovely dinner, I love dinner parties, they are the best.

And another dinner party in the last few days. Again the food was excellent.

Weeks go by quickly and each week brings new activities, I have to keep a calendar agenda. No time for boredom here.

This Thursday in the news, it was announced that Alitalia the Italian transport company was ceasing operations after 75 years. It was created in 1946 as the New Italian Republic was created with the abolition of the Italian Monarchy and the end of the Second World War. I remember back in 2009 when we lived in Rome, Alitalia was already then in deep financial trouble and bankrupt. However the Prime Minister then Sylvio Berlusconi refused to allow the airline to disappear or be bought by another carrier. So he bailed it out of trouble with grand plans to reorganize and start anew. Nothing came of it and today finally it was buried. Changes in transportation in Italy itself with high speed trains connecting all the major towns and regions made flights within Italy obsolete.

International flights with the pandemic took a serious hit and Alitalia really had no future with its bloated staff and far too many unprofitable routes. However the Italian Government has decided to create as of tomorrow a new company called ITA or Italia Transporto Aereo with far fewer routes and only a quarter of the staff the old Alitalia had.

Back in the period 2007 to 2011 when I was posted to Rome, I had to travel to Albania often, in fact I went to Tirana 38 times during that period, a record really. I always flew with Alitalia direct from Rome for the one hour flight, the plane would fly from Rome to Bari and then cross the Adriatic to Tirana. However with the constant threat of bankruptcy on one particular trip I really thought Alitalia was going under and I would be stuck in Tirana. The crew stayed at the same hotel I stayed at, there were only 2 choices in Tirana, one was the Sheraton and the other was an hotel operated by an Austrian chain with a good restaurant. The Sheraton did not have restaurants, it was attached to a shopping mall which had gone bankrupt and the only restaurant or stand served awful burgers and hotdogs. The Austrian Hotel was much nicer with a beautiful garden and pool and far better service and amenities and was an easier walk to the Canadian Consulate. Thing is, in Tirana like in all Balkan countries, roaming big feral dogs are a feature, it is quite a problem and you should avoid them. It is much worse in other Capital like Belgrade or Bucarest or Sofia.

I suppose if Alitalia did go under, the plan was to drive to the port of Durres and there catch the ferry across to Bari. Another plan was to catch a flight with the Italian Air Force which flew to Albania, the country was an Italian colony between 1939-1943 and King Zog was forced into exile to London, living at the Ritz Hotel. The King of Italy became the ruler of Albania. A strange little country to this day, very much what you would expect from the Balkan. Anyway it did not happen and Alitalia survived.

Alitalia was a nice airline, the service was good as was the food. But it could also be unpredictable in a very Italian way, a flight would be cancelled or changed without notice. It had style and panache which is very Italian. I am sure that ITA will continue in the same tradition, certain things never change.

reflections

Tags

life, Livia, lobster, PEI, Rome

I think sometimes it is important to reflect on life and the past. What may appear to us today as a terrible moment, like everything in life is just a passing moment.

Today is Mother’s Day a modern invention by the business world to make us consumers buy stuff and pretend that motherhood is something it is not, full of false fabricated sentiment. If Mother’s Day is suppose to be a day of thanks for what our mothers do, I think that you can show it every day by kindness and appreciation towards your Mom.

This weekend is also Victory in Europe day 8 May 1945 and the end of the Nazi nightmare, only to see another nightmare emerge that of a divided world between East and West and the horrors of Stalinist politics and the Cold War.

Today we live with this Pandemic and the constant churning of bad news by the Media in general who are happy to distort news in order to get us to panic and fear what is coming. However much of it is lazy reporting and to satisfy instant gratification by clicking on an news item the media make money through advertisement. So yes we are manipulated.

So in other news how are things going with the Lobster fishing, well yesterday the weather was terrible, the wind was howling and the sea was agitated. One fisher I know called the Fiddling Fisher because he belongs to a musical family, posted on Istagram what was going on aboard his lobster boat. It was chaotic but he is experienced, however it did show that it is a very difficult job and a dangerous one. You do not want to fall over board.

The price of lobster has gone up per example at M.R. Seafood which is the best place to buy fresh off the boat seafood in Charlottetown, 1 lbs of lobster meat which is claws and tails, cost $48. It has to be explained that in order to get one pound of lobster meat you need 4 one pounders. The lobster is weighed live and once it is cooked and the shell is removed you have about one quarter meat left. Many people do not understand that, having no experience with the lobster fishing industry. The fisher gets about $8.50 for his lobster. Some stores will sell them at $9.50 because its Mother’s Day weekend. I think the pricing will stabilize in the days to come and maybe even lower. One thing for sure whatever the price we are not paying a lot if compared to cities far from the sea. Mussels and Clams are selling around $5 for a pound and you can easily make a meal out of that given how rich it is.

I am happy that I am over my childhood seafood allergies, imagine living here by the sea and having allergies, it would be a curse.

Today the restaurants are busy with take-out orders for live or cooked lobsters. There is some dining but not very much. The wind has died down and the sun is coming out.

Only in Rome, for Mother’s day a new statue has been unveiled, that of Livia Drusilla, wife of the first Emperor of Rome Augustus. She was the mother of Emperor Tiberius and grandmother of Emperor Caligula. She died of old age in retirement at her palace in Capena at Prima Porta just outside of Rome under the reign of her grandson. She will be made divine after her death by another grandson Emperor Claudius. She is the first women Empress to figure on Via Dei Fori Imperiali . She richly deserves her monument, she was influential and had enormous powers and was feared, though she probably was not as pictured in the novels of Robert Graves.

Moderna + anniversaries

Tags

Birthday, life, Rome

Today is was Will’s turn to get his vaccine and he got a Moderna one.

The hockey arena has been re-purposed to give vaccines to Islanders and it is alldone on an appointment system. I drove him to his appointment which is a 5 minute drive and he went in. It is all very well organized and professional, impressive in fact. So far 18% of the general population has been vaccinated and 80% of all Health Staff are vaccinated. So at this rate things are going pretty well. Still no death and only one hospitalization in Ward 3, none in ICU.

Now he has to wait for his second shot in 4 weeks time. My shot is in 5 days and I am looking forward to it. You get a sticker on the way out stating that you have been vaccinated, people walk around proudly with them on their jackets.

In terms of Birthday’s today was the Anniversary of the Founding of Rome some 2774 years ago. Romans left flowers at the statue of Emperor Augustus in the Roman Forum. The Mayor of Rome left a giant flower wreath at the foot of the statue of the Goddess Roma at the Altar to the Nation, where the eternal flames burns. Happy Birthday to Rome the greatest city in the World.

Another Birthday today 21 April was for HM Queen Elizabeth II who turns 95. Poor dear buried her husband just days ago. She is now the longest living and longest reigning Sovereign in the history of Canada and the UK. This year is the 69 th year of Her reign, next year will be the Platinum Jubilee which has never been celebrated before.

To give an example of longevity Queen Victoria reigned for 64 years, George III for 60 years.

Circuit Breaker

Tags

artichoke, Birthday, brother, Childhood, cuisine, Family, Rome, Spring

This past week our little Island province went from 1 case to 15 cases of Covid19, all due to a handful of under 30 who travelled outside the Province and failed upon return to observed the mandatory rules of 14 day quarantine. They in turn infected their friends and all of a sudden we have a crisis. Unfortunately too many people still think they are above it all and it does not concern them. They put everyone at risk with their irresponsible actions. What was most shocking was the 2 girls twenty something who being sick decided to go shopping instead of going straight home, result they infected staff and other clients in the store which had to close. Or the 17 to 24 group who went to the Gym in Summerside a small community about 50 minutes from Charlottetown. They gave false names and phone numbers so they could not be traced, only then when they were found by the Health Authorities lied further by giving false information. I have a real problem with this type of reasoning. Do they not care that they are putting family and community at risk? Summerside has a population of 14,000. small town in other words.

At the news conference Dr Morrison, chief medical officer was visibly upset and appeared very tired, she and her staff of the Health Dept have been working flat out 24/7 doing a tremendous service. Well some people are making death threats against her. Unbelievable that anyone in their right mind would say such awful things. They are upset and cannot understand the gravity of the situation. News UPDATE as of Sunday night we are now in a RED zone and everyone is confined to home for 72 hours, the only stores open are grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies. The streets are deserted.

I was at the grocery store just before the Premier and the Chief Medical Officer went on the air to announce the restrictions Saturday afternoon, which closed the Island and all businesses, restaurants etc. Stay Home and wear a mask even outside. There was a noticeable air of panic and anxiousness in the air at the store, many already knew the bad news and we are back to where we were one year ago. The difference this time we have some 7,000 Islanders or 4.5% of our population who have received the vaccine and more have been called up, vaccination is in effect and moving ahead, that is a big plus.

IN OTHER NEWS

As we enter March Winter is clearly coming to an end, the days are 1 hour longer now. As my Birthday is coming up, Will asked me to see some old photos of myself, one photo was taken some 59 years ago, the other 62 years ago. I have to say looking at those photos made me wonder, it is another time and place gone forever. Now when I think of the past, it is mostly 5 to 10 years ago, this to me is manageable and in the realm of reality. Anything beyond that looks to remote, so many people, family and friends I knew simply gone, they are memories of another era. I also realize how the world as a whole has changed and with it our lives.

Maybe the Pandemic also affects my view of the past. Our movement are curtailed and everything is local, the rest appears to far away to reach.

Me standing with the beach ball and my little brother who is 2 yrs old and I am 4. In our little pool my Mom put together and I was asked to fill it with water, in our backyard. C.1959

Finally today I miss Italy and Rome, saw some pictures of friends gardens all in Spring flowers and the trees are also in flower, greenery everywhere under the beautiful sky. It looks so relaxing and pleasant. It is also artichoke time and you can buy the whole thistle plant and stock and make a beautiful meal of it.

Love the colour, such a nice green vegetable to eat. We use to buy them this way in the Vegetable markets in Rome.

In restaurants in Rome you could order the artichoke dish in two styles, Carciofi alla Romana, Rome Style Stuffed or Carciofi alla Giudia, Jewish style fried, both very good.

The two little ones

Tags

dachshunds, home, PEI, Rome

Both our Nicholas and Eleonora (Nick and Nora) will turn 13 this month, Nora is one week older than Nicky. Strange they have been with us since they were 6 weeks old in Rome. We knew them or first saw them at 2 weeks with their respective Moms and other siblings in Capena.

Both have loads of personalities and each very different. Nick loves his routine and wants you to stick to it and not change anything. Nora is the fighter, constant guard dog 24/7 and track hunting dog. She too loves her routine but has a very different one from Nick.

Nick loves the sunshine, the hotter the better. He is not as friendly as Nora, more distant with people. However if he likes you then you are his buddy and you cannot leave ever. Nora is the I love everybody, kiss,kiss and plays coquette with people for cuddles.

They both love their treats and expects lots of them, fact is they get more treats from Will than from me and they know that, so I do not get pestered about treats, they simply go to Mister pushover. Treats are multiple, bits of celery, bits of carrots, bits of cheese usually gouda, pieces of kibble, small piece of ice, anything I chop in terms of vegetables, they want a taste and the best is the liver treats home made by Will, they go nuts for that one. But they have developed a system, knowing that they get a treat when they return from a walk, they will pretend they want to go out, open the door and no I am not going but you give me a treat now. It seems that the simple thought of going out is good enough to warrant a treat, in their book.

The other funny thing is Nicky who insist on sleeping next to me on my chair in our living room. He will even fetch me to come and will be very insistent about it and look put out if I ignore him. So while he will sleep for an hour on the chair with me in the evening, he will wake up at 10pm and look at me, this look means I have to go out for my evening walk. Upon returning he wants his treat and then will make a fuss to go to bed. This is where we have a conversation in French, in fact all the words we use with them are in French, manger, maison, dodo, biscuit. Sometimes we don’t even have to make a full sentence, the simple Veux-tu … (Do you want) Nicky knows this mean manger (to eat), no need to say it. They know where to sit while they wait for their meal, do it does not stop Nicky to wimper, Nora is usually quiet.

So at 10 pm he goes to his bed and I bring the biscuit, of course Nora wants a biscuit also but she is not going to bed at all, too early for her. He then proceeds to fall asleep for the night.

Nora on the other hand always wants to nestle into the sofa all wrapped up in her blanket, but she knows that she like Nicky must to go her bed. She is not happy about that and always tries to negotiate. Once in bed, lately she started to whimper like a little baby, so we go in to see what his wrong, nothing of course but she wants another treat. Nicky of course wakes up and he too wants a treat. So lately it is up to 4 treats before she goes to bed and stops her whining. With Nora it is always about pushing the envelope and getting her way. It is very difficult to get angry at her, she knows which buttons to push to get what she wants. Nicky is not so clever about that, much more, hey its my routine follow it, approach.

It’s home made real liver treat time, pieces are the size of small brownies.

Funny enough they cannot be walked together, though in Rome we did with no problems, once in Canada that changed. Nicky can be super aggressive with other dogs either with Nora present or not. Nora on her own barks at other dogs and is not sociable. However with horses, we have them on the street in the old town or with cats she is indifferent, pays little attention to them. Crows which are plentiful here, she will chase but Crows are not easily intimidated and they have sharp nasty beaks, so we keep her away from them.

We want more liver, more!!!!!

No left overs

Tags

79AD, cuisine, fast food, Pompeii, Rome, Vesuvius

With careful planning and measurements of people’s appetite it is possible to avoid leftovers. This year we have no leftovers, it all went quickly knowing that people today do not have the appetites of Edwardians.

Also today I read about Fast Food in Ancient Rome, yes it was a big thing back then. Most people living in Rome or in this case Pompeii went to neighbourhood taverns for beer and a bite and also to the corned fast food emporium for a meal. It was a serve yourself thing offering various soups, stews, bread and cheese. It was a meal on the go and it worked pretty well given that most inhabitants did not have a kitchen at home. Same for bathing houses and public latrines, life was communal in antiquity, unless you were very wealthy and had a large mansion with tons of slaves/servants. The every day Romans lived in apartment blocks, 5 storeys tall and went out for food, bathing and the latrines. There really was no privacy they way we understand it in our world today.

In Pompeii archeologist uncovered a fast food joint called a “thermopolium” hot food served. It is brightly painted with animals telling customers what is in every pot, duck, chicken, pork, beef. Same for wine and beer, great amphoras were used to store the liquid and you were served or served yourself. In this dig they found amphoras full of ash but the smell of wine was still strong once they started to analyze the contents. This thermopolium was frozen in time by the disaster that struck the city.

There were 80 such establishments in Pompeii. This is a great and well preserved find and illustrates the lives of people before 79 AD when Vesuvius blew up and buried the city in ash.

No washing machine

Tags

art., beijing, Berlin, history, life, Rome, St-Petersburg

Our washing machine died with a clunk and a whine last Thursday, we were able to secure a new washing machine almost within one hour. The drawback delivery takes 7 days, oh my! So the clothing has been piling up as well as sheets and towels. We are really dependent on this machine, now we know. But the delivery will be made by Friday so patience and no panic.

I really miss good conversation with friends face to face and the laughs and gossip. Zoom is NOT the same thing.

Scaffolding coming down this week at the main gate portal of the City Palace. Friday is the capping off of the building which can be followed on webcam. Starting at 6 am Berlin time, weather permitting.

https://cam01.berlinerschloss-webcam.de

For the last few postings I have been writing about the City Palace in Berlin and its final phase of re-construction. You may have wondered why so much interest in this one building. In fact I have been following several other projects in Europe.

One such projects is Buckingham Palace in London, the Official Residence of the Queen. There is little info on what is going on, but it is a major refit of the place from plumbing to electrical system to cleaning and painting and general repairs. Rooms have been dismantled and furniture and paintings removed for safe keeping. The Queen left London because of the pandemic but also because her London Residence was under repair and not fit to live in due to all the noise and workmen etc… Windsor is her real home, private and comfy. She and her husband only live in a suite of rooms in one wing of the Castle and not in the entire place as you might see it from the outside, still it is pretty grand. Many other people live at Windsor in what is term Grace and Favour apartments. The Queen also has other relatives live in London at Kensington Palace and St-James Palace again in apartments, all are at the pleasure of Her Majesty.

Another project is the Alexander Palace built in 1793 in an Italian/Palladian style in Tsarkoye Selo outside St-Petersburg, the work is now reaching completion after many years of complete reconstruction of what was essentially a ruined building. The last private home of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife and children before their arrest and deportation in 1917. This has been a massive work of research and archeology, restoration of furniture, original fabrics, flooring, tiling, etc. all this made possible because of voluminous archives kept on the building. This site has a huge following in Russia and around the world.

The Roman Forum is another place I love to explore and read about, about 95 years ago it became the pet project of Benito Mussolini who poured financial resources and had the best academic work on unearthing this area of what was ancient Rome. To this day several Universities and team of archeologist work for years and sometimes a life time on one area. Even now with the building of the new Metro Line crossing the Forum under Via Dei Fori Imperiali more treasures are discovered. I had the good fortune to visit some of those sites being under study and excavation, it is a real marvel.

While in Beijing, I visited various sites around the former Imperial Capital, temples, palaces and the Forbidden City compound. I lived there about 3 years prior to the Olympics. The City itself was under massive construction and re-building. Entire neighbourhoods of 3 million people each would be vacated in a matter of 48 hours with the help of the Police and Army. The Temple of Heaven and the great park around it was a favourite site. The Communist Party with the increase in tourism re-discovered the roots of Chinese culture and its historical past. So recreation was the name of the game, unfortunately so much had been lost between 1967-1976 under Mao ills advised but politically convenient cultural revolution, that doing studies and repairing the damage proved difficult, so the repairs were done very quickly and often of poor quality. What really mattered to the Communist party was money from Western tourists and pushing a re-written history of China always glorifying the Party and the leadership.

In Jordan, I would visit just outside Amman about 35 km away the antic city of Jerash or Gerasa in the Bible. Built by the Romans and prospering as an important commercial link and military city, the Jordanian Government had archeologists work at restoring the extensive ruined city, its temples and theatres. There was a lot of archeological material artefacts just lying on the ground forgotten by time.

Istanbul and the Topkapi Palace grounds is also well worth exploring and how well preserve it is, including the treasury with its incredible amounts of precious stones. If you take a look in the once private areas you will discover a Polo Pavilion and grounds enjoyed by the Sultan, the entire place as a very Oriental feel. The Turkish people migrated from Central Asia one thousand years ago, keeping their Oriental culture.

I am endlessly fascinated by architecture, archeology and factual history. It has always been a hobby of mine.

Remembering

Tags

Charlottetown, covid19, film, isolation, PEI, Rome, the past

With the crazy state of the world at the moment and being mostly confined to home due to the so called lock down it gives us a lot of time to think and reflect on the past and on where we are now. You hear a piece of music or an image and you are send back to another time in your life. Today we learned of the death of an old work colleague of W. and given her age it got us to think that W had retired some 22 years ago. I retired 7 years ago. We have been in PEI 4 years now. We left my last post Rome some 9 years ago. I graduated from University some 41 years ago. Amazing how time flies by quickly and it always seem like it was just yesterday. We have not really seen anyone in 7 weeks and not likely to see anyone for another 4 weeks, if there is no second wave.

This week in the mail was 2 documents from the Government of Canada, I thought someone is keeping watch, it was a reminder that in 11 months I should apply for my Canada Pension Plan commonly known as CPP, as Canadian taxpayer, I like everyone else have to pay into it and when you reach a certain age you can apply to get it back in monthly sums. Then the next day it was another letter and documents to apply for my OAS which is the Old Age Security and there is a third pension program for persons who are poor under a certain income level. This last program does not apply to me. The OAS I can wait I don’t have to apply for that one for another 5 years if I so choose. In terms of social programs who support you in life, Canadians are damn lucky since 1965 when most of those programs we take for granted including Health Care came into being. It is all about maintaining a social net. The amounts of money are a support to avoid you ending up in the street with nothing. They are also indexed to the cost of living yearly.

Same with the Pandemic now, everyday the Government of Canada and some Provincial Governments have announced financial support for individual Canadians, from students with no Summer Jobs can get between $1200 to $1750. There is rent relief for individuals, salary relief covering up to 75% of employee salaries so employers do not lay people off. Commercial rent relief for small businesses, Income for Canadians who are unemployed, more income support for seniors, etc… and the list goes on. It is costing so far about $285 Billion dollars to the Government of Canada. Still people complain it’s not enough, sheesh some people really. We have nothing to complain about. But I never thought we would ever find ourselves in this world situation. War, nuclear annihilation, climate change disaster yes of course that I expected, I grew up during the Cold War but not this. So I have now a very strong desire or feeling to go back to 1989 or before, though not perfect we were I think in a better place relatively speaking. I am also appalled at the selfishness of people, grasping for easy solutions. Constant whining about nothing.

This bring me back to remembering better days and better times. People who are gone or distant friends. I also wonder what the world will be like after all this has pass, if it passes. I am not confident that we are or will be out of it, to say nothing of climate change. I remember the world prior to September 11, 2001 and we have not gone back, it will be the same this time. I can see how travelling will be more difficult and complicated and not nearly as affordable as before.

This little clip of La Grande Bellezza (ROME) a movie I have seen many times and love. Reminds me of our time 10 years ago in a city I know so well. The main character Jep is played by a very good Italian actor Toni Servillo. The film won many awards in 2013. You can actually see the city this way either early in the morning before 8am or at dusk around 7pm, the streets can be so peaceful or in August when everyone is away on vacation. I wish I could return but that has to stay as a memory.

Today 2 May is our first day of relaxed restrictions, the main point is you can meet with up to 5 people outside but everyone must keep 6 feet apart from each other. I also got news today that a favourite restaurant is re-opening on 8 May, doing only take-out of course. In house dining will come later probably in July if all goes well.

If this issue does not resolve itself, we will have to re-invent life because no one can go on living in isolation forever.

Quarantaine

Tags

Cardinal, Catholic Church, life, Plague, Rome

We are currently facing a terrible pandemic around the World but humans throughout history faced much worse and much more devastating epidemics.

Between 1450 and 1660 Rome suffered plagues of all kinds almost every two to three years. Large amounts of people would die. The City then was also in full expansion and each Pope used armies of artists to build up public spaces we all enjoy today as tourists. The ancient Roman Aqueducts were also rebuilt to bring clean fresh water to the City of about 120,000 people. But nonetheless unsanitary conditions existed and thus the devastating plagues.

In 1656 the latest plague hit the city during the Papacy of Pope Alexander VII who wanted to see an end to such regular pandemics, he asked Cardinal Girolamo Gastaldi to use his knowledge to find a solution. Cardinal Gastaldi had written a treatise based on ancient texts about how to contain plagues. He proposed the concept of Quarantine based on the 40 days phenomenon often referred in Biblical texts. It was effective, punishment for anyone not respecting the quarantine rules were severe and thus health was restored to the City.

If you visit Rome, Piazza Del Popolo which was designed by Bernini, it has two churches at one end of the great piazza. The one on the left is known as Santa Maria di Montesanto or the Artists Church, Cardinal Girolama Gastaldi is buried there.

Piazza del popolo, Rome and the Church of  Santa Maria di Montesanto

Aqueducts

Tags

Antiquity, aqueduct, Rome, water

When in Rome or Italy, you hear a lot about the impressive infrastructure built by the ancient Romans, roads, bridges, buildings, fountains and aqueducts. Rome in antiquity before the first century grew to be the most populous city in the world, 1 million people lived in Rome when it was the Capital of the World. No other city in what was the ancient world was as populous and this meant that you needed a lot of urban planning and the Romans were very good at it, compared to us today.

There was a mathematical order to their cities, but also they were built for people to live in with all necessary facilities at hand, just a few steps away from your home. Same for their Military camps, well ordained and organized. Human needs were provided for, from the supply to safe drinking water, to food preparation areas with dining facilities, parks, public bathhouse and public toilets, markets and entertainment areas. All in the Urbe (city centre) the Sub-Urbia or below the centre was usually a less pleasant area for the poorer classes.

When you have a city of a million people, you need lots of clean water to drink and to wash and to feed into the massive bathhouses all around the city which provided hot and cold water 24/7. Rome also had and still has public fountains to drink water which is said to be the best water in all of Europe. The Nassone gush cold clean water usually in strategic areas of the city so you can have a quick drink on a hot day.

Back in 2008 we visited the Parco degli Acquedotti (Aqueduct Park) is located in the South East of Rome, it is an area that is still a bit out of the way, we took the Metro and then a bus to get to it. You will see 6 of the famous 11 aqueducts feeding the city. What we saw was surprising, several large aqueducts coming in from the countryside into the city.

The Aqueducts are the Anio Vetus (underground), Marcia, Tepula, Julia, Claudio and Anio Novus . There is also l’ acquedotto Felice (next to Julia), which was built at the time of the Renaissance by Pope Sixtjus V in 1586 in a program to both irrigate farmland and provide clean water. The Fountain of Moses next to the St-Regis Hotel is the terminus of this aqueduct. This one was in our neighbourhood so it is well known to us.

Fountain of Moses, corner of Via Venti Settembre and Largo di Santa Susanna

The Aqueduct system worked up to the fourth century A.D. when neglect and destruction brought about the barbarian hordes cut the flow of water into the City. Almost 1000 years would pass before the aqueducts would be restored by the Popes who had returned to Rome. This lack of clean water caused the fall of Rome, its population declined to about 10,000 people, large areas of the Capital were abandoned.

These great arches are gigantic and impressive, they carried millions of litre of clean water into the city each day and supplied the population with a basic necessity.

They survived to this day because they are very solidly built, the Romans used concrete and stone in building them and also most are underground only emerging above ground within the city, gravity pushes the water along.

There are also ancient farms in the area, This one near Via Latina is more than 1200 years old. They look like fortress with small windows and massive gates. At night people and livestock all came inside. Today they are kept as museum and open on appointment for a guided visit.

On Via di Porta Latina, one of the ancient roads of Rome

Aqueduct on Via Latina which leads to the Porta Latina in the Aurelian Walls of Rome. one of the more ancient gates of the city.

The aqueducts had to be maintained daily and an army of men worked at repairing and cleaning them daily. At the top of the aqueduct there is one or two chambers which are large enough for a grown man to stand in. Workers would go into the chambers and scrub the walls and do other maintenance work. The system allowed for the water to be temporarily diverted while they worked. There was also a system of pipes made of copper or cut stone directing water into fountains or basins. To create pressure the pipes would taper off and the water would jet out with force into pools.

Another famous fountain in Rome on the Janiculum Hill in Trastevere is the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola also known as Il Fontanone (“The big fountain”) near the church of San Pietro in Montorio and just above the Residence of the Spanish Ambassador in Rome. It was re-built in 1612 to mark the end of the Acqua Paola aqueduct and the extension of the ancient Aqueduct Traiana, restored by Pope Paul V, Borghese, and took its name from him.

The six coloured marble columns come from the original basilica of St-Peter 306 A.D. salvaged during the construction of the New St-Peter’s (built 1500 to 1626) we see today. All the white marble of the fountain comes from the Temple of Mars the Avenger in the Forum. This fountain is featured at the beginning of the movie La grande Bellezza. The view of Rome from the piazza in front of it is spectacular.

Another famous fountain in Rome which also gets its water from an ancient Aqueduct is the Trevi Fountain. The water comes from 14 miles outside Rome and carried by the Acqua Virgo one of the most ancient aquaduct of Rome built in 19 BC.

The aqueducts also supplied water to the many great bathhouses of Rome, one which can be visited and is fairly complete is the Baths of Caracalla, you can walk in the dried pools and admire the beautiful mosaic floors, visit the subterranean corridors where slaves labourer daily by feeding the various ovens with wood to produce hot water for the pools and also channel same hot water to heat the floors. The pools are quite shallow, hip deep only, Romans including sailors of the Imperial Navy did not know how to swim and many were afraid of any body of water, Romans were very superstitious and saw omens in almost anything. The baths were a social place to meet friends and relax, exercise and enjoy a meal. One aqueduct was feeding continually the Baths of Caracalla and today part of it pass across the gardens of the Canadian Ambassadors residence at Porta Latina, an impressive sight. Other aqueducts fed water to the Imperial palaces of the Palatine Hill.

Aqueduct in the garden of the Canadian Residence in Rome. (not open to the public)

pool floor in coloured mosaic at the Baths of Caracalla built in 212 AD.

When visiting other parts of Italy or of what was the Roman Empire you may encounter to this day a ruined aqueduct. One that is still working very well is at the Alcazar Palace in Seville. In the gardens you can see a jet of water shooting out of a large pipe well above a large pool, all the water is use to water the large gardens of the Alcazar and the Royal Palace which is still in use today for the King of Spain when he visits Seville.

If you want to read more on Roman engineering the book by A. Trevor Hodge, Roman Aqueduct and Water supply, is worth a read.