* You are walking through Rome and all of a sudden you hear a bang. What is it? What's happening? Nobody seems to show any concern and people go about their business as usual, except that they look at their watches. It's midday! And the bang you heard is the 12 o' clock cannon shot fired every day from the Janiculum Hill. This is a tradition that started in 1847 to give people a time signal to set their clocks and watches by.
* Haven't you always taught children never to peep through a keyhole? You'll be surprised if instead we suggest you peep through a keyhole... and then maybe you will do the same with your children. We believe you will agree with us if you simply follow our instructions: just wait for the sunset, go up Aventine Hill in Rome, look for Giardino degli Aranci, or Orange Garden, and when it closes enjoy the glorious view of St. Peter's Dome through the keyhole of the gate.
* 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.
* Can you imagine kicking a ball and see it come back towards you? It's not a boomerang or sheer fancy, it's absolutely true and it happens on a road - the 'bewitched' climbing slope - at Ariccia, a town near Rome. For some reason that scientists have so far been unable to discover, loose objects laid on the road will go uphill, defeating the force of gravity. Try it, if you come to Rome. It's an experience!
* Have you ever stopped to think how giant machinery allows man to carry out fantastic jobs almost without any effort? Only a few centuries ago this was unthinkable. In 16th century Rome, for instance, one day they were trying to lift the obelisk currently standing in the middle of St. Peter's Square. It was a strenuous job that required great concentration for the 800 workers involved. To ensure silence, the crowd had been told that anyone caught even simply talking would be condemned to death (the necessary scaffold had already been set up). Someone realized that the ropes were giving way and to help out the people on the job, cried out: WATER TO THE ROPES! The trick worked perfectly... and the man, far from being punished, was given a prize and a title!
* 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.
* Haven't you always taught children never to peep through a keyhole? You'll be surprised if instead we suggest you peep through a keyhole... and then maybe you will do the same with your children. We believe you will agree with us if you simply follow our instructions: just wait for the sunset, go up Aventine Hill in Rome, look for Giardino degli Aranci, or Orange Garden, and when it closes enjoy the glorious view of St. Peter's Dome through the keyhole of the gate.
* 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.
* Can you imagine kicking a ball and see it come back towards you? It's not a boomerang or sheer fancy, it's absolutely true and it happens on a road - the 'bewitched' climbing slope - at Ariccia, a town near Rome. For some reason that scientists have so far been unable to discover, loose objects laid on the road will go uphill, defeating the force of gravity. Try it, if you come to Rome. It's an experience!
* Have you ever stopped to think how giant machinery allows man to carry out fantastic jobs almost without any effort? Only a few centuries ago this was unthinkable. In 16th century Rome, for instance, one day they were trying to lift the obelisk currently standing in the middle of St. Peter's Square. It was a strenuous job that required great concentration for the 800 workers involved. To ensure silence, the crowd had been told that anyone caught even simply talking would be condemned to death (the necessary scaffold had already been set up). Someone realized that the ropes were giving way and to help out the people on the job, cried out: WATER TO THE ROPES! The trick worked perfectly... and the man, far from being punished, was given a prize and a title!
* 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.
About the Author:
Cristiano Rubbi is a savvy traveller: he knows the ropes when it comes to travelling abroad. Why don't you surf on his website? You'll find a few handy tips on how to get around safely and really enjoy your vacation in Italy. Want to know some more? Simply send an email to info@niceandeasytravel.it or join his forum. Be part of his guestbook.
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