* 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.
* Would you ever believe that a keyhole might be considered an attraction by tourists visiting Rome? Yes, this can happen if that keyhole allows you to view trees lining a garden and in the distance the shape of St. Peter's Basilica. All you have to do to have that great peep is go up the Aventine Hill - one of Rome's famous Seven Hills - and wait for the sunset when the Giardino degli Aranci, or Orange Garden, closes. Then simply look through the keyhole and... enjoy!
* 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.
* Do you know that Rome is famous for the quantity and quality of its water? Actually this has been the case ever since antiquity, when the Romans built aqueducts to bring water to the city. What you might not know is that some of the aqueducts that are feeding water into the pipes of a large part of Rome are still the original Roman aqueducts! And most fountains you can admire in Rome receive water the same way.
* 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!
* How often do you think a phrase uttered against everybody's wishes really carried the day? Who knows, but there is one instance in the history of Rome when this was actually true. One day in 1586 workers were trying to set upright the obelisk at present standing in St. Peter's Square. To ensure all possible concentration for the 800 workers on the job, other people in the square had been told to be absolutely quiet, on pain of death. Noticing that some ropes were giving way, someone shouted WATER TO THE ROPES! The hemp then shrank and everything turned out ok. Instead of getting a death penalty the man was awarded a prize and bestowed 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.
* You all know Pope John Paul II. But do you know that he risked being left out of the conclave and only managed to get there in time thanks to a Roman bus driver? Well, Carol Wojtyla was running late for the opening of the conclave and was walking along the road in the hope of hitching a ride. A bus driver who was driving back to the depot stopped to find out why this unusual priest was trying to get a ride. When Wojtyla explained the situation to him, the driver offered to take him to the Vatican with the bus. After a few days he realized he had given the last bus lift to a priest, but the first one to a Pope!
* Aren't you proud of the fact that Americans have made that wonderful, handy invention known as fast-food? Ahm, maybe you'll be surprised to learn that that is not quite true. Romans had thought of it - and put it into practice - well over 2000 years ago. Their road network used to link Rome to the rest of its Empire and those roads were equipped with facilities that you would normally expect in a modern-day service station: gas refueling (horse changes), restrooms, diners, refreshment facilities and even take-away hot meals (they'd return the hot stone containers 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.
* Would you ever believe that a keyhole might be considered an attraction by tourists visiting Rome? Yes, this can happen if that keyhole allows you to view trees lining a garden and in the distance the shape of St. Peter's Basilica. All you have to do to have that great peep is go up the Aventine Hill - one of Rome's famous Seven Hills - and wait for the sunset when the Giardino degli Aranci, or Orange Garden, closes. Then simply look through the keyhole and... enjoy!
* 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.
* Do you know that Rome is famous for the quantity and quality of its water? Actually this has been the case ever since antiquity, when the Romans built aqueducts to bring water to the city. What you might not know is that some of the aqueducts that are feeding water into the pipes of a large part of Rome are still the original Roman aqueducts! And most fountains you can admire in Rome receive water the same way.
* 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!
* How often do you think a phrase uttered against everybody's wishes really carried the day? Who knows, but there is one instance in the history of Rome when this was actually true. One day in 1586 workers were trying to set upright the obelisk at present standing in St. Peter's Square. To ensure all possible concentration for the 800 workers on the job, other people in the square had been told to be absolutely quiet, on pain of death. Noticing that some ropes were giving way, someone shouted WATER TO THE ROPES! The hemp then shrank and everything turned out ok. Instead of getting a death penalty the man was awarded a prize and bestowed 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.
* You all know Pope John Paul II. But do you know that he risked being left out of the conclave and only managed to get there in time thanks to a Roman bus driver? Well, Carol Wojtyla was running late for the opening of the conclave and was walking along the road in the hope of hitching a ride. A bus driver who was driving back to the depot stopped to find out why this unusual priest was trying to get a ride. When Wojtyla explained the situation to him, the driver offered to take him to the Vatican with the bus. After a few days he realized he had given the last bus lift to a priest, but the first one to a Pope!
* Aren't you proud of the fact that Americans have made that wonderful, handy invention known as fast-food? Ahm, maybe you'll be surprised to learn that that is not quite true. Romans had thought of it - and put it into practice - well over 2000 years ago. Their road network used to link Rome to the rest of its Empire and those roads were equipped with facilities that you would normally expect in a modern-day service station: gas refueling (horse changes), restrooms, diners, refreshment facilities and even take-away hot meals (they'd return the hot stone containers 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 what's what when it comes to travelling abroad. Why don't you surf on his website? You'll find a few handy tips on how to avoid typical pitfalls and truly enjoy your Italian vacation. 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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