Rome... AROUND Rome!

Salvete, everyone! I hope you're enjoying the dog days of summer. This week I have the joy of introducing you to a very special friend of mine. Silvia Prosperi is a modern-day Roman! She was born and raised in the city and knows it like the back of her hand. She has assisted me with research, with seeing specific sites (I'll let her tell you more about that herself), and has given me much insight as to how the late Republican Forum was arranged. So hang on to your arm-chairs, because we're taking a virtual visit to Italy!
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One of the concepts I often find myself conveying to my guests during my tours in Rome (where I’ve  worked as a tour guide for 11 years) is that Rome today is just a city, but in the ancient times it was “an idea”.

Rome started as a city and extended well beyond its borders enlarging the idea itself of Rome. When a Roman citizen was in Spain or Syria, for instance, he was not feeling like a stranger and needed no “passport”, all these far Provinces were in fact still Rome to him.

The aspect of these cities and countries was in fact not too different from the capital he had left several weeks earlier: fora, baths, cobbled roads, aqueducts, theatres and amphitheatres, “tabernae” and the domus could be found everywhere, and also coins and languages were the same as he’d use at home. The first globalized world!

One weird consequence of this fact is that many “roman” emperors where in fact not born in Rome. Caludius for instance, was born in France, in modern Lyon, at the time called Lugdunum, while Trajan and Hadrian were from Spain. And what about Septimius Severus, who was from Leptis Magna, in current Libya, and consequently not white, but African? But they were not seen as “imposters”, they were Romans to all intents and purposes!
 
Another side effect of this globalized concept is that you do not find roman buildings only in Rome, but in many other countries. And obviously it is easy to “find Rome” just outside its walls, as I like to do with my guests when Rome is too crowded (though it’s not been a problem this summer of 2020—but usually it is!) 

Here is a list of my ten favorite spots, where we're headed, right now, for a quick virtual tour:
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​Appian Way: just outside the Aurelian Walls you’ll find seven miles of preserved ancient road surrounded by important Roman remains, above and underground. The stadium of Maxentius, the mausoleum of Caecilia Metella, Christian and Jewish catacombs are just some of the attractions of this open air museum, and I like to reach them by horse, totally forgetting about modernity.

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​Park of the Aqueducts:  a little further on the way south of Rome you start seeing the arches of five ancient aqueducts scattered in the fields which is now a public park. It is amazing how runners and picnic sets live side by side, next to amazing structures of the first century BC and AD, one of the best legacies the Romans left us.

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​“Castelli Romani”: the Appian way takes you straight into a series of hilly towns that ancient Romans liked for breezes during the summer. An ancient theatre in abandoned Tusculum (photo at right), the sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Diana on Lake Nemi, the castra and water tanks in Albano are all traces of the Roman past here.

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Ostia (right) and Portus (left): if you leave Rome from the western gate of Porta Ostiense you reach the ancient harbour of Rome, located in Ostia, a well-preserved Roman city with warehouses, shops and apartment buildings. Just nearby you have the hexagonal shaped harbor of Trajan, built in the II century AD in Portus. In between the two, a cozy little necropolis, one of the best I’ve ever seen, on a little tongue of land in the Tiber, called “Isola Sacra”, the sacred island.

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​Hadrian’s Villa: on the eastern side of Rome you find the important town of Tivoli, famous for its travertine quarries still mined today (the blocks used to build the Colosseum came from here) and for the huge villa the emperor Hadrian built for himself to manage the Empire in a more relaxing environment.

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Tiberius’ villa: going south you reach Sperlonga, where another emperor, Tiberius, prepared a wonderful residence directly on the Tyrrhenian sea. A summer triclinium (a banqueting hall) was created inside a grotto decorated with statues of Ulysses. Not far from Sperlonga, lies the town of Terracina dominated by the remains of the panoramic temple of Jupiter Anxur. The main piazza of the city is still the original marble pavement of the ancient forum and you can sit there at a table for gelato or a cup of coffee. 

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​Norba: this is a hidden jewel, a republican city destroyed during the civil war between Marius and Sulla and consequently abandoned. It dominates the valley over the Pontine Plain and a sense of archaic atmosphere surrounds you. 

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​Subiaco: this town is more famous for its medieval history, since saint Benedict founded his order here and its first monastery. But you’ll also find the remains of a villa built by Nero and you can literally walk *inside* a Roman aqueduct, the Aqua Claudia. Amazing!

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​Privernum: another town along the Appian Way, not very famous, but interesting because the excavations are still in progress and there’s an opportunity to take an active part in the archeological digging during certain times of the year. We call this project “archaeologist for a day” and we cooperate with the archeologists there to provide an incredible experience for our guests. 

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Ventotene: the little island on the Pontine archipelago (near the more famous Ponza) is the site were Julia, the daughter of Octavian Augustus was confined in exile for five years. She was just the first of a series of “undesired” women of power: Scribonia, Agrippina Maiora, Octavia (the first wife of Nero). Of course, the prison was in fact a luxurious villa whose remains are still visible today. We often arrange sailing cruises lasting a few days, to explore this archipelago and enjoy this crystal clear sea at the same time.

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In Her Own Words: A Bio of Silvia Prosperi--Roman, Guide, Historian

I started as a tour guide in Rome in 2009 with my first project called “A Friend in Rome” (www.afriendninrome.it) which aims to let visitors discover the city of Rome in a customized way. For instance, when I met Brook, she needed a very specific tour dedicated to the first century BC, the Rome of Mark Antony--for her trilogy, and it is not easy to visit roman remains dating back to that age, now hidden by Imperial remains. So we made an effort together and we obtained a special opening at the Griffin house, a republican house on the Palatine Hill. Determination from both of us was key and my reward is not only a long lasting friendship with Brook, but also, that has been my only chance, so far, to visit this special underground site, which is never opened to the public.
 
I like to tailor tours for my guests, trying to understand their needs and stimulate their wishes, When we manage to create the perfect Roman holiday together, it’s magical, and the spell of a pleasant memorable moment on both sides is created.
 
In time, Rome simple wasn’t enough for me! And also, more and more confusing in some tourist areas. So I enlarged my areas of interest to the region around Rome, called Lazio, still surprising and full of genuine interest and peace. I called this second project Around Rome Day Trips (aroundromedaytrips.com) and the list I just provided for this article is the result of some years of research in what required visits in the archaeological field. All these places are reachable in less than 1.5 hr. drive from Rome, perfect for a relaxing day trip during a Roman holiday. Now these two projects coexist and complete each other. Hopefully we will be able to travel internationally again as I cannot wait to show you all the places I’ve discovered.

I want to thank Silvia for her time. She's a phenomenal historian and if she doesn't know an answer, she'll dig around for it until she does.

Next week, I will conclude my series on Ancient Roman Music, featuring ancient brass instruments; how they were used and what they sounded like. So have a great week and READ ON!