20 Domenica: Flea Market and Pantheon

Trastevere must have the greatest nightlife in Rome, at least judging by the noise beating against the casement windows of the Vicola di Renzi 2. Despite the noise, and because of the jetlag, I managed to sleep fairly well and was ready to shop the flea market in Trastevere. After breakfasting on bread from Forno Renella, the bakery across the street, and strawberries from the produce vender on Viale di Trastevere, we took off to see what we could buy. I needed souvenirs for my folks and goodies for myself, and was curious to see what we'd find.

Turns out you can get most anything at the Porta Portese, from mosaics to hardware to cowboy hats and coffee sets. It's nearly impossible to keep any sense of direction since whoever had been in charge of laying out the streets in Trastevere had clearly also been given the task of arranging the booths. I obsessed over some scarves while Dan melted in the direct sun. We tried haggling, unsuccessfully as it turns out, but wandered off with a few purchases.

A few observations on Rome at this point. No malls. No department stores. Everyone smokes. The women in Rome wear black primarily, layer with jackets and scarves, prefer the cross-body bag and seem to scorn lipstick. While most people wouldn't necessarily be described as "thin," they are certainly not fat, nor do they appear to be obsessed with the gym. My opinion is that they keep fit walking for blocks and blocks in heels balanced on cobblestones. Most Italians are my height or shorter. Many people lacked reservations about mining their nostrils in public. They love American music, but nothing recent. Most people above the age of 20 looked "smart" without being overdone although trends were obvious. The streets, even the large ones, are lined with small shops and sidewalk stalls, of which the later may or may not be legal.

Groceries are small and comprised of several small rooms. The one chain we did see, Di Per Di, had my favorite edible in Rome - blood orange juice. All the food I had in Rome was great (except for the nasty tourist pizza in Pompeii), but the blood orange juice was addictive. It came in quart (liter?) cartons for about 2.50 euros. Other stores selling food tended to be either specialty shops for meat, sweets, wine, produce or gourmet items, or take out shops. Several days later we did find a crepe place close to home that sold either sweet or savory crepes. I had an artichoke cream crepe that was both odd and delicious. A crepe about 12 inches across was made on a small griddle, then covered with artichoke cream about the consistency of yoghurt, drizzled with a red sauce we never identified, folded in quarters and served on a Styrofoam plate.

Anyway, after dropping our purchases we set off for the Pantheon. The Pantheon was surrounded with the usual collection of tourists, hawkers and opportunists hanging out in period clothing (or some interpretation thereof). After the blaze of Italian sun the Pantheon was cool and beautiful, with detail everywhere too complex for the eye to distinguish all at one time. We managed to be quiet enough not to offend too many people and sat on a pew in front of the central altar to catch our breath and take in our surroundings.

The Pantheon dates from before the first century BC and is likely the best preserved building of its age in the world today. It has been in continual use since at least Hadrian's reign. It once housed temples (shrines?) to many of Rome's gods (and possibly others) but has been used as a Christian church since the 7th century, which likely protected it from abandonment and ruin. As with all of Rome's antiquities, much of the building materials and features of the original Pantheon have been pilfered for construction and ornamentation of other later buildings. However, much more remains intact in the Pantheon than with contemporary structures, including its huge bronze doors. The Pantheon has also been used as a tomb, housing kings, artists and musicians alike, including Raphael. More and better information about the history and construction of the Pantheon can be found elsewhere, but it remains one of the best examples of the living history of Rome one can find.

Tired and hungry we ate pasta at a ristorante on the piazza in front of the Pantheon. Dan and I split a pizza and then I had a lemon chicken risotto. For dinner that night I had one of the best dishes I ate in Rome, tortellini with prosciutto and cream, while Dan had bucattini all'Amatriciana (hollow round spaghetti in a tomato sauce).