Day two in Rome...sore feet, sunburnt, well fed, lovin' it! After breakfast this morning, we walked to the Isola Tiberina where we started our guided walking tour with Antonella De Michelis. The island was once used as a point of entry to the city from the river. Weary travelers who came to Rome were in need of food, housing, and medical assistance. It is said that the Serpent God, Asclepius, came to this island to heal the people of Rome from all the diseases they were dealing with. A temple was built in honor of Asclepius. People were not able to enter the temple, but went to it to be healed. The temple was shaped like a ship (which you will see in the pics. You will also see the shape of the serpent on the ship. This should look familiar). Still today, the hospital is located on the island.
After leaving the island, Antonella led us through the Roman Jewish ghetto. She shared with us stories of the different market plazas visitors to the city would encounter. One of the first ones would have been a fish market. Apparently fish heads were a delicacy (gross). Because we are health educators, she went on to describe the disgusting streets. Butchers did their slaughtering and threw the blood and guts in the streets. Barbers didn't just cut your hair. They were amateur surgeons. They could pull your teeth out and could perform bloodletting. The hair, teeth and blood also went into the streets. People living above some of these places, dumped their feces into the streets. We all quivered in disgust as we thought about living in that type of environment.
One of the highlights of the tour was visiting the marketplace Campo de Fiori. This is much like a farmers market. Lots of fresh foods to purchase. A great place to get pictures of vivid colors and people. The fruit is Ahhhh-mazing! Lucky for us, Campo de' Fiori is just up the street from our hotel, Albergo del Sole, which is the oldest hotel in Rome.
After Campo de Fiori, we headed to Piazza Noavona. Plenty of history here. This place is HUGE! It is shaped in a oval. Chariot races were held here. The Piazza Noavona was also once the city dump. Today, it has two fountains and is normally packed with artists during the day, selling everything from jewelry to paintings.
We finished our guided tour at the Pantheon. I got a few awesome pictures of the sunlight coming in through the top of the Pantheon. It is quite the structure. Maybe over the weekend, we'll be able to go back to check it out again. We have been plotting our weekend already. Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps are just two of our weekend stops planned.
Thursday will include a lecture in the morning at the Accent office and then we are off to the Forum and the Colosseum for the afternoon. On Friday, we will visit the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. That night we are attending an opera. I am looking forward to our tour of the Vatican.
My public safety side came out today. People, vehicles, bicycles and oodles of mopeds use the same small space wherever we walk. Hardly anyone wears a seatbelt in their tiny cars. However, it is rare to see someone who drives a moped without a helmet. I am hoping to find out what sort of laws there are on these two items. I'd also like to discover if they have any laws on cell phone use in cars. Although, whereas we as Americans are so totally obsessed with our cell phones and being on them ALL the time, it is rare to actually see someone on their cell phone here. Refreshing...even though I do miss being connected to everyone. =( I'd also like to find a fire station to check out.
I'll update again tomorrow. Hope everyone is enjoying my posts. I have pics to share, but they are currently uploaded to my Mobile Me account. I'm sure one of my zillions of friends could post the web address for my photos....right???
Ciao!
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