At the Baths of Caracalla

John and I got to the Baths on a regular Rome city bus.

If you want to "get small in Rome" this is a great place to do it. The 3rd century AD complex is enormous.
The Farnese Hercules is now in the Archeological Museum in Naples. The site's curators have put a life-sized photograph where the statue once stood.

The curators have also put out fragments of the gorgeous mosaics that once adorned the floors of the libraries, gymnasiums, saunas and pools..

The Baths could once accommodate 1600 Romans at a time and would have seen 6000-8000 visitors a day.

The sheer height of the remaining walls is breathtaking

and the remaining mosaic floors are beautiful.

The ruins are also famous for inspiring modern sites like the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City and Chicago's Union Station.

Buried beneath the baths,        

excavators have uncovered the remains of an opulent Roman home from around 134-138 AD.

The dining room has some beautiful frescoes.

Only a small part of the original Baths remains, yet John and I were stunned by it's size and magnitude.

This worker was cleaning the floor of a swimming pool as we passed.

so the glory of the original mosaic patterns is not concealed by debris.

We couldn't help but feel in touch with the ancient, individual bathers

who would have passed time playing on this game board carved into the marble poolside.

Nothing builds an appetite like exploring the glories of yesteryear. The app on John's phone directed us to the bus stop that would take us back downtown and to lunch.

In the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina

Bill and I came to Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina for the coffee at Teichner but we stayed for the Basilica.

There was a Lucina, a Roman Christian, living on this site in the 4th century AD.

A romanesque lion at the door of an Italian church is always a sign of wonders within.

When we enter a church we always stand for a moment at the very back to take it all in.

Here is a Holy Water font we won't soon forget. I suppose the skull is reminding us we must die.

The back wall of this church has unusual and evocative memorials incised into stone slabs. 

Albert August Androt: nice portrait.

Another fine portrait. I could not decipher the name.

Your guess will no doubt be better than mine on the significance of this one.

This lion is a very striking individual!

Maybe you can tell me about the iconography of a crowned bird with a vase of flowers.

This nice pulpet is halfway down the nave on the left

The last chapel on the left has this interesting sculpture.

The group of figures, under their arch, bid us approach.

for a closer look.

I always like to sit in a pew for a while, look around, and let the atmosphere of the church come to me.

The mid-17th century altarpiece is by Guido Reni. How interesting that it is not framed. Gives it a modern look.

"The Floating World" at Palazzo Braschi

John and I were pleased to find a large and fascinating collection of Ukiyoe prints overlooking Piazza Navona at the Museum of Rome in Palazzo Braschi. 

"The Floating World" features elegant and sometimes racy images of urban elegance and wit set in Tokyo in the Edo period (1603-1858).

Elegant geishas and samurais are the main actors in the prints and they are given plenty of room to display their gorgeous apparel and their cultivated talents.

These young women, and and their attendant, collecting persimmons are by Kitagawa Utamaro (1803-1804),

as is this young samurai, with his female companions, hunting with falcons, (1804-1806).

Young women with an enormous snowball.

Another Utamaro print "Hanging out laundry on a roof," features a lovely detail of a cat, c. 1794.

Another Utamaro cat; at the feet of a courtesan, c 1808.

We didn't know Miyagawa Chōshun, so we were pleased to discover his images of street entertainers,

and street kids, c.1720.

Utamaro puppeteers in performance.

Fun that both puppets and puppeteers are visible.

Nice to be able to get up close to these meticulous prints.

Three of Kajiwara Genta Kagesue's portraits of actors from his series, Most Successful Kyōgen Plays, 1815.

"The actor Ichikawa Danjuro as Kan Shojo from the drama 'Sekai no hana Sugawara denju'"-- intense!

"The actor Nakamura Nakazo as Matsuomaru in the wagon-stopping scene from the drama Sugawara denju tenarai kagami," 1796.

We'll end on a corker: Utagawa Kuniyoshi's "The three vassals of Yorimitsu and demons," 1861. 

We love those demons! 

* * *

The large, exciting exhibition continues until June 23, 2024.

Monday is Lentil Day at Da Augusto

It is Monday in Rome. 

Bill and I are crossing the Tiber to visit our favourite restaurant in Trastevere.

Da Augusto does not open for half an hour so we have time to explore the colourful streets and vicoli.

Bill is collecting graffiti and posters.

We love this local Superwoman.

We know that the magnificent Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere is just steps away, so we decide to drop in.

Here it is. The mosaics on the facade were put there in the 12th century. How magical is that!

At midday shafts of sunlight illuminate the visitors.

Italian cuisine is famous for performing miracles with the simplest of ingredients. It does not get simpler than sausage and lentils -- but the flavour!

On Sunday an enthusiast of Italian "slow food" told me about vignarola (vee-nya-ROL-a): fava beans, artichokes and peas. Our server at Augusto told us they had it on the menu as the ingredients were all in season.

Also in season is puntarelle: an endive in anchovy dressing.

You see why Mondays in Rome find us at Augusto.

"Sono felice" means "I'm happy" in Italian. Sono felice!

Augusto serves their tiramisu by the slice. It is delicious.

We stepped blinking into the sun, and slipped down the shady Vicolo de'Renzi toward Via del Moro,

the bustling Piazza Trilussa, and home.