Roma ancora – Rome again

When the train reached Rome and I got a taxi, I began to wonder whether I had made the right choice. As we crawled through the Roman traffic, I wasn’t sure that trading the beauty of the Italian countryside for this urban chaos was a good idea. After I last visited Rome in 2016, I declared my love affair with the city over. The city had become so “modern” that I no longer felt at home there. In many ways, I was guilty of precisely the same thing that I have accused many Delbarton alumni of – that is, of wanting a place to stay exactly as it was on the day one left. Of course, a city, or a school, is an organic being. It has to continually grow and change or else it will fossilize and die.

For me, the moment of realization back in 2016 occurred at the bus stop. I went to catch the 23, the bus that runs along the Tiber towards the Vatican. When I got to the stop, I noticed that there was one of those electric bulletin board announcing what time the next bus would arrive. What????? Where’s the sport in that? In the good old days, one showed up at the bus stop and waited, and waited, and waited. The number people waiting would grow; and, soon, they would begin to mutter and curse about the lousy service. It was a kind of community building based on shared frustration. Then, inevitably, three of the same bus would arrive at the same time and everyone would pile on to the already overcrowded first bus. No, Rome was no fun anymore.

My sense of unease was only heightened when I reached Sant’Anselmo, my former home on the Aventine. When I was given my room assignment, I thought there must have been a mistake. My room was on a semi-public corridor, with no private bath and only cold water. Rome may have modernized, but aspects of life at Sant’Anselmo obviously had not. “I can’t live like this anymore” I thought. “I’ll stay one night and then find a hotel.” The room (except for the new windows and lights) was essentially the same as the room I lived in for two years in the early 80’s. I dumped my things and headed into the neighborhood to pick up a few things. Two former students from Delbarton were coming for Vespers and then we were going out for dinner.

With alumni in Rome

Liam and Nick arrived pretty much on schedule.  Both are students at ND and were living in Rome for the semester as part of their junior year abroad.  Nick had lived at Sant’Anselmo as part of our summer work/study program. He had given Liam a quick tour, but this time he saw more. We sat in the nave for Vespers and then set off for La Villetta, a classic Roman neighborhood eatery. I had been coming to La Villetta since I first came to Rome. The amazing thing is that when I walked in, Orlando, who had been a young waiter when I was a student, got up from the table and gave me the classic Italian double kiss. He’s a few years younger than I am, but it’s amazing that, after all these years, he still recognizes me on my sporadic visits. I think it was his son who waited on us. He was very debonair as a young man and, I believe, married the owner’s daughter. The son, Claudio, now runs the business. As usual, the place was packed. In all honesty, I really don’t think the food is very good anymore and I am amazed that so many locals still frequent it. Still, we had a great evening and it was fun to hear the kids’ stories.

The park of Ostia Antica

I woke up the following morning in a better mood. In order to make the transition from country to city a bit easier, I decided to visit Ostia Antica today. Ostia Antica is Rome’s ancient port city that was at the mouth of the Tiber River. The port was abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire because the harbor required regular dredging. Over time, the city disappeared under layers of sand and silt. Excavations over the last two centuries have brought much of the city back into the light. It is an archaeological park now and it is beautiful place to wander among the abandoned streets, houses and shops. I spent about two hours there. Once again, the ruins captured my imagination as I poked in and out of ancient buildings, sat in the sun o an ancient stone, and watched the lizards run up and down the Roman bricks. My stomach started sending me signals, though, that it was time to get something to eat. So, I got on the train and headed back into the city.

Rigatoni alla Carbonara

My intended target was Hostaria Da Enzo on the via Ostiense. This was a recommendation from one of our Italian teachers. It was the height of the lunch hour when I arrived, but I was lucky enough to snag a table. I have a “tradition” that I always have pasta carbonara at my first meal in Rome. I broke my own rule by not ordering it the night before. I did not want to be disappointed. Da Enzo is a very old-school Roman trattoria and I was sure that I would get a good carbonara there. My instincts were correct and soon I was tucking into a bowl of egg deliciousness. A couple of grilled sausages and a salad rounded things out. I passed on dessert, but the house provided a nice vin santo and a couple of ciambelline al vino. This was a perfect set up for a siesta.

View from the Janiculum

The weather was stunningly beautiful that day. The little bit of rain the day before had cleared the skies and it seemed the perfect afternoon to do something I hadn’t done since my student days – walk up to the top of the Janiculum hill and watch the sunset from the Piazza Garibaldi. I set off with a spring in my step. I quickly realized, however, that I had forgotten just how steep the climb was. Fortunately, the city of Rome is kind enough to provide resting spots along the way, of which I took full advantage. By the time I got to the top, the sun was almost setting.  A good crowd of sunsetters had gathered like me for the view. It was indeed magical to watch the city below me glow in the warm light of the setting sun. Then it was over. I was very glad that I had done this, but was extremely disappointed by the horrible condition of the Piazza Garibaldi – there was trash everywhere. The place look totally uncared for. I had read about the decline in services in Rome, but you would think that the city would be more concerned about a place visited by so many tourists.

Pizza at Eataly

Knowing that I had a big lunch, I wasn’t planning on another full meal. Someone I know mentioned going to Eataly in the evening. Certainly, there would be plenty of options there, but it seemed, I don’t know, like a cop out. Still, it seemed like a viable option for a solo diner like myself. I decided to try it. It’s not far from Sant’Anselmo, but because of traffic, it’s a little tricky to get to on foot. There are several bus options that resolve this issue, which is what I did. When I got there, I opted for pizza. I have to say, I was not impressed. Service seemed disorganized and I did not care for the pizza. It had too much dough for my taste, good dough, but just too much of it. I gave it a try, but won’t be doing that again when there is amazing pizza all over the city.