Tom`s travels: October 2019

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Anguillara Sabazia & Bracciano (17/04/2019)

Another day another day-trip, this time heading north towards the lake area. After taking a regional train from Trastevere train station I reached the town of Anguillara Sabazia in less than an hour. The station, located far from the city center, meant that I had to walk a bit through residential areas before reaching the old town. After reaching the town, which is located on the southeastern end of Lake Bracciano, I then climbed the hill through its old core. On the highest point is the medieval tower, once part of a probably larger structure. A tiny park around it granted a nice view on both sides of the town overlooking the lake. After enjoying the view I then walked down through the old town streets and reached the norther part where the Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta is located. Built in the baroque style during the 18th century I entered and quickly had a look of the decorations as a communion was commencing. From there I walked onwards and tried to descend to the lakeshore from the eastern side but found out the street just ended in a small patch of trees closed off by a fence. I walked back from the way I came and then reached the lakeshore from the other side of town. I first went to touch the lake's water with my hand and felt it was quite chilly. As I started my walk along the lakeshore I decided to take off my sweater as the strong sun had started to make the temperature quite hot. My walk took me over the sidewalk next to the road for quite a while until then I was forced to walk on the street as the sidewalk was not there anymore. Despite the random trafficked area I managed to continue on and then take a side street for a little while. After that, I rejoined the main road again which at some points was rather narrow and the cars drove quite close to me. Luckily as it was lunchtime there weren't that many driving at that time of day. After several kilometers, I started to reach the first houses of the town of Bracciano. After finding a supermarket I headed inside to buy a few things to eat as lunch. Walking onwards I then entered the old town and reached a terrace at the eastern part of town which provided beautiful views over the lake and the town of Anguillara Sabazia from which I had come from, in the distance. That was a perfect spot to stop, relax and enjoy my lunch. After eating I then decided to walk around the pretty streets and passed by the main church of Santo Stefano; it was closed so I just had to content myself by observing its Baroque facade. From the little square in front of it, I could clearly see the eastern walls and tower of the town's castle. I intended to visit it but found out the entrance was located on the opposite side. So after walking downhill I reached the western part of the town where a small park encircled the castle. After crossing a small bridge I entered the complex and headed to the ticket office. After buying the ticket and being giving a small map and description of the building I started the visit of the complex. Built around the 15th century by Braccio da Montone, it then passed under the hands of the famous Orsini family and two centuries later to the Odescalchi family who still owns it to this day. The castle is made up of a set of outer walls and a large fortified central keep with five towers. After walking through the first gate I reached a small courtyard that featured a staircase with a statue of a bear, symbol of the Orsini family, and two doors. The door to the right presented what used to be the castle's armory destined for the weapons and soldiers. The door to then left, which I then crossed, gave way to a staircase that brought me to the first floor. From here I walked through several rooms all featuring beautiful frescoes and decorations. The first was the Sala Papalina, named so because it hosted Pope Sixtus IV, the second was Sala Umberto I, where the king of Italy Umberto I was hosted. Then followed the sala del Trittico and sala del Pisanello both featuring a full band of frescoes right below the ceiling. Then came the sala dei Cesari, the largest in that part of the castle, and featuring busts of Roman emperors. After that the sala degli Orsini and sala di Isabella with beautiful original wooden ceilings and renaissance beds. A staircase then led upstairs to the second floor where another series of rooms followed onwards. I passed through the sala Gotica with germanic styled neogothic furniture and the sala delle armi, called so because it used to host the impressive collection of weapons and armors of the castle. The room was empty though as they just moved all the collection to another room which I saw right after. On a room right above the battlements, a new exhibition had been set up showcasing some beautiful pieces of warfare and the incredible 11 by 4 meters fresco made by Antoniazzo Romano. It represents the life of Gentil Virginio Orsini, on the right meeting with Piero de Medici and on the left a ceremonial gallop followed by an army. After admiring the masterpiece I then walked out onto the battlements and up the eastern tower from where I had a great view of the old town on one side and the lake on the other. Finally, I descended back down and reached the main inner courtyard featuring a typical renaissance loggia and a small building where the kitchens were located. The tour of the castle was over and after walking down the first staircase I had encountered I walked back out of the castle. Then I headed to the train station where I finally took the ride back to Rome.

The tower in Anguillara Sabazia

View from the tower's small park

A street of the old town

View of the same street from a different angle

View of the town of Anguillara Sabazia

The way between Anguillara Sabazia and Bracciano

A street in the old town of Bracciano and one of the castle's towers

View of the lake and the town of Anguillara Sabazia in the distance

A street in the old town

The castle's westernmost tower

The entrance to the castle

View of the lake from the castle

The castle's armory

The Sala Papalina

The decorations in one of the rooms

The Sala dei Cesari

Original ceiling in one of the rooms

View of the lake from the rooms

The new display of weapons

The fresco by Antoniazzo da Romano

Gentil Virginio Orsini

A knight's armor

The inner courtyard

View of the ramparts

The church of Santo Stefano from the castle

The main courtyard with the renaissance loggia

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Ostia Antica (16/04/2019)

I decided to head and visit my brother in Rome for a few days and in the meantime do a few day trips in the surrounding area. My first trip of the kind was the one I took to visit the archaeological area of Ostia Antica, the ancient Roman harbor town at the mouth of the Tiber river, southwest from Rome. After leaving my brother's house I reached the metro station and took the next ride to Ostia. I got off at the intended station and walked just a short distance before reaching the entrance to the archaeological area. As it was early morning the site was still quite deserted but I started to notice large groups of school groups heading in this direction. The city was originally founded during the 7th century B.C. by the then king of Rome Ancus Marcius and expanded largely the following centuries, particularly during the imperial period. As I walked I passed through what was once the Porta Romana, the gate leading towards Rome, surrounded by the foundations of warehouses. Onwards I then came across the large complex of the Baths of Neptune, built in 139 A.D. under orders of emperor Hadrian. A nice elevated platform granted an incredible view over the whole area including the sight of the large mosaic representing the god of the seas, Neptune, which gave the name to the complex. To the north of it I then walked among the ruins of the police barracks, built during the same period of the baths. A large open square covered in typical maritime pines held a series of well preserved mosaics which depicted corporations of traders all represented by a specific type of boat. As I walked around it and admired the mosaics I then reached the beautiful theatre, originally built under the rule of emperor Augustus and enlarged two centuries later reaching a capacity of 4000 spectators. Passing then more blocks of warehouses I walked through an area filled with Domus, roman houses, that held impressive mosaics. As I approached the center of the archaeological site, the buildings started to become more lavish. Particularly, in the area close to the Capitolium, the central roman temple at the crossroads of the city's main streets the decumanus and cardus, the houses were well preserved and some still had the original walls paintings and ceilings. A fully refurbished one showed a traditional bakery with the ovens and the marbled walls. Walking to the south I then passed an area where the latrines, the public toilets, were located and next to that more warehouses leading to the southeastern gate, Porta Laurentina. A temple was built here and dedicated to Attis the consort of Cybele and representing the fruits of the earth which die in the winter and regrow again in the spring. After a bit more walking I reached the western end of the archaeological site where a series of domus, named after a particular object or mosaic were located. First the one of psyche and amor, then the one of Bacchus and Arianne, the one of castor and pollux, all the way to the sothern gate, Porta Marina. Next to it a large residential area called Garden Houses had been built in 128 A.D. under Hadrian and was supposed to be a lavish neighborhood with spacious houses and shops surrounded by gardens. At that point, I had basically covered the whole archaeological area and so I decided to walk it all back and exit from where I had originally entered. Once outside, I walked by the castle of Giulio II a 15th-century fortress built by the then cardinal Giuliano Della Rovere who then became Pope Julius II. It featured a triangular-shaped fortified building with three round towers at each corner. The entrance was closed but I then managed to see the small medieval village which had been built around it. Among the picturesque streets and houses, I then visited the Basilica di Sant'Aurea the local church built around the same period of the castle and featuring a renaissance style. At that point, as it was just around midday I decided to walk the three kilometers separating me from the sea. I crossed a main road and walked along secondary countryside roads leading to the Riserva Naturale Statale Litorale Romano a protected wooded area close to the sea. It is a huge land featuring a tight mediterranean forest to protect the coast from erosion. As I walked through it I noticed the many paths leading everywhere and used by locals for their daily run or just as a relaxing stroll. After a bit of walking, I finally managed to reach the seaside and walked all the way to the beach. The sun had started to come from the clouds here and there which made it pleasant to admire the waves. After a bit of relaxing on a bench, I finally decided to head to the nearest metro stop from where I took a ride that brought me back to Rome.