Hercules (3). An Obsessed Devotee of the Hero

Marcus Aurelius' son and successor, Commodus, identified with Hercules. Unfortunately, instead of pursuing the welfare of his subjects as Hercules would have, he spent time in self indulgence and proved his prowess by participating in gladiatorial shows killing animals. He was assassinated. 

Detail of the paws and hoody provided by the skin of the lion.

Detail of hair and beard.

Hercules (2). A relief and the gilded bronze from the Ara Maxima.

Hercules as he is usually depicted, a club in one hand and the pelt of the lion killed on the first of his twelve labors. This was perhaps the first hoody recorded in antiquity.  This relief is visible in the upper left hand corner of the Arch of the Money Changers which in turn is attached to the church of San Giorgio in Velabro directly opposite the Temple of Hercules Victor off to the left of the massive Arch of Janus. 

This twice life size  gilded bronze statue of Hercules features only his club.   It is one of several stunning pieces from antiquity housed in the Exedra of Marcus Aurelius. Originally this was the cult statue in the Ara Maxima, the Great Altar of Hercules across the street from the Temple of Hercules Victor. The Ara Maxima was incorporated into the structure of Santa Maria in Cosmedin and only a few parts of it are visible. 

Hercules (1) in Rome's Cattle Market, the Forum Boarium

Temple of Hercules Victor, one of six major ancients sites surrounding Piazza Bocca di verità. 

Two Varieties of Artichokes

Carciofini, little artichokes, another of many displays.

Check out these stickers! Artichokes I saw in Cefalu', Sicily. My hosts used special gloves to handle them. Delicious! 

Artichokes As They Approach the Table

A bouquet of trimmed and untrimmed artichokes. A knife and lemon halves are all it takes to complete the presentation. With each cut, a scrub from the lemon half keeps the artichoke from discoloring.   

Trimmed and quartered these await preparation in any of a number of tasty dishes.  I will never forget a Christmas Eve presentation of a casserole of artichokes and cuttlefIsh.  

Artichokes displayed in Campo de' fiori, Rome

Freshly delivered and not yet trimmed for sale. 

Carciofi! Artichokes..

A lovely bouquet of artichokes, one of my two favorite vegetables (the other--asparagus). The Romans then and now highly valued and served a wide variety of thistles and prickly edibles. When in season varieties unknown or rarely seen in America, proliferate. This and the following photos give you an idea of what you will find at Rome's central outdoor market place--Campo de' fiori.  

Two More Examples of Bits and Pieces

Columns, pedestals, and capitals waiting for relocation.

Two views of the Sacred Area of Largo Argentina

The direction of first view is seen from south to north standing in Via S. Nicola de' Cesarini. Visible in the left background is the facade of Teatro Argentina, site of the premiere of Rossini's opera buffa, Il barbiere di Siviglia. Notice the neatly stacked bits and pieces waiting for placement in the foreground. The second snapshot is taken from Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

The earliest construction of the Sacred Area dates from 200 BC. Additions and alterations to the area continued into the Imperial era to about 80 AD. The chronology of the four temples is unclear, as are to whom any temple is dedicated. 

This area had been built over in the medieval era and survived into the twentieth century. Two more snapshots of fragments complete this overview of an area available to all. There are even benches where many come with a lunch to enjoy the site and watch the many cats that live among the ruins.

Bits and Pieces in the Sacred Area of Largo Argentina

Anyone who has ever been to Rome has seen the ruins of the Roman Forum and the nearby Imperial Forums. Each Forum has piles of stacked bits and pieces comprising parts of a puzzle that archaeologists continue to try solving. 

One of my favorite ruins on a much smaller scale is located at the busy intersection of Largo Argentina and Corso Vittorio Emanuele which leads directly to St. Peter's Basilica. The area is about twenty feet below modern street level. Discovered during excavations in the late 1920s, it has been preserved as an archaeological zone and pieced together from fragments found strewn about the perimeter. 

The zone is comprised of four temples labelled A to D. Its history is of great interest since it is the eastern end of the Porticus of Pompey leading to the Theater of Pompey, famous as the site of the assassination of Julius Caesar.  

The two pictures, part of a moss covered column and a pedestal, stand out from the many shards carefully laid out in an attempt to eventually fill in the spaces of the puzzle of the Sacred Area. 

Amoroma--Love Rome! Four of My Favorite Sites

A walk through Rome is physically paging through history. You ARE there! Whether intact, visibly ravaged by time, or in bits and pieces, the city of Rome's sites and monuments are a gripping, dramatic testimony to time and to change. As it unfolds before me I can feel the palpable sense of history.

  

A life-long opera fan, I start with the Teatro dell'Opera where I have seen innumerable performances. But Rome is a city of temples and  I particularly love, the Temple of Portunus. Not shown on this post but to follow, are several important sites close by the temple: the circular Temple of Invincible Hercules; across the street rises the Arch of Janus, and barely twenty feet away, is the Arch of the Moneychangers which is attached to a wall of the medieval church of San Giorgio in Velabro. The attractions in this area continue in the opposite direction, up the street: the ruins of the Portico of Ottavia in front of the facade of the Theater of Marcellus grafted onto an apartment builing. The Capitoline Hill is only a block away.

Near my apartment is the emperor Hadrian's Tomb, better known as Castel Sant'Angelo (also the setting to act three of Puccini's opera Tosca). I love the Bridge of the Angels, each of whom bears an instrument of Christ's passion. It is the perfect spot for beautiful, evocative walks by day or night and St. Peter's Basilica is visible in the distance. I caught this shot one morning during a rare snowfall in February, 2010. 

I hope you enjoy these posts. Your comments are welcome!

Godete! Enjoy!

Rome's Opera House

Interior of Rome's Teatro dell'Opera, the Royal Box.

The Markets of Trajan

Exhedra of the Markets of Trajan built into the ascending Quirinal Hill.

Temple of Portunus

The Temple of Portunus, god of the nearby harbor in the Tiber River, in the vicinity of the Tiber Island.

Castel Sant'Angelo and Hadrian's Tomb

Castel Sant'Angelo and Hadrian's Tomb in the background during a rare snowfall, February 2010