A Tomb in Appio Latino, Newly Discovered

 

The headline reads: "A tomb in via Latina. Valeria died 1900 years ago."

We read in Il Messaggero (a Rome daily newspaper) one morning this month (5/4/22) of an archaeological discovery in the Appio Latino neighborhood, about a mile from our current location, near Piazza Re di Roma. We couldn't resist the temptation to find the site, and headed there on our mid-day walk. We found the excavation at one end of via Luigi Tosti--a cross street along the famous consular road, via Latina--not far, as it turns out, from one of our previous (28 of them) Rome addresses.    

There was a guy there eating his lunch, who turned out to be an archaeologist on the project.  He said he was present when the discovery was made, in the course of very ordinary work on old water pipes a meter or two below the surface.

What the workers found was a portion of a necropolis that exists on both sides of the length of via Latina. More specifically, a funerial altar in marble, inscribed to "Valeria Laeta, daughter of Publio, who lived 13 years and 7 months." According to the archaeologists, the altar and the tomb date to the 2nd century a.d. (CE in woke speak)--1900 years ago. It is not clear if they found Valeria's remains. 

Dianne chatted up the archaeologist, who said the first hint of significant remains was a Roman wall--the one directly in from of him in the photo above. He said the presence of archaeologists was typical (even required) on projects that involved digging at any significant depth. Some neighbors were interested, too. 

The altar has been removed to the care of the superintendent who presides over such issues, to protect against the risk of theft, according to the Messaggero story. The archeologist confirmed to us that is had been removed for "conservation." When it will see the light of day for the public is anyone's guess. Don't hold your breath. 

Bill 

"Googie" architecture: in Rome

If you've spent time in Los Angeles, or Las Vegas, or even Seattle, you'll have some knowledge of "googie" architecture, even if you don't know the name.  Associated with the 1950s, the style features a futuristic feel, produced by sharp and odd angles, sweeping arches, boomerang and pallette

Gas station, Los Angeles

shapes, zig-zag lines, and atom motifs.  In Los Angeles, where it took its name from "Googies," a coffee shop designed by modernist architect John Lautner, it is usually found in gas stations, fast food restaurants, and coffee shops, though there's a superb example at LAX, the city's main airport, where the Theme Building, completed by Pereira and Luckman architects in 1961, greets visitors with its space-age glow.

Italy had its boom years, too, but it didn't participate with quite the same intensity in the catalysts of the googie moment--the space age and the era's car culture--and so outstanding examples of the style, especially in Rome, are few.  In fact, the word "few" may overestimate.  Still, googie enthusiasts might have some success in the San Giovanni area, easily accessed by the Metro, where a construction boom in the 1950s and 1960s yielded several buildings with some relationship to Googie.

Garage, Metronio Market

Back of Metronio Market

Two are on via Magna Grecia, a major thoroughfare running south from the San Giovanni Metro stop.  As you walk south, the first you'll come across is Ricardo Morrandi's Metronio Market.  Its outstanding feature is the playful circular garage, but the two long sides of the triangular facade are also of interest, with their accordion-like window treatments.  The market opened in 1957.

Piccadilly Hotel, once a movie theater

Another, a bit further along, is the lower facade of what is now the Piccadilly Hotel, and was once a movie theater: the googie is in the dark forms which bore the name of the cinema and in the multi-angled canopy below. (The closed cinemas are the protagonists in an Italian film, "Fantasmi Urbani: Inchiesta sui cinema chiusi da Roma" - "Urban ghosts - An investigation into Rome's closed cinemas". You can see a trailer on YouTube - look for hints of googie.)

Across the street, still on via Magna Grecia--perhaps across from the market--you'll see a 1960-vintage apartment building, sandwiched between two structures in the more-familiar neo-classical style.  The angled balconies participate in the "googie" mode.

Not the best photo for this purpose. The "pallette" ceiling
is upper left.  

Continuing south on via Magna Grecia, turn right on via Gallia.  In the second block, on the left side of the street, just past the church, is Bar Clementi.  It's a great place for a coffee--it was our regular coffee bar for two months--and one doesn't have to pay extra to sit down.  And while you're there, note the pallette-shaped ceiling, right out of a googie textbook.  Ceilings such as this one, which invoke the space age, are quite common in Rome bars.

Angled balconies, via Gallia

Exiting Bar Clementi and continuing west on via Gallia, you'll find another set of cleverly angled
balconies.  Another tribute to googie.

Bill

A hint of "googie" in the shape of the shields for the lettering
of a dancehall, "Stellarium," in Appio Latino, 2008

Rear of the Appio Latino dancehall, with its mushroom roof

Caffarella Picnic

The woman at right was picking wild brocoletti

Not without interest.  The double negative seemed appropriate to Parco della Caffarella, the scruffy enormous open space adjacent to inhabited Appio Latino, on one side, and the Via Appia Antica, on the other.  Though we hadn't been in the park in years, we invited a friend to share a walk--and a picnic lunch, a delightful one that she graciously prepared--in one of Rome's great green spaces, once owned by the Caffarellas, the last in a long line of wealthy families whose lands have been expropriated for the public--and our--good.

In-park garden

We began our trek on via Britannia just south of Piazza Tuscolo, took the angled street through Piazza Zama and over the railroad tracks, sempre diritto al fondo (straight ahead to the end) to the end, that is, of via Macedonia, which runs straight into one of the park entrances.  On the left as we descended into the park, a very large garden, likely--but not surely--on public land.

Casale della Vaccareccia

The park is narrow here, running toward the southeast, mostly roads through open fields of weeds. On the left just ten minutes out, a very old homestead--the Casale della Vaccareccia--where they're still doing something--what it is is not clear--while participating in the honored local custom of accumulating junk and stuff.  Could be West Virginia.

Nymphaeum

Moving on, and bearing toward the right side of the park, we found a real, genuine, authentic ancient nymphaeum, the Nymphaeum of Egeria, fed since the second century AD by a spring, and perhaps (though probably not) once the source for the bottled water by that name, available in every market. The nymphaeum, now nearly 2000 years old, was constructed by Herodes Atticus. Except for a bridge to carry people across the wet grounds in front of the structure, nothing much has been done to maintain the structure or the grounds.  Water pools in front, covered with algae, much to the delight of several turtles that inhabit the area.

Picnic on a bench in the Sacred Wood

Ahead, to the right and up a hill, there's the back of the locked Urbana church, and views of Appio Latino and beyond.  And further along on the road, up another hill with small, recently planted trees, a nearly ideal place to picnic: a bench turned outward, toward Monte Cavo, Rocca di Cave, and the Alban Hills. And a breeze to clear away the bugs.  The hill is known as the Sacred Wood, and it is said to be the place where Herodes Atticus ordered a sacred wood to be planted.

Detritus

After lunch we headed back down the hill, turned right for a brief period, then across the park, passing over a swiftly flowing stream--obviously the victim of a previous flooding--now strewn with plastic bags and other detritus.  Nice!  A large poplar distributes its "cotton" so that the ground appears snow-covered.







We were on our way back now, through a fence, past some friendly donkeys and a herd of
sheep being taken to the Casale by dogs that at first seem interested in protecting their flock from the intruders--meaning us--but then retreated, apparently exhausted by their day's effort.

And home.  Not without interest.
Bill

Never did figure out what this was

Our Holiday Gift to You: A Limoncello Recipe and Story

Where we learned to love the Roman Limoncello custom

It’s holiday season, and so we’re thinking of Limoncello – that great sweet and not very expensive liqueur from Sorrento, south of Rome.

Lemon/alcohol infusion - steeping in our
basement bathroom shower

We had our first taste of our now favorite liqueur at a large, family trattoria in the Appia neighborhood of Rome – La Zingarella (the “little gypsy”).  We had finished – we thought – a wonderful dinner when the waiter plunked a large bottle of yellow-colored liquid on the table.  Wait, wait, we said, we didn’t order that.  Sure, I know, he responded.  And, we said, we couldn’t possibly drink all that.  Of course, he responded again, just drink what you want.  And so we were introduced to the Roman restaurant custom – at least of some Roman restaurants – of a free after-dinner Limoncello.  And we were hooked.

It’s not an expensive drink in Rome, and it’s usually made by the restaurant.  So it must be easy to make, I thought.  I scoured the Internet for recipes for Bill’s birthday, not knowing I was engaging in a 4-month process.  So what Bill got for that first birthday was a look at the large glass jar of lemon/alcohol infusion steeping in our basement bathroom.  So classy.

Buona festa!

But that first batch convinced me to do another, for which I got some great help from Bill at critical times – zesting and filtering.  And yet another. 

In the spirit of the holiday season, we offer you Dianne’s recipe – derived from some Internet sources and experimentation. 

Buon natale e buon anno,  Dianne and Bill

Dianne’s Limoncello Recipe

Note: This is at a minimum a 90-day process.  So if you are thinking Christmas gifts, you have to plan ahead.

Ingredients:

One Bottle (750 ml) Everclear (95% alcohol 190 Proof) (see below – some prefer a lower proof)

One Bottle (750 ml) good but not necessarily premium vodka (100% proof).  Note some recipes call for only grain alcohol.  Some purists don’t like the use of vodka at all.  Some like 80 proof mid-grade vodka.  Some creators of Limoncello don’t like the high proof grain alcohol and prefer 151 proof.  I’ve given you my combination.  You can try your own.

15-17 large thick skinned bright yellow lemons – organic, without scars or flaws in the skin if possible.  Use organic because the skin of the lemon is what you are using, and you don’t want those pesticides in your Limoncello.  Thick skinned, smooth skins – means easier zesting.  15 if they are smooth and large; 17 if they are not so smooth and smaller.

1 liter (1000 ml - about 4 cups) filtered tap water or distilled water (not mineral water)

4 cups pure cane white sugar (for thicker and sweeter Limoncello, increase sugar by 1-2 cups)

Equipment:

Microplane Zester

Very clean and dry glass jar, at least 1 gallon

Brita filterer and filters (if you use a Brita filter to filter the alcohol and water)

1 box each of #2 and #4 unbleached cone coffee filters

Some of the equipment: #2 and #4 filters; swing-cap bottle
and large and small funnels

10 250 ml bottles that seal tightly.  I found mine online; swing tops are preferable.  I bought 20 for $4 each with shipping from Specialty Bottle Supply (specialtybottle.com).  You also can bottle smaller amounts – e.g. 22 100 ml bottles; or larger – several 500 ml or 750 ml bottles.

One large glass pitcher – ideally at least 1 gallon

Metric measuring cup

At least 2 funnels – one to fit the #4 , the other the #2 filter (i.e.,  one for your gallon+ jar, the other for your final bottles)

STEP 1: Wash the lemons and scrub them under very warm water with vegetable or other plastic brush.  You want all the stuff off the skin, including any wax.  Dry them thoroughly, or let them dry.

Zest the lemons.  You will want a Microplane Zester for this. Try not to get any of the white pith in with the lemon zest.  The pith is bitter.  If your lemon is bumpy, don’t try to microplane as much yellow zest as you can while getting white pith.  Instead, leave some of the yellow peel on and avoid any white pith.  It’s better if your partner helps with this, but basically you can do it in under an hour.

STEP 2: Filter the liquor.  I use a Brita pitcher that I clean out and use.  I use the filters only for this purpose and then toss them.  I don’t use filters I’ve used for water or will use for water.  Filter each 750 ml of alcohol 4 times.

STEP 3: Combine the zest and filtered liquor into the clean 1+ gallon jar and screw the lid tight (or add plastic wrap under the lid to make the seal tight).  Count this Day 1.

Leave the jar in the kitchen for a week or so and shake it up every couple days.  Then put it away – preferably in your basement (ours goes in our downstairs basement bathroom shower, which we generally don’t use – as we said, how classy).

Labeling is crucial

Mark your calendar, with Day 1 the day you first combined the zest and filtered liquor and put a label with the date on it on the jar.  On days 8, 22, and 36, open the jar and gently stir your mixture (or shake it).  This 45 day period is a minimum – it’s where the lemon flavor infuses.

STEP 4: Day 45 or later:  Add the simple syrup.  I use an equal amount of sugar and water: 4 cups each.  Other recipes list 5 cups water and 3.5 cups sugar or 3 cups water and 4-6 cups sugar.  The 4:4 seems to work for me; frankly, I can’t imagine it sweeter – but it’s a question of taste.

To make the simple syrup – Filter the water to get rid of any odd tastes (use your Brita filter again – cleaned out from the alcohol 45 days ago); dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to boil over high heat.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Set the syrup aside to cool to room temperature. 

Ladle your infusion of zest and alcohol into a large pitcher using the #4 filters.  Have patience; change filters as needed.  If you moisten your filters with water first, you will waste less of your infused lemon and alcohol. Then put the filtered infusion back in the jar and add the cooled syrup.  Another option is not to do any filtering here, but simply add the simple syrup (cooled) to the infusion in the jar.  Others filter 2x.  Your call.

The multi-step final filtering process; yes, messy

Mark your calendar again and add this date to the label on the jar,  because you need to put your Limoncello back in the basement and wait another minimum 45 days.  Again, the longer the wait, the smoother the Limoncello .

STEP 5: Day 45 or later (in the second wait period): Filter the Limoncello.  First filter it as you did on the first Day 45 (if you did it then), into a large pitcher.  Again, moistening the filters with water saves infusion.

Filter it at least 3x using the #4 filters. In the last (3^rd) filtering before the final bottles, you can filter into a large metric measuring cup to get your 250 ml (or 100 ml if you are using smaller bottles).  The final step is filtering into your final bottles using the #2 filters and the small funnel.  Of course, you can make 500 ml or 750 ml bottles – use the bottles you bought the alcohol in (well cleaned; ideally in a dishwasher).  I don’t recommend using a cork to seal them.  They breathe too much. A partner is an asset in this step too.

Seal your bottles tightly and label them with at least the date.  I put simply “Dianne’s Limoncello 12/__/__” and mine are usually Christmas gifts.  I’m told if you are giving them away you should put something on the label, such as: “This liqueur is homemade for private use only.  Not intended to be sold or served commercially.” Consider yourself informed/warned. 

Not lost in the freezer

Limoncello keeps perfectly in the freezer and can be served directly from the freezer.  It smooths with aging.  So if you – or your friends – can wait, that’s best.  And that’s a good reason to put the date on it.  You really shouldn’t sample Limoncello until at least a week after you’ve bottled it, and ideally wait a couple months before drinking it.  The only bottles in our house that have lasted more than 6 months are those that got lost in the back of the freezer.

Dianne

I acknowledge indebtedness to several recipes, but particularly Deborah Horn’s on the slowtravelitaly Web site - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/notes/food/dh_limoncello.htm, and Ben, who has an elaborate recipe (and you thought mine was elaborate) at http://limoncelloquest.com/limoncello-articles/how-to-make-limoncello.  You might also enjoy his Limoncello-obsessed blog where this recipe is posted.  I looked at a lot of other recipes, but these 2 stand out, in part for their detailed instructions and explanations and also for their lack of short-cuts.

Rome's Scaffolds and Cranes

Crane working at the top of the Spanish Steps

Costly scaffolding, Piazza Verbano, quartiere Trieste

Most of the buildings in Rome have a stucco exterior.  It's a durable material, and its insulating, cooling properties make it ideally suited to Rome's sultry summers.  But it deteriorates over time, and when repairs are needed, up goes the scaffolding.  Romans would seem to be expert not only in the art of stuccoing, but in assembling scaffolds; indeed, there's a school in Tor Vergata where students are trained to assemble scaffolds ("impalcature") on which workers can do their jobs in safety. 

More Trieste work

Nonetheless, work once done on scaffolding is increasingly being done without scaffolding--or without much of it.  The competition is from cranes.  As one of our Italian sources explained, companies erecting scaffolds in public space--along a sidewalk in front of a building--pay high fees.  Cranes do their work and leave; no fee to be paid, or only a small one for the limited scaffolding required to protect pedestrians. 

Crane over our terrace

We had first-hand experience of the crane in 2006, when we lived in the quartiere of Appio Latino.  Our apartment was on the ground floor (not the Italian ideal), but it had a lovely terrace; upper floors had only balconies.  Unfortunately, the condominium ("condominio") chose to repair the balconies while we were there.  Had they used scaffolding to do so, it would have covered half our terrace.  Instead, they brought in a crane, which for several weeks hovered over our umbrella, doing its work.

Bill

Expensive scaffolding at a corner bar in via Nomentana.  At right, Waldo.

Best Restaurant in Rome - Mithos La Taverna dell'Allegria

Interior - looking towards one set of room; there are more tables
in back of the camera view, but you can see the narrowness of
the restaurant here.

We have an easy to answer to the most asked question – what’s our favorite restaurant in Rome, and that’s Mithos – La Taverna dell’Allegria.  The food is amazingly good, at a reasonable price, and the ambiance is without a doubt charming yet understated.  The owner, Mario, is the perfect host.

But, we usually add, Mithos is out of the Centro a ways, and has no English menu.  For us, that’s a plus.  So is the fact that we found Mithos by simply stumbling across it when we lived in the neighborhood 5 years ago.  Then, Mario had a tiny restaurant – about 4 tables inside and the same outside (during the long outdoor season in Rome).  He would write up the menu in his (for us) hard to read handwriting about 7.30 p.m. and go next door to make a few copies.  We watched him do this prep work one evening when we arrived at what was supposed to be the opening time of 7 or 7.30 p.m. – but don’t count on the restaurant really opening before 8 p.m.  No self-respecting Roman would show up for dinner before dark, even in the summer.

About 2 years ago, Mario and his adult daughter and son took a leap of faith and tripled the size of the restaurant by moving into a longish storefront in the nearby Piazza Scipione Ammirato.  The décor features old sideboards, cupboards, kitchen tables and chairs, painted in muted Easter-egg hues, and all placed in a gracefully lit, modern infrastructure.  You can even watch the cooks at work in the kitchen.  The outdoor space is now available too, as you can see from the photos, and gives out onto a relatively quiet (esp. for Rome), recently spiffed-up piazza.

Mario in ubiquitous apron serving outdoor tables

So onto the food.  Mario still does a nightly menu and the selection is limited (4 or 5 pasta dishes, 4 or 5 entrées), but wide – fish, meats, vegetarian.  We love it all.  The seafood is amazingly fresh and good (“Zuppa di pesce,” for example), and the pastas perfectly cooked, interesting, and wonderful.  Mario’s daughter (Alessandra, as I recall) oversees the scrumptious desserts.  The Slow Food movement has found Mithos and sponsors events here, which tells you something.  The TripAdvisor reviews are all in Italian (except mine) and are almost all highly favorable. And, by the way, there is nothing Greek about the cuisine.  This is Italian to the core.

Two of us usually eat here for Euro 45, including wine.  Though those who choose a full menu will probably see a bill for 2 of Euro 60.  By Rome standards, this is a deal.

Sunday brunch menu

We chatted with Mario this summer about his expansion into pizza offerings and Sunday brunch (not a Roman custom).  We think, like many restaurateurs , he is trying to cover his costs, having expanded into the heart of the Great Recession which, you may have heard, is hitting Italy even harder than the U.S.  I wouldn't waste a trip to Mithos on pizza or omelets, but you may have different ideas. 

Okay – so is it worth a taxi ride out of the Centro and back?  It’s hard to justify a Euro 30 taxi each way for a max Euro 30 per person meal.  The Metro A stops of Ponte Lungo and Furio Camillo are at most a 10 minute walk from Mithos.  We recommend them.  You'll also get a feel for this very Roman suburban neighborhood.  Technically Mithos is in the Appio Latino quarter, but it also is very close (walking distance) to the Tuscolano quarter.  (If you must stay in the Centro, and are foodies, definitely go to Katie Parla's site, www.KatieParla.com, or her app for great recommendations.)

We almost always go to Mithos on one of our last nights in Rome each year, and we are never disappointed.  As we discover each time, it’s a romantic and delicious way to savor the Eternal City.

We recommend reservations.  Mithos is often full, even on weeknights.  tel: +39.067840034. Email (I've never tried it - but go for it) - info@mithostaverna.it.  Address:  Pizza Scipione Ammirato, 7.

Dianne

Touch of the Stork

We found this delightful bas relief on via Elvia Recina, in the out-of-the-way neighborhood of Appio Latino. It likely dates to the decade after 1925. Not worth a separate trip, but if you're on the street to dine at Mithos, one of our favorites, don't forget to look at the building across the way. For directions to the street and a review of the restaurant, see Rome the Second Time, p. 213. Bill

PS - Mithos is no longer in this location (you won't see the stork from across the street).  It's now in the nearby Piazza Scipione Ammirato.

Graffiti Wisdom (I)

Not long ago we encountered these words on a saracinesca in Appio Latino. Although the words themselves are not difficult, we asked our Roman friend and translator Massimo for the best rendering in English. His response: "We lead a sad life." There are two tags below, not necessarily by the person(s) who wrote the words. One is RAW and the other looks like F N (Fronte Nazionale), a right-wing political organization. There appears to be a partial swastika between the F and the N. Bill

Restaurants in Rome

Who doesn't enjoy the vicarious thrill of reading about eating in Rome... but $50 per person as frugal? We don't think so!

The New York Times titled its column Sunday on Rome trattorias ("trattorie" is the plural in Italian) - "Let the Debate Begin"... and we'll take the NYT writer, Danielle Pergament, up on that.

We think of frugal as $50 (or less) per couple - yes, with wine and with more than a pasta dish.

Among those in Rome the Second Time are Pigneto's L'Infernotto [via del Pigneto 31/33; tel. 06.7030.4040, closed Mondays]- up the street from Quarantuno and absolutely marvelous and less pricey, and in the decidedly non-touristy Appio Latino section outside the city walls, Bill prefers the bustling and family-run La Zingarella (Gypsy Girl), which specializes in seafood pasta and is definitely for the frugal [via G. Capponi, 61/63, just off Piazza Scipione Ammirato; tel. 06.781.0687, closed Mondays].

Dianne says go for the romantic, tiny Mithos - La Taverna delll'Allegria [via Benedetto Varchi, 3 – across the piazza from La Zingarella; tel. 06.784.0034, closed Wednesdays] – more a specialty restaurant than trattoria, but definitely trattoria prices.  Mithos  has expanded and is on the nearby Piazza Scipione Ammirato at #7.  Same telephone.  Email - info@mithostaverna.it.  We plan a lengthy post on this, our favorite restaurant in Rome,  soon.

For what could be the cheapest meal in Rome, and yet still of excellent quality, there's nearby Ada e Mario, where you can still get a pasta alla boscaiola for under $7 [Circonvallazione Appia, 81, closed Sundays].

All 3 of these are in the Appio Latino neighborhood and less than half a mile from stops on the A (Red) Metro line. Open only in the evenings.

Bill is so cheap we have to find these places! Want to join the debate??