Following Fermi: The Great Physicist in Rome

Traces of Enrico Fermi, one of the world's greatest theoretical physicists, are visible in Rome, the city of his birth and where he was driven out by Fascism.

Fermi, an acknowledged prodigy in math and science, started his work on a street now more known for its night-life, via Panisperna in the Monti quarter. He and his associates were dubbed "I ragazzi di via Panisperna," - "the boys of via Panisperna," and are captured in the photo below:

Enrico Fermi at far right. The

other "ragazzi" 

from left to right, Oscar D'Agostino,

Emilio Segrè, Edoardo Amaldi,

and Franco Rasetti. The photo

 was taken by a sixth, Bruno Pontecorvo.

The background looks very much

like the buildings on via Panisperna

today, though #90, where the institute

supposedly was, is an older church.

As a result, we are not sure exactly where on 

via Panisperna the institute was located.

Fermi's location beginning in 1935 is well-known, and now bears his name, as well as sporting a plaque commemorating his extraordinary research there. And that's in the main campus of Rome's storied university, La Sapienza, or La Città Universitaria, designed by Mario Piacentini and opened in 1935 (the subject of prior posts, including one on Gio Ponti's math building and another on Mario Sironi's "Aula Magna" mural - Great Hall - painted in 1935).

In May 2018 we joined a guided tour of the University's physics department, located in one of Piacentini's original set of buildings. 

Left, the Department of Physics is named for Fermi.

The Physics Institute itself is named for another Nobel-winning Italian physicist (and member of the Fascist Party, as was Fermi at one point), Guglielmo Marconi, as seen here:

The plaque below - inside the building - reads:

"In this institute from 1927 to 1938 Enrico Fermi taught and studied. Here he investigated the structure of materials and discovered the radioactivity caused by neutrons [actually neutrinos], opening new avenues in the world. To the knowledge and power of man." [As noted, the institute was located on via Panisperna until about 1935.]

What the plaque does not say is that in 1938, when Fermi, age 37, went to Stockholm to accept his Nobel prize in physics, he kept going - to the United States, fleeing with his family from the racial laws of Italy that had already affected the lives of many of his colleagues and potentially would affect his wife, who was of Jewish heritage.

The tour included parts of Fermi's lab (left), and a cabinet of Fermi tools and books (below, right).

Besides the photo of i ragazzi di via Panisperna, other photos on display on the tour included the one below of Fermi with two other giants of theoretical physics, Werner Heisenberg and another Italian, Wolfgang Pauli (below, the German Heisenberg in the center, Pauli on the right), at Lake Como (date unclear).

The Nobel Prize website has a good biography of Fermi and lay-person descriptions of his scientific breakthroughs (at least one of which was developed based on Pauli's research).

Dianne

Backstreet Rome: the Tevere side of Marconi

Ready for rehab

We don't recommend the Marconi district for tourists, whether first or second time.  It has its virtues: an active street life, a wine bar and good mix of coffee bars, a book store that holds readings now and then, an outdoor market, easy access to the Tevere. But it's one of the dirtiest sections of the city, is a trifle removed from the action for our tastes, and--in our opinion--has no worthy restaurants.  When we lived there some years ago, our 2-cycle scooter broke down frequently, and we found bus service into the center inadequate.  The Trastevere train station is a 15-minute, rather unpleasant walk from the heart of Marconi.  

We recently returned to to the quartiere, not to revisit our earlier haunts, but to explore the backside of the neighborhood, the area between its commercial core (a triangle of streets to the south of Piazzale della Radio--viale Marconi, via Grimaldi, and via Oderisi da Gubbio) and the Tevere, to the east of viale Marconi.  The area was once industrial, and it retains some of that character, in stages of preservation and decay.  A series of recent interventions has fashioned a pleasant post-industrial, post-modern space, full of surprises--enough that we recommend this itinerary (for intrepid Rome explorers).

Homeless camp

Our walk began across viale Marconi from Piazzale della Radio, at via Papareschi, walking east toward the river.  Passing a school with sanctioned graffiti by Alessandra Carloni (2015), we turned right on the Lungotevere di Papareschi.  Just ahead, a homeless encampment--no one present at mid-day, but plenty of evidence of human habitation.  

Beyond (walking south), on the right, a massive early 20th-century industrial complex, today anchored by the Teatro India, now in the process of being restored along with other buildings in the group.  Don't hold your breath.  

View from the tower, to the west.

At the southern end of the industrial complex, a long, narrow park appears at the right, heading toward Marconi proper. A short tower with stairs offers views of the river. A recent construction, the park, in standard Roman fashion, is already in a state of deterioration, brickwork crumbling, facing on the sides missing in spots, and graffiti, of course--in this case lacking official approval. 

Elevated walkway, looking east toward the Tevere.  Left, the gazometro
on the far bank.  Right, redeveloped buildings housing businesses.

 

Walkway graffiti, ironic mode

Urban vineyard.  Unusual in its proximity to high-rise
residences.   

Redeveloped apartments

The walkway ends about 200 meters on, in a piazza of smaller, redeveloped buildings in Roman red--apartments and offices--and, on the north side, a tiny vineyard (above).  

Hotel.  It reaches out to you.

Redeveloped offices or apartments

We turned back here, working our way below the elevated walkway and to the right, to the front of the H10 Roma Città hotel in late modernist non-style.  We can't imagine why any tourist (or for that matter, anyone) would stay in a sterile structure in the middle of nowhere, with taxis the only convenient outlet to civilization.  Even so, the tented patio--just to the left in the photo above right--looked inviting, even at mid-day.

All stairs

After snooping around inside, we walked south in front of the hotel and took the first left, onto via Blaserna.  To the right, what appears to be a rehabbed, modernized older building. Nothing special except an elaborate set of stairs on its north side.  

Santi Aquila e Priscilla

To the left, at the end of the block, one of Rome's modern churches: Santi Aquila e Priscilla, complete with bell tower and tall cross, covered in vines and resembling an anchor.  The stained-glass windows are exceptional, but they should be seen from the inside.  

Turning left (north) on the Lungotevere Papareschi, you'll see another modern building with a substantial glassed atrium--an interesting if not compelling feature--and, beyond it, one of Rome's newest bridges, the Ponte della Scienza, a walking bridge.  

Take the bridge--sweet views of the river, without the 50-foot brick embankments found in the Centro--and turn left on the bank opposite.  

The standard graffiti.  A wonderful, up-close look at the iconic gazometro--the shell of a gas storage system.  This was once a busy working waterfront, and some businesses remain active here. 

Still a working waterfront.  The cranes once moved goods from the river to processing buildings.

A concrete watertower on the right would normally not be worthy of mention, but a special effort has

A watertower reminder of the Mussolini regime

been made to reveal and emphasize a Fascist fasces, complete with dating (A VII, or 1929).  

From this point, you can continue your walk north to the next, much older, bridge, and turn left, or backtrack, cross the Ponte della Scienza, and turn right.    

Bill

Ponte Ostiense: Under Construction

Through a hole in the fence.

In October, we pulled the scooter off Via Ostiense for a quick look at another of Rome's new bridges.  We couldn't get all that close, but we did manage to get a good pic looking through a hole in the fence (right); another with the camera held over the fence (below); and a third of a big on-site posting listing everyone who was working on the project and a rendering of what it was supposed to look like when completed. 

Lots of lanes.

The new bridge, over the Metro tracks and the Roma-Lido railway, will connect the heavily-trafficked Circonvallazione Ostiense (with Garbatella to the south and Ostiense to the north) with Via Ostiense, a major north-south thoroughfare that runs right into the Pyramid.  That's fine, but the real purpose of the bridge is apparently to connect Via Cristoforo Colombo (an enormous highway heading to the ocean) on the east with Viale Marconi, on the west.  And to do that adequately will mean another bridge, this one to span the Tevere below the old, out-dated, over-used, but loved Ponte di Ferro ("Iron bridge", officially Ponte dell'Industria).

The Spine

On its west side, the bridge will touch down right next to the now-abandoned Magazzini Generali (General Storage Area--a now-abandoned massive market/wholesale distribution center), to be redesigned by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.  There is also a larger, visionary project involved, the brainchild of former mayor Walter Veltroni, something called the Citta' di Giovani (City of Youth), which imagines revitalizing Ostiense, an older industrial but already trendy area with bars, clubs, and restaurants catering to young people.  (Of course, the young folks already have started up their bars and clubs here, as we've reported - more than once.)  Apparently Koolhaas is in charge of the larger project. 

Elegant Curves

We would like to credit Koolhaas as the architect of the bridge, but no one is saying that, and the designer of the structure remains a mystery,  Nor does the bridge have a name, although it is sometimes referred to as the Ponte Ostiense.  Rome's commissioner of public works proudly announced that a bridge of this type--arches supported by steel wires was his description--would be a first for the city, and he may be right.  The structure is 240 meters from end to end, with 125 meters fully suspended.  Three vehicle lanes each direction (two of the six for public vehicles), and ample sidewalks for pedestrians. 

Ponte della Musica

We claim no expertise in bridge design, but we like the look of this one.  We would have liked it more had we not seen the new pedestrian (so far) Ponte della Musica (right), over the Tevere to the north, with its wavy curves fashioned from white tubing, not unlike the emerging Ponte Ostiense.  (See our earlier post on that bridge.) After all, we're in the era of the designer bridge--like the 1950s was the era of the glass skyscraper--and some of the designs, despite their obvious differences, have a similar look and style.  Not bad, just not "wow we haven't seen that before." 

Bill

The Dogs of Rome: a Conor Fitzgerald Novel

"He's got a garage," said Blume.  "Jesus, I'd give my right arm to have one of those."   The speaker is Alec Blume, an American by birth and now, in his 40s, Chief Commissioner of Rome's police department--a high-level detective.  Earnest, determined, smart, opinionated--"I hate Sordi.  Hate his movies, hate his voice.  All that Romanaccio shit"--somewhat arrogant and ethical to a fault, Blume is at the center of Conor Fitzgerald's entertaining new (2010) crime novel, The Dogs of Rome.  The title refers not to the tiny, yappy dogs that most Romans favor, but to larger beasts trained to be nasty for the dog fights that all too many Romans enjoy and which take place, in the novel, in an abandoned warehouse off the Via della Magliana.  (In August 2001, Rome's real police discovered 7 dogs, intended for fighting, in a nomad camp off the Via della Magliana.)  Blume detests dogs, but he ends up with one--a Cane Corso, described as a dog the Romans used in battle. 

A Cane Corso.  Man's best
friend--except when he's not.

Novels are always partly invented, and that may be the case with several of Fitzgerald's references.  I could find no evidence of a Rome restaurant with the name "Mattatoio Cinque" ("Slaughterhouse 5") nor does the internet confirm the existence of De Pedris, a shop that serves exquisite pastry.  But Fitzgerald--who lives in Rome--knows his geography, and readers hungering for Rome and its environs will find in these pages references to (and comments about) the familiar (EUR), obscure (Borgata Fideni--to the north) and those in between (Corviale).  One transforming scene takes place in the quartiere of Marconi, along Via Oderisi da Gubbio, Viale Marconi, and Piazza della Radio, the latter accurately noted as a great place to park a car for the Porta Portese Sunday market.  Another dramatic scene plays out in the area between Via La Spezia, where Blume resides, and the Basilica of San Giovanni.  Blume's parents are buried in the not-too-distant Verano cemetery.  


Tourists who want to think Rome is just one gelateria after another may find distasteful Fitzgerald's conclusion that what is "eternal" about the city is its organized crime and the corruption that ripples through politics and the police force.  "For a quarter of a century," one of his characters opines, "the police have not disturbed the criminal status quo in the districts of Magliana, Tufello, Ostia, Corviale, Laurentino 38, Tor Bella Monaca, Tor de' Schiavi, Pietralata, Casalbruciato, and Centocelli."  In a previous post, we described Centocelli as charming.  We would not--and did not--say that about Corviale, though we were fascinated by the mammoth 1970s housing project by that name.  We no longer stroll, as we did only a few years ago, in the projects of Magliana. 

This writer is no great fan of detective novels; he's probably read five in a lifetime.  But I was very much taken with Dogs of Rome.  Blume is a worthy protagonist, and Fitzgerald's story has pace and drama.  Most important, there's just enough about Rome and Romans.  Of one of his characters, Fitzgerald muses:  "He considered going carefully...but there was no point.  No policeman in Rome ever pulled anyone over for reckless driving.  They considered it demeaning."  Coming from a killer, but right on. Bill

Michael Buble: Rome Connection

We spent the snowy evening of December 1 with about 12,000 other people, smitten with Michael Buble as he sang, danced, did an impression of Michael Jackson (left, with hand on crotch), mocked the idea that he's gay, left the stage for lengthy forays into the audience, talked dirty to the girls--and guys--in the front rows at HSBC arena in Buffalo and, incredibly, sang the last verses of his final song without musical accompaniment and entirely (and by choice) without amplification--to the hushed amazement of all. 

Mauro and Bill, 2005

It was our first experience of Buble live, and it might never have happened but for Mauro, the proprietor of the Ombralonga wine bar in the Marconi district (via Oderisi di Gubbio, 41-43), far off the tourist path, where we became regular customers, and friends, when we lived in the district in the spring of 2005.  We were in Mauro's place one evening when we heard a sweet voice that reminded us of Sinatra in the 1940s, and asked who it was, and that's the first time we heard the name Michael Buble.  We've been fans ever since.  Thanks, Mauro!

Bill

Two wine bar additions & a club

Two (true) wine bars we recommend (and are not in Rome the Second Time) are in the Trastevere and Marconi neighborhoods. Each has a variety of wines by the glass, with healthy and appealing appetizers, and over 200 wines by the bottle to take away.


We also suggest a night at Big Mama (photo) if you're in Trastevere.

Ombralonga ("long shadow") in the non-touristy area of Marconi, just east of the Trastevere train station, is owned and run by the affable Mauro. We discovered Ombralonga, and Mauro, several years ago when we lived in Marconi and searched high and low for good places to eat and drink. We make a pilgrimage (or two) to Ombralonga each time we're in Rome, and we're always happy to see Mauro. Wine by the glass runs about Euro 4-6 (you can go higher). Ombralonga has just 6 tables and is stylishly designed (while retaining the flavor of the classic enoteca) by Mauro's architect/now wife. The website at http://www.ombralongavinerie.com/, is only in Italian, but you can see photos under Gallery, and a map at Contatti. Closed Sundays. Open for lunch and after about 6 for drinks and snacks - many of them made by Mauro's mother. Don't miss Ombralonga if you're anywhere near Marconi. via Oderisi da Gubbio, 41-43, tel. 06.559.4212.

The second wine bar we'd add to our list of top 10 is a 2009 discovery (for us) outside the tourist zona - by a few steps only - in Trastevere. Il Bacocco is an island of calm after all those Trasteverian crowds and hawkers (imho). Lovely and stylish, il Bacocco opens at 6 and features a "stupendo" apperitivo (see photos) with wine for Euro 5 from 6-9:30 p.m., open until late at night, fuller meals and other food available (and looks great). Emiliano behind the bar is friendly and explained to us that his family has been in the restaurant business for generations. via G. Mamelo, 61-62, tel. 06.589.8587; website http://www.ilbacocco.it/bacocco.it/ is under construction. info@ilbacocco.it. Closed Sundays.

Also in Trastevere, and therefore not in the book and avoided by us until this year, is Big Mama, on vicolo S. Francesco a Ripa, 18, tel. 06.581.2551; http://www.bigmama.it/. We've also avoided Big Mama because it has a monthly (Euro 8) or Yearly (Euro 13) tessera or membership charge plus usually a cover - and this for bands we have never heard of. We went to their seasonal closing night party a couple weeks ago and were thrilled with the bands - ranging from pure blues to '80s cover. Acoustics are excellent; make sure there's a table with a view of the stage before you plunk down your Euro. Their performers are listed regularly in Roma C'e', La Repubblica, etc., and you can check out their website; if you click onto "Club Info," there's a British flag for an English version.
Dianne