Really Roman Holiday

Rome on a long summer holiday weekend (of which there are plenty) is lovely for residents who remain in town. The tourists are locked in their itineraries that take them to the Coliseum, and most of the Romans head for the beach, a few to the mountains (hiking is too much work for most of them). We almost had the Lungotevere – the streets that run along the Tiber River – to ourselves, breezily scootering along the empty streets, feeling like Nanni Moretti in Caro Diario as he scootered through an August-empty Rome.

The holiday weekend we’re covering here was in celebration of the city’s Saints Peter and Paul. Since it fell on a Tuesday, the Romans took a “ponte” or bridge, and made a 4-6 day holiday out of it. The homage to the city’s Saints was big enough that the Pope dropped into the nearby (to us) basilica of St. Paul, complete with helicopter entourage.

We stopped by the fair that annually graces the park and streets outside of the basilica, and in the afternoon, it too seemed sleepy and empty (photos).

But by dusk, we could barely walk through the thousands of people buying everything in sight – from the newest versions of vegiamatics to roasted corn on the cob to knock-off purses sold by itinerants. For those of you familiar with the Sunday Porta Portese market, this was at least its equal. The evening view looking towards the St. Paul capanile was considerably different from day (photo). In addition to music at the bandstand (video below), including classic Roman sing-along tunes, of course the night was capped off by fireworks, which we watched as we walked through our neighborhood, now dominated by cars and trucks parked in every conceivable (and some inconceivable) place (photos). Ah, Rome. Dianne

Celebrating the Berry... Nemi's Strawberry Festa

[new pix of 2010 poster, btw]

Sagre e feste – annual feasts of patron saints and general festivities. They’re everywhere in Italy, celebrating almost anything – from artichokes to martyrs. On any given weekend, there are a dozen or more to choose from in a day trip from Rome. One of our favorites is Nemi’s Feste delle Fragole - the Strawberry Festival. It’s the first Sunday in June; so you can head out there next Sunday, June 6.

[And a reminder that Sabina's in-place art starts this weekend too. See our post of September 4 last year. ]

We like Nemi because it’s a lovely medieval town perched above the smaller of the Colli Albani volcanic lakes, complete with trails from the town down to the lake, ruins of a temple to Diana (so ruined and unmarked we missed it our first time), and a naval museum built in the Fascist era that once housed Caligula’s famous boat of pleasure (raised from the bottom of the lake in the modern era, but then unfortunately bombed to smithereens by the allies in WWII).



Here are some pix and videos from last year’s Nemi Strawberry fest, complete with strawberry pizza (that's our slice), strawberry liqueurs, strawberry desserts, just about strawberry anything (rivaling Circleville Ohio’s Pumpkin Show, complete with pumpkin burgers).



The obligatory Ariccia porchetta truck is there, as are the folk costumes, dances, and music (through the streets, on stage, wandering musicians). There are also a flower show, art show, and medieval costume display in the old tower.

But we’ll take the people watching any day.

Dianne