More Street Art and Occupiers: Ostiense Gets Even Hipper

Cat eats bird

[Update - December 4, 2014 - Blu has finished the artwork on the "occupied" building below.  See this link for photos of Blu working on the immense project, and of the finished work.  The title of the lnk is Blu unveils a majestic mural on Via Del Porto Fluviale in Rome, Italy.  As our London son put it, "Blu is considered a big deal."  Glad we were there early!]

For those tired of RST's obsession with Street Art, skip this post.  But you'll be missing something, imho.  As we noted recently by reviewing Jessica Stewart's book on Rome street art, Street Art Stories, this ephemeral form has an exceptionally good life in this, the Eternal City.  And, having just returned from London and a great street art tour there (Street Art London), we're jazzed up about the form.

oops, there goes the cat

And so it was that we finally stopped in the Ostiense neighborhood (a run-down working class area that is being revived by youth and money, and was on its way enough that it made it into the original RST as part of Itinerary 4) to get a close-up look at what we drive by weekly, if not daily.

The train underpasses for via Ostiense and via delle Conce

we like the see-through aspects of the art in the underpasses

are clearly painted artistry, and they survive tagging and painting over.  Some of the themes echo Rome itself, including the nearby Protestant Cemetery, where Keats's memorial has the inscription by Shelley:  "Here lies one whose name was writ in water".  Some are political (anti-war), and some fantastical (a unicorn, a cat eating a bird, eating a cat, etc.)..

Nearby is an "occupied" building.  We've written previously about occupied cultural spaces in Rome, both on the blog and in RST.  This is an occupied living space.  We took some photos before being asked not to; so out of respect for the residents, we have not included any photos of the inside of this - in many ways - charming space.  The occupants here celebrated their 10th anniversary on June 1-2, with some events open to the public.  It's hard to get one's head around all that from a US perspective. 

The residents of this building are painting the exterior, using the windows for eyes, and creatively bringing out faces.  It's not done yet, one can tell.  We like it. 

But we learned a few days after our visit in early June that residents had filed dozens of complaints with the police about the dangers of the painter working high up without any protection.  Add to that, say the residents, the fact that the large cornices are losing chunks of plaster - hence the closer of the sidewalks with the orange fencing you see in the photo above.  The residents and local merchants are clearly frustrated by the police failure to do anything about the building.  The artist, who doesn't live in the building but was asked by residents to do the painting, claims he will carry forth, even though the police have stopped him a couple times. 

Check out the building, which occupies a former military installation; the ex'caserma, we're told, is what it's called (and, the woman we asked, said, "bello, no?"  - "beautiful, isn't it?").  You can start at the corner of via del Porto Fluviale and via delle Conce. 

and the 1950s madonnellas are still around

Dianne

Brazilian artist Herbert Baglione's work from 2011 is still
untouched.

Things NOT to do in Rome

Okay - the river looks good, especially this shot of
Hadrian's Castle (Castel Sant'Angelo, for you Dan Brown
fans)

We suppose it's a cheap shot - or shots.  But there are some things in Rome that even WE have found not to be worthwhile.

(But for 4 new itineraries we HAVE found worthwhile, see our new book, Modern Rome: 4 Great Walks for the Curious Traveler; more information below.)

but you are separated from the city by
these 160-foot walls

And even the boat can look reasonable

Tops on our list is the boat on the Tiber.  It's amazing (to us) that people still think this is the thing to do.  But it's not.  The original plan may have been okay, but now the boat barely has any stops.  And the Tiber, the Tevere to Romans, is so far beneath its massive retaining walls, that there is virtually nothing to see from the river.  The Romans have let the river go to waste.  And even though we, at RST, have an itinerary along the river (which itself has been compromised by floods, disrepair, changes), we do not recommend floating on this poor excuse for a major urban, and historic waterway.  In fact, in our Itinerary 3, "The Strange Career of the Tevere," we ask "Who killed the Tevere?"

The Tram Museum is in a great location; the Pyramid is
a backdrop

There's just not much to look at, nor signage

Second, it's a small one, but still a disappointment - the tram museum attached to the Roma-Ostia-Lido station on via Ostiense, just past the Pyramid.  The station is on an RST itinerary, No. 4 - Hitler and the Germans Come to Rome.  We love the station - built in 1924 with art nouveau mosaics and d'Annunzio poetry.  But the "museum" just doesn't cut it.  You get in by asking at the ticket booth in the station and then the guard lets you in, because it's free.  There are old trams outside in the yard, but barely explained (even for those who can read Italian), and you can't go in any of them.  We explored it, because we thought it would be fun for kids.  But, we decided, no.  Just not enough "there" there.

It's the right side of the Vittoriano, here, that has sometimes
 flaky shows, proving free is not always worth it

Third, and this is somewhat difficult to explain, the shows that are often held on the right side (as you face it) of the Vittoriano - the large monument to Vittorio Emanuele II that houses an exhibit of Italy's fight for independence and unification as well as important (and often glitzy) art exhibits to attract tourists.  In theory, we love this.  The shows on the right side are free, and they usually have interesting themes.  We can even recall one or two we liked (one on earthquakes, one on Sophia Loren - or was that on the left side?).  But, generally, the shows are pap put on by the government on the cheap.

An inside gallery with school art.  Okay we have nothing
against kids' art, but...   

One was on Italian families - sounded good - large photos (reproductions of course, blown up) of Italian families in the past (Dianne could have put her own here), but fairly right-wing propaganda about the value of families, and certainly no alternative families.

Another show was on World War II and its impact on home and family.  There were some collections of memorabilia from a few families (see the postcard below).  But there was almost no coherence to the show.  Just a bunch of stuff thrown into cases.  And, while the "stuff" may be interesting here and there, there's not enough curating going on to make it a good show.  (BTW, we took a beating for criticizing this show on Facebook.)  And, of course, everything is only in Italian.  So, generally, we would say, stay away from the right side of the Vittoriano.

From  an exhibit last  year:
Again, some fascinating memorabilia from Italy's imperial days
 in Africa, but again, without context.  The postcard (that's what this is)
reads "Abyssinian [read - Ethiopian] visions... The women, The men"
 Look at it carefully.  It's a fairly devastating view of the  conquered and the mind-set
of the conquerors.

That's actually a pretty short list of things not to do in Rome.  We sat around trying to think of more.  But it's a credit to this amazing city, with all the hype and hucksters, that this is all we could come up with!

Dianne


 Modern Rome: 4 Great Walks for the Curious Traveler features the "garden city" suburb of Garbatella: the 20th-century suburb of EUR; the 21st-century music and art center of Flaminio, along with Mussolini's Foro Italico, also the site of the 1960 summer Olympics; and a stairways walk in classic Trastevere. 

This 4-walk book is available in all print and eBook formats The eBook is $1.99 through amazon.com and all other eBook sellers.  See the various formats at smashwords.com. 

Modern Rome: 4 Great Walks for the Curious Traveler now is also available in print, at amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, independent bookstores,  and other retailers; retail price $5.99.

Rome's Stand-Alone Bars

We've been intrigued by the phenomenon of the older, small, stand-alone, non-prefab bar. Dianne noticed the first one, on via Ostiense, built in 1936 (top photo), and we came across a second (bottom photo), in front of the ex-mattatoio (the old slaughterhouse that is now the MACRO-Future art gallery). Dianne's theory is that the via Ostiense bar was built, perhaps by the government, when via Ostiense was reconstructed to accomodate growing numbers of automobiles. The other may to have been built at about the same time, probably for the slaughterhouse workers, or, given the gothic styling, it may be much older. We know there are others around. Let us know if you find one.

Bill and Dianne