At Jonathan's Apartment in Trastevere
November 18, 2007
Trastevere's history goes back to 500 BC. Before that, the Roman's didn't want to build on
that side of the Tiber river. Only a wooden bridge connected the Trastevere area to the main
city. As fishing increased, the fishermen began more and more to live in this area.
It is, like most areas in Rome, a maze of alleyways, litter, and loads of graffiti. However, the pizza shops,
ristorante, gelato (ice cream) places, and nightlife are quite good. There are also many interesting
little stores. You really have to wander the "streets" to find the stores and see how the Italians live in this area.
After descending the long hill, you reach the bottom. Turning around to look back up the hill, this
is what you see. We walked along the buildings on the right side of this picture even though there
were plenty of cars parked along there.
If you turn to the right, we finally reached Jonathan's apartment after a good 15 to
20 minute walk from the hotel. The doorway to the apartment complex is the last door along
the white wall on the left of the picture. The arch, Porta Settimiana, is one of the
"doorways" that will lead you straight to the Vatican. It is only a 15 minute walk to
the Vatican from this point. The via name, which begins on
the other side of the arch, is Via della Lungara (more on that later).
In the immediate intersection right here, there are a few places to eat.
Even here, in November, in the chilly weather, people still like to dine outside.
Da Gildo is across the via from the apartment area.
If you cross the intersection and begin walking, you enter the maze of
alleyways. There are various entrances and exits. It's easy to become lost until you
are familiar with the area. Turns out, much of Rome is alleyways.
Go to page 5 - The Walking To The Apartment Continues.
Go to page 7 - The Coliseum.
Jump ahead 10 pages to Page 16 - Day 2 - Going to the Vatican.