Monday 6 - Pasquette

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Up and at ‘em with the idea of getting into the Pantheon before the crowds … disappointed because it is a holiday for the church and Rome (Pasquette – day after Easter) and they had church services starting at 10:30. Cold outside with a wind so we bundled up and made our way up the Capitoline Hill to meet a friend of Rosella’s, Arianna Natasi, who has agreed to take us on a tour of the Palatine. She is completing her PhD with a dissertation on the early church and its farming and other properties. Very competent and very knowledgeable. The perfect person to talk about the development of the Palatine over the years, from Romulus and Remus to Caesar and the Roman emperors. What a gift to listen to her as we wandered the hillside and she described how Caesar Augustus used his home to solidify his rule and brought the government under his control and away from the senate. And how future emperors used their building programs on the Palatine to further their power. She is rather enthusiastic about Nero, whom she calls a “rock star” for the way he built up his own cult of personality. She also subscribes to the view that many of the emperors were slightly nuts due to the immense power they had and the complete lack of institutional/personal safety. What a wonderful walk we had with Arianna. We could have had many more hours.

After separating – with a promise of dinner together – we stopped for a little lunch at a quiet and pleasant restaurant – Santa Anna’s – in the Ghetto area, then made our way back to the hotel for a little rest. We met Arianna at 7:30 and she brought presents of books we both would enjoy. Then we walked to the restaurant, Da Francesco, which she had been to before but perhaps six years ago when it was paper tablecloths and totally local. Now it is bigger and busier and includes many tourists. The food was very good – Peggy had lamb, Arianna had a radicchio pizza and John had artichoke ravioli, and we shared a great bottle of Lazio wine from Matuta – but somehow part of John’s plate ended up in our neighbors dinner! Amazingly the management was no willing to give anything back to the poor girl from Belgium who found a piece of plate in her dinner. Not a good sign for an ongoing future for the restaurant. But we had a great time with Arianna, chatting about the world and her life. Very impressive individual.



Walking home we were cold but happy, then sad to say goodbye to Arianna as she rode off to her home on her red Vespa.

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