Let Secret Rome guide you around the unusual and unfamiliar. Step off the beaten track with this fascinating Rome guide book and let our local experts show you the well-hidden treasures of an amazing city. Ideal for local inhabitants, curious visitors and armchair travellers alike.
The places included in our guides are unusual and unfamiliar, allowing one to step off the beaten track.
Now in it's 7th edition, Secret Rome features 140+ secret and unusual locations.
Inside Secret Rome :
Visit places closed to the public, admire exceptional works of art away from the tourist circuit, listen to a concert in a magnificent hidden oratory, have your dog or car blessed, puzzle over a rare catoptric meridian or a wonderful anamorphic fresco, discover the remarkable motorized Rubens, enter into the secrets of the Vatican, rediscover a lost Bernini masterpiece, say a prayer before an image of the Holy Face of Jesus like that deposited on the moon in 1968, organize a dinner for two in a private palace, protect your throat from the rigorous of winter ...
Far from the crowds and the usual cliches, Rome is still a reserve of well-concealed treasures only revealed to those who know how to wander off the beaten track, whether residents or visitors.
An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Rome well, or who would like to discover the hidden face of the city.
Don't miss - Each chapter of this Secret Rome travel guide book corresponds to a different part of the city so that one can always find a hidden or secret place to discover.
Perfectly planned walks - Make sure that you do not miss any Secret location, by discovering each one featured in this guide by planning a walking tour of each part of the city.
Secret Rome - An Unusual Travel Guide
Description
Table of Contents
CENTRE NORTH
Hendrik Christian Andersen Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Period elevator on the Pincio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Pincio water clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The Dinner at ...mmaus in Santa Maria di Montesanto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The artists' church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
The Trident: three routes for pilgrims to Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The first known grotesques of the Renaissance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The cannon ball of Viale della Trinita dei Monti fountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The anamorphic frescoes of Trinita dei Monti convent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
What is anamorphosis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Trinita dei Monti convent sundial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi (Dell'Aurora Ludovisi) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Villa Maraini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The breasts of Bernini's "Charity" and "Truth" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
The facade of Palazzo Zuccari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
The marble flood gauge of Porto di Ripetta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
The columns of Ripetta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Blessing of the throats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Why is Saint Blaise invoked to protect the throat? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Innumerable relics of Saint Blaise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The ruins of Augustus' sundial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Poussin's tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Miraculous waters of the Madonna del Pozzo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Et in Arcadia ego . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Arcadia: a taste of paradise? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Mass in Aramaic at Santa Maria Church in Campo Marzio . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
CENTRE WEST
Piceni hospice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Palazzo Scapucci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Tomb of Saint Anicetus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Why is Via dei Soldati (Street of the Soldiers) so named? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Tour of the Angelica Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Private tour of Palazzo Sacchetti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
The "sofas" on Via Giulia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
A failed project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Criminology Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Gonfalone oratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Monumental hall of the Vallicelliana Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
The library trapdoor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
The secret rooms of Saint Philip Neri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Why does the facade of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri curve inwards? . . . 71
Spiritual concerts in Chiesa Nuova sacristy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Saint Philip Neri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Saint Philip Neri and the pilgrimage to the seven churches of Rome . . . . . 73
The motorised Rubens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The cover of the "Terrina" fountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Palazzo Pamphilj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Private tour of Palazzo Patrizi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Dinner for two in the Patrizi Palace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
The private chapel of Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Cappella Spada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Saint Philip Neri's cell at San Girolamo della Carita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Hypogeum cemetery of Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte church . . . . . 87
Esoteric symbols at Palazzo Falconieri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
The Ouroboros: a symbol of divine illumination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
The optical illusion of the fountain in the Piazza Capodiferro . . . . . . . . . . 95
The "noble floor" of Palazzo Spada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Monte di Pieta chapel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Bees at the Casa Grande . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Abandonment of a great palace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
The abandoned infants bas-relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
CENTRE SOUTH
Crypt of the papal entrails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
A hidden door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
A lay woman on a church facade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
The stag of Sant'Eustachio church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Saint Eustace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Rose petals at the Pantheon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Plaque condemning the "vile taverns and their loathsome ugliness" . . . . 109
Scar on a marble column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Accademia d'Armi Musumeci Greco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
The church of Sant'Ignazio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
The apartments of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
The monumental hall of Collegio Romano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Museo Athanasius Kircher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Biblioteca Casanatense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
The hidden symbolism of Bernini's elephant-obelisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
The unrequited love of Lorenzo de' Medici: an inspiration for Poliphilo
and Shakespeare? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Poliphilo's Dream of the Strife of Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
What does Hypnerotomachia mean? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Flood plaques at the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva . . . . . . . . . . 126
The oldest flood plaque in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
122 commemorative flood plaques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Why were there such frequent floods? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Hidden symbolism of the tomb of Andrea Bregno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Small Arch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
Hidden message of the Holy Apostles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Princess Isabelle's apartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
The Palazzo Colonna cannon ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
The holy face of Jesus at Santo Stefano del Cacco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Berardi's water clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
The irregular facade of Palazzo Altieri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
The boarded-up window at Palazzo Mattei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Why is it often windy in Piazza del Gesu? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
The piano nobile of Palazzo Mattei di Giove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Institute of the Italian Encyclopaedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Outline of the former ghetto fountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Inscription at Palazzo Manili . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Palazzo Costaguti's walled-up entrance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
A palace of unsuspected magnificence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Marble slab stipulating the size of fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Vestiges of the old fish market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Monastero di Santa Francesca Romana di Tor de' Specchi . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Cages of the wolf and the eagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Hole in the facade of Santa Maria in Aracoeli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
The Hidden Treasures of Roman Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
THE VATICAN & SURROUNDING AREA
The Pope's railway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
The Longinus Lance at Saint Peter's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
The lance that pierced the side of Christ on the Cross: a fervently
disputed relic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
The veil of Veronica at Saint Peter's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
The extraordinary saga of Veronica's veil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
The cult of Christian relics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
21,441 relics for 39,924,120 years of indulgences! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
When saints are not so holy: Saint George, Saint Christopher,
and Saint Philomena struck from the list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Relics of the feathers of the Archangel Michael, the breath of Jesus,
and even the starlight that guided the three Wise Men! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Acheiropoietic works of art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Indulgences: "As soon as the money clinks in the collection-box,
the soul flies out of purgatory ." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Souls in Purgatory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Symbols of motherhood on the high altar of Saint Peter's . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Symbolism of the Fontanella delle Tre Tiare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Why are the keys a papal symbol? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Saint Peter's meridian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Passetto arches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Headquarters of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Restaurant la Veranda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
National Museum of the History of Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Monumental complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
The Italian clock of the Palazzo del Commendatore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
What is the origin of "Italian" clocks? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
The foundlings' wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
What is a foundlings' wheel? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Museum of the souls in purgatory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Palazzetto Bianco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
The optical illusion of Via Piccolomini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
GIANICOLO
Bosco Parrasio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
The Accademia dell'Arcadia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Arcadia: an esoteric taste of paradise? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Janiculum hill: The true location of Saint Peter's crucifixion? . . . . . . . . . 201
The Via Garibaldi latrines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201
Borromini's staircase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201
San Pietro in Montorio's cannon ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Garibaldi: saviour of Tasso's bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
American Academy in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
The facade of "Michelangelo's house" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
A statue facing the other way at the request of the Vatican . . . . . . . . . . 207
Villa Lante . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Monastery of Sant'Onofrio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
The cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
The belfry of San Giacomo alla Lungara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Hermetic frescoes of Villa Farnesina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
Hermes trismegistus and hermetism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
The face at Villa Farnesina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
TRASTEVERE
The mechanism of the reliquary of Saint Francis' cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
The cloister of San Giovanni Battista dei Genovesi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
Why is John the Baptist the patron saint of Genoa? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
The cloisters of the Nuovo Regina Margherita Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
The forty-hour device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227
Anatomy theatre of San Gallicano hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229
Was Asclepius, god of medicine, behind the creation of Tiber island? . . . . . 229
The excubitorium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
The church bell, San Benedetto in Piscinula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
The forgotten mosaics of Santa Maria in Trastevere church . . . . . . . . . . .233
Vicolo dei Panieri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
The old pharmacy of Santa Maria dela Scala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
AVENTINO - TESTACCIO
The Figures Missing from the Arch of the Moneychangers . . . . . . . . . . .241
The holes in the Arch of the Moneychangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Traces of Judaism in the Roseto Comunale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Winning blooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
An American behind Rome's Rose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
The orange tree of Santa Sabina cloister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Napoleon on a 5th-century door! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
The Devil's stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
The oldest known Crucifixion scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
The hiding place of Saint Alexius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
The Order of Malta's keyhole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Gardens of the Knights of Malta priory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
The Order of Malta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
The Maltese cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
The meaning of the eight points in the Maltese cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Giovanni Battista Nolli: architect cartographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257
Park of the Museo Ferroviario di Porta San Paolo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
The mortuary chamber of Piramide di Caio Cestio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
The Protestant Cemetery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
LATERAN - COLOSSEUM - FORO - CELIO
The marks of Saint Peter's knees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Blessing motorists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Enrico Sturani's private collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Titulus ...quitii below the basilica of San Martino ai Monti . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
The Mithraic sanctuary of Circo Massimo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Other Mithraic sanctuaries in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Mithraism - a fascinating ancient cult for initiates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Christmas owes 25 December to the winter solstice and Mithraism ... . . . 277
The hand on Via dei Cerchi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Why is there a tower within the Circus Maximus? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
The table of Santa Barbara oratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Origin of the word "grotesque" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
The first known grotesque decoration of the Renaissance . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Verbal abuse in Basilica San Clemente . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
The legend of Pope Joan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Game in the cloister of Santi Quattro Coronati basilica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
X-rated frescoes in St Stephen's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Mithraeum under the church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
The urn of Clement XII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Nine Men's Morris or esoteric symbol? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
The triple enclosures of San Giovanni in Laterano cloister . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Is the Ark of the Covenant really in Ethiopia? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Private visit to the Sancta Sanctorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
The relic of Christ's Foreskin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
More powerful than the Holy Foreskin, the Holy Umbilical Cord of Christ! . 299
The INRI inscription at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Can the True Cross be traced back to Adam,
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Museo Storico dei Granatieri di Sardegna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
The baker's tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Hypogeum of the Aurelii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
The dust of the pillar of Santa Bibiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
QUIRINALE - TERMINI - MONTI - ESQUILINO
Casino dell'Aurora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Private visit: the side rooms of Casino dell'Aurora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Pavilion of the Muses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
The statue of Stanislas Kostka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Divine Wisdom fresco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Hermetic fresco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Museo di Patologia del Libro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
The sundial of Santa Maria degli Angeli church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
How does a meridian work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Why was 4 October followed immediately by 15 October in the year 1582?
The measurement of time and the origin of the meridians . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
The meridian of Santa Maria del Fiore: the highest meridian in the world . . 325
Why were meridians installed in cathedrals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
The boreal meridian of Santa Maria degli Angeli church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Where does the word "boreal" come from? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Anachronistic characters in the Santa Pudenziana mosaic . . . . . . . . . . 329
Cross commemorating the abjuration of King Henry IV of France . . . . . . 330
A statue to restore the French king's image in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
A mass on 13 December in honour of France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
The square halo of Santa Prassede basilica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Why square halos? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Fish farm near Stazione Termini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Blessing of the animals at Sant'Eusebio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Marquis Palombara's Porta Alchemica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
OUTSIDE THE CENTRE
Villa Madama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
VIGAMUS - Video-Game-Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
The cannon ball in the Aurelian Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Guido Reno's painting of Saint Michael the Archangel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Ipogeo di Via Livenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Barber's symbols at Porta Pia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
A visit to Villa Albani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Bunker at Villa Ada Savoia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Museo delle Forze Alleate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Source of the Acqua Sacra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Garden city of Montesacro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Other springs in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Mussolini's bunkers at Villa Torlonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Hidden sepulchres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
The Etruscan tomb of Villa Torlonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Museo di Storia della Medicina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Alfonso Tozzi's collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Air-raid shelter in the EUR district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Fresco at Villa Osio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
The three columbaria of Vigna Codini and the tomb of Pomponius Hylas . . 377
Museo della Memoria Giocosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
The cistern of Via Cristoforo Colombo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Museo delle Auto della Polizia di Stato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Salvator Mundi by Bernini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Jewish catacombs of Vigna Randanini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Geodetic baseline on the Appian Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Geodesy and triangulation: a discipline that led to the metre . . . . . . . . . 389
Museum of Period Coaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Mausoleo di Monte del Grano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Author Description
Adriano Morabito is a Rome native who is still passionate about his city and its less well-known sites, began focusing his attention on urban speleology in 1999. He is one of the founders of "Roma Sotterranea," an association active in the exploration and study of underground tombs of historical and archaelogical interest: www.romasotterranea.it
Marco Gradozzi is also a Rome native who still lives in the Campo Marzio district, Marco Gradozzi has a passion for archaelogy, photography, music and folk traditions. He has been an active participant in the "Roma Sotterranea" association since 2007.
Ginevra Lovatelli is the author of the first version of this guide. She organizes original private tours to discover Rome. Website: www.secretrome.com