Rome Points of Interest
Not surprisingly, Rome has a lot of things to do. On the map (developed with Google Earth) above you can see the locations of churches, schools, aqueducts, amphitheaters, pharmacies, shops, bars, restaurants, hotels, parks and much more.
The Many Layers of Rome
In this exercise I layered maps of Rome to exemplify the complexity of the city. These maps are alike in that they were all created within the past 20 years; however, they are differentiated by the material they display. The individual maps document roads, building footprints, neighborhoods, parks, drawings, etc. I determined the orientation of each map based on the path of the Tiber River which transverses the city.
Because of its layered effect this map contains a wealth of information that cannot be derived from the study of a single document individually. While this compilation can be difficult to read and interpret, the overlays allow conclusions to be drawn about the placement of spaces and buildings with more certainty. The confusion that this collage effect elicits parallels the city it diagrams. Just as the individual maps are difficult to read because they contain superimposed layers of information, the city of Rome appears a jumbled mess when observed holistically.
Serenade Locale
Ever wondered how Roman men win their Italian beauties? Well apparently things haven’t changed much since the days of olde, and it is accomplished with what most americani would call dashing charm. Last night a young Roman was witnessed serenading his beloved streetside while the muse stood looking down from her balcony. It took the duration of an entire song to coax her to crack open her shutters just enough to see the man below, but by the second song she was tossing flowers down upon the growing crowd below. For the full story, read it on the eyewitness’s blog at http://www.italiannotebook.com/local-interest/la-serenata/.
Rome International Film Festival 2010
Debuting for the fifth time Oct. 28-Nov.5 il Festival International del Film di Roma is this year spotlighting … Japan? This emphasis follows a tradition of similarly disjunctive topics including India (2007), Brazil (2008) and the Environment (2009). French actress Fanny Ardant is coming with a short film on the Roma community, which is said to comment on the Gypsies in some way. Our Julianne Moore, Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes and Aaron Eckhart will also be in attendance. http://www.romacinemafest.it/ecm/web/fcr/en/home/fondazione-cinema-per-roma/intro http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130397754
November 11, 2007 Rome Riot against Police
Soccer fan and 26-year-old Gabriele Sandri from Rome was hit in the neck by a police fired bullet. The young man was at a rest stop outside Arezzo, which interestingly is just one train stop over from Castiglion Fiorentino where A&M’s Santa Chiara campus is located. The fans were heading to Lazio’s match at Inter Milan and got into a brawl with fans of the opposing team. Such scuffles are not uncommon occurrences around Italy.
“Our officer had intervened to avert that scuffle” police chief Vincenzo Giacobbe said. “One of the (officers) decided to fire two shots in the air to try to intimidate them. An officer “took a shot, which hit the young man in the neck”.
Before several short hours passed hundreds of enraged fans struck back en mass, attacking a police station near Stadio Olimpico. The throngs of people dragged trash bins and metal barricades to block off a nearby bridge, stormed the yard of the station, lit a police car on fire, hurled stones at passing police cars and smashed station windows. Not yet finished, the rioters set the trash bins on fire, smashed traffic lights and smashed windows at the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters. At least 10 police were injured near the Rome stadium.
The riot fully underway, Rome’s police headquarters reported that their barracks were under attack. A bus was said to be afire by the barracks, and passengers of yet another bus that was blocked by the rioting were evacuated and given shelter in a nearby lobby.
There were also clashes in Milan between police and 240 fans, but it is reported neither side engaged in physical attacks. Many season games were postponed or canceled, and many politicians lamented the incident.
Any visitor to Italy notices the plethora of felines which pervade the cobble stoned streets and alleys, a characteristic from which Rome is not exempt. One possible explanation for this is that Italy’s laws forbid the use of euthanasia on wild animals. In Rome, it is more common to see cats sitting in the earth movers around preservation sites than the human workers who are supposed to operate them. One of these most popular sites is the sacred area of Torre Argentina, which has been occupied by an army of cats since it was excavated in 1929.
Interestingly, the cats of Rome have achieved great notoriety and the question of their care has influenced Roman society. Until 20 years ago they were fed by individual women condescendingly called “gattore” by their neighbors. Today the cats are part of Torre Argentina Roman Cat Sanctuary.
What the tourists see of Rome, by international street artist ABOVE.
Rome 