It's been a year since I was in Rome and coincidentally it was on
Holocaust Remembrance Day. I only had one day to spend in the city so I
wanted to pack in as much as I could during the twelve hours I had. With
my knapsack on my back and my camera in hand, I set off to explore.
After the Rain
Before the rain FINALLY let up (well, way before), I had luckily just boarded the tour bus. So while I did not get drenched from the downpour, I realized that I can not just take the 90 minute all day over and over.
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| the downpour at the Termini station, the begining and end of the tour bus route |
After completing the entire route once, I decided to brave the rain and get off at the stop closest to the Jewish Museum. The confusing thing about Rome is that there are basically no road signs. So while I knew where the museum was on a map I printed out, I didn't know exactly where I was when the bus dropped me off. I tried to get my bearings, but I saw it would probably be more worth it to ask someone who may know and not waste time walking around in the downpour. I asked a couple...well they did not speak English so I pointed to the location of the museum on my map and pointed to one direction of the road and then the other. That they understood and pointed me in the right direction. All I had to do now was make a run for it! As an aside, I found that most people in Rome did not really speak any English so I used sign language which worked out fine. It was fun being creative, and I am sure they appreciated their native
grazie (thank you).
Once I arrived at the Museum, I took a minute to dry off until my coat stopped dripping. Most museums are closed on Mondays, but thankfully this was open. There were many groups of students there that day and I was told that it was because it was Holocaust Remembrance Day. What a coincidence! I was now especially glad I made it to the museum.
Included in the museum admission (
€11) are two synagogue tours. At a certain point the Jews were only allowed one house of worship. It was already after many Jews fled persecution and came to Rome, but had their own payer customs, different than the Italian Jews. They solved this by having two synagogues within one building.
The synagogue was HUGE! The inside was masterfully painted with many Jewish themes. I asked if this was the largest synagogue, but was told that although it is one of the largest in Europe, there are some that are even larger. It was hard to imagine a synagogue larger than this. Another tourist asked if the synagogue is still in use. He was told that it is and we can all come back for mincha, the afternoon services. The other synagogue was much smaller but contained an enormous marble bimah, way too large for the room it was in. The bimah as well as two marble chairs were originally in another synagogue but were moved to their current location many year ago. I do not remember the reason.
The museum displays many artifacts from Jews in Italy and Rome and even from other Mediterranean countries. I borrowed an audio guide from the museum which gave me explanations to every exhibit. Some of the interesting things I found out was that Jews were in Italy even before the destruction of the Second Temple! So while most Jews either follow Ashkenaz or Sephardic customs, the Italian Jews follow the Italian customs. The prayers at the synagogue are also in their own Italian custom. Another interesting thing is that there was a time where the Jews were only allowed to have two jobs. One was selling used clothing a.k.a. rags (as clothing those days were worn until they were absolutely unusable). What the Jewish women did was to un-thread the rags and make covers for the Torah scrolls. The museum owns hundreds of them and quite a few are on display. They did such a gorgeous job on the covers that one would never believe what it originally came from! Unfortunately pictures were not allowed in the museum, but that just means you will have to go and see it for yourself.
During the holocaust, Jewish homes and synagogues were looted. Unfortunately many historical and religious artifacts are still lost were still not recovered.
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"in perpetual memory
of the 112 students of these schools
suppressed in Nazi death camps"
[translated from Google Translate] |
After I finished the Jewish Museum, the rain was much lighter and over the next 20 minutes it pretty much stopped. During that time I walked around the Jewish Quarter which today is full of Kosher restaurants.
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| buildings in the Jewish quarter |
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| buildings in the Jewish quarter |
Since it finally stopped raining, I could feel at ease trying to find the way to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. On the way I passed by the Largo di Torre Argentina, ruins once containing numerous temples.
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| Largo di Torre Argentina |
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| Largo di Torre Argentina |
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| a building decoration along Via di Torre Argentina, perhaps part of the theatre, Teatro Argentina |
Largo di Torre Argentina is also home to a cat shelter.
Moving on, I ended up passing more ruins,
some monument,
and even the Pantheon!
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| the Pantheon |
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| walking toward the Pantheon (on left) and the Piazza della Rotunda, where the monument is |
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| decoration I saw on a building |
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| looking down a narrow street in Rome |
I finally made it to the Trevi Fountain, along with some Italian tourists who were also a bit lost!
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| Trevi Fountain |
There were many tourists taking pictures and throwing coins in the fountain. I don't know how many of them know the origin of it, but I am pretty sure legend has it that throwing in a coin will allow one to return to the fountain.
It was starting to get dark at this point and I needed to catch the tour bus to take me back to the train station (Termini), but not before I pass
Piazza Colonna containing the 30m tall marble Marcus Aurelius Column depicting his victories.
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| Colonna di Marco Aurelio |
While waiting for the bus I was able to see the grand opening of some fancy shop.
There was a canvas with the store's logo covering the store and a few
photographers and cameramen and people who were invited to the event.
Two people went up to the podium and each said a few words.
The Canvas was dropped. The cameras flashed. And there was some clapping.
All while two or three men pulled the canvas away from the store.
My bus arrived and I made it to my flight on time. My impression of Rome was surprisingly very nice considering the fact that I am not very into the Roman Empire time period. Getting around the actual city was confusing and I found that most people did not speak even basic English. I was able to manage nonetheless. My highlight was definitely the Jewish Museum and braving the rain was so worth it. It was extra meaningful that it was on Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was also a very interesting experience to see ruins and ancient buildings and monuments everywhere I turned! I did get to see everything I wanted to or even planned to, but what I did see was very nice and I definitely would like to go again and this time to other parts of Italy as well.
Alone in Rome
