Trastevere

Trastevere

Duration: approximately two hours

Sites visited: Santa Cecilia, Santa Maria in Trastevere, the streets of the Middle Ages, the most hidden and picturesque nooks.

In ancient times, only the poorest lived in Trastevere. Today, it is one of the most well preserved neighborhoods of Rome, because, as we might imagine, the poor cannot rebuild.

Don’t expect to find princely palaces in this area. However, you will find a Romanesque church with a priceless floor; picturesque, hidden nooks; and houses and streets from the Middle Ages. We will start from Tiber Island, the only one on the Tiber River which runs through Rome. We will find the sanctuary of Asclepius, now replaced by a hospital.

Then, we will continue to the Church of Saint Cecilia, which preserves one the most dramatic and impressive statues in Rome, the statue of Saint Cecilia by Stefano Maderno. The secret, quiet alleys of this less traveled neighborhood, will lead us to the firehouse from two thousand years ago. Later, by crossing a large modern avenue, we will be immersed in the most historic, picturesque, and lively neighborhood, full of unexpected views.

We will end our tour in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere. The church is among the oldest in Rome; the columns were taken from the Thermal Baths of Caracalla and, curiously for a church, still bear the emblems of the goddess Isis. The apse mosaics are among the extremely rare masterpieces, of a great Roman artist, Pietro Cavallini. In this church, for educational purposes, I never fail to show a particular chapel of frenzied Baroque style, unsuccessfully emulating Bernini and Borromini.