TRASTEVERE
TRASTEVERE
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021
We've fallen in love with Trastevere (Traz-STAY-vary). a romantic, lively neighborhood south of the Vatican and west of the Tiber, across from central Rome-with all of it's ancient piazza's and even more ancient ruins. Trastevere has it's own share of very old piazza's and churches and interesting history, and it has been our "home" for the past 2 weeks. As I described in the last post, there are street bands with amazing talent, as well as sidewalk trinket sellers and street upon winding street of fantastic trattorias, ristorantes, gelaterias, bars and sidewalk cafe's of every kind. Did I mention the graffiti? Most of the narrow streets are tagged in one way or another. Thankfully, historic sites are usually spared, but there are messages and colorful artwork in most public spaces. Our Italian friend from the refugee center believes that Trastevere is truly Roman, where families and couples head for a night out. It certainly seems this way. There are well-dressed Romano couples strolling, parents with strollers, self-conscious teens giggling and pushing, and revelers who stay up with great volume, some evenings until well past 3 AM. In the midst of the crowded streets it's not uncommon to be pushed aside as a motorbike or Fiat or a large Mercedes mini-van works it's way down the very narrow alley ways.
It's been a great lesson in humility to try speaking Italian phrases to pick out food and buy groceries. Although many speak English, it's not universally understood or spoken. This is nice and as it should be, since we're their visitors!
Saturday we took the morning to visit a local villa-Villa Farnesina. It dates from the 1500's and has original works by Raphael and his students on their walls. All the artwork, architecture and gardens were beautifully designed and preserved. The first gardens were cut in half to shore up the Tiber (Tevere) in succeeding centuries, but it continues to be a beautiful, cool respite from the gritty Roman streets. After this visit, we walked back to an outdoor cafe where we met a couple from Vienna and had a fascinating conversation while also sharing our love for Austria.
We met two men from Sweden a few nights ago at a neighboring table at dinner. One of them was raised in the Mission's Forbundet (Covenant Church) and he had many questions about us and our family. He and his friend are both involved in addiction counseling and were here in part on business... another interesting discussion. We went to worship Sunday in a Methodist church and enjoyed experiencing many ethnicities and hearing multiple languages say the Lord's Prayer together, each in their own tongue. Although most people remain masked in close encounters or inside, we're finding that there are people from all over the world who are vaccinated (must show a vaccination card almost everywhere!) and catching a fresh breath; a unique time and exhilarating sense of having gone through something quite traumatic and now coming out the other side...on a global level. People seem eager to share a bit about themselves. We are hearing very few American accents, but have been able to converse in English (along with a bit of Swedish, German and Italian we've learned) enough to understand one another. We've been told repeatedly that we are here during a uniquely low-density time. There are just not the intense crowds and noise that the Romanos are used to!
Lastly, I want to mention our new friend, Luciano. Our front steps are wide and cool and make a perfect sitting spot for those lingering in our neighborhood. We find amorous couples, smoking singles, older, younger, well-dressed or not so well-dressed sitting there when we arrive home from our adventures. And, of course, this is where we often find Luciano. He sits on those steps working on pencil drawings or marker designs. Our steps also just happen to be next to one of the neighborhood art galleries. He's a self-proclaimed artist and song-lyric writer. He told us he lives on the streets. We have enjoyed chatting with him and running into him when out picking up groceries or just wandering. We commissioned a piece from him early our first week and he has worked on it for days. We are quite happy with the results!
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