The Turtle Fountain

The Turtle Fountain (Italian: Fontana delle Tartarughe) is a little treasure hidden in the streets of the historic centre, close to Lungotevere. It is located in piazza Mattei, which comes from the name of the noble family owner of the building near the fountain.
The monument, built in 1581 by the sculptor Taddeo Landini and the architect Giacomo Della Porta, is made up of two levels. The first one is a marble base decorated with four conch shells and dolphins, which are dominated by four bronze ephebes putting their foot on the head of the dolphin and supporting the second level: a bowl surrounded by heads of putti, which spout water into the base below, and four little turtles climbing on the edge.
The original version represented eight dolphins and four of them decorate today the fountain in front of the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, in Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
According to the legend, a duke of the family Mattei was a famous gambler and during a night he lost his assets, so the father of the girl, who he loved, refused his marriage proposal.
The duke decided to prove to the father in law his valor, building an amazing fountain in a night. Thanks to this the couple get married and the window used to look at the monument was bricked up.
If you visit the fountain take the chance to walk throughout the ancient Jewish neighborhood and taste the Roman-Jewish food. One of the most famous dishes is called "carciofi alla giudia" (English: Jewish style artichokes), a particular kind of fried artichoke.
Here the recipe!
                                                       Jewish style artichokes
Peel off the external leaves from the artichokes, till you reach the inner leaves that are fresh and white at the base.
Cut the heart in half vertically to reveal the inner fuzzy..
Rub the heart with lemon, then place it in the bowl of lemon water.
When the artichokes are ready to cook, remove them from the lemon water.
Place the artichokes into the heated oil and let them fry for about 15 minutes, turning them once halfway through cooking, till artichokes are golden brown and the leaves are crisp.
Remove from the oil and let them drain on paper towels. Serve fried artichokes warm with salt.
 

The Turtle Fountain

Fountain features © Domenico Casamassima 



Ephebes and turtles

   

Jewish style artichokes

 

 

A piece of Egypt in Rome: the Lateran Obelisk

The historic center of Rome is a world to discover, indeed walking through the San Giovanni neighborhood, near the Colosseum, you can admire a piece of Egyptian art: the Lateran Obelisk, located in Saint John Lateran square (Italian: piazza San Giovanni in Laterano).
The obelisk is made up of red marble and is about 32,18 meters (105,6 feet), which makes it the tallest surviving ancient Egypt obelisk in the world.
In 15th century BC Pharaoh Tutmosis III commissioned it for the courtyard of Amun Temple in Karnak, a little village near Luxor. It remained unfinished for many years, until Tutmosis IV, the successive Pharaoh, completed the obelisk, decorating it with hieroglyphics which allow to relate it to Amon Ra, the Egyptian sun god.
In 4th century AD Emperor Constantinus tried to remove the obelisk and bring it to Constantinople, the new capital of Roman Empire, but he died suddenly, and his son Constantius II decided to transport the monument to Rome, erecting it in Circus Maximus.
During the Middle Ages the obelisk was forgotten, collapsing and it was found, broken in 3 pieces, only in 1587, when Pope Sixtus V ordered an excavation of the Circus Maximus area.
After being restored by architect Domenico Fontana, who created the marble pedestal decorating it with inscriptions about its history, in 1588 the obelisk was moved to its present site in Saint John Lateran square, which also houses the Cathedral church with the same name, the Lateran Palace (the old Papal residence) and the Baptistery.

Lateran obelisk

Lateran obelisk and its hieroglyphics



Saint John Lateran square view

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The Crescenzi House

In the centre of Rome, you can admire an ancient Patrician house, settled in the South of the Tiber Island. It is regarded as a rare example of a Medieval aristocratic building, which housed the Roman noble family of Crescenzi. The house, built between 1040-1065 thanks to Niccolò Crescenzi, had a tower in order to protect the residents; its location, in front of a bridge called "Pons Aemilius", allowed them to control the access, charging a fee for passing the bridge.
The house had originally two levels, but today we can only see the ground floor and a part of the first floor; the walls are made up of several architectural elements (such as capitals, columns, ledges) which come from different historical periods.
The tower collapsed due to a popular revolt in 1312.
In the Middle Ages, during the Good Friday Way of the Cross, the building was used as Pontius Pilate's house (Italian: casa di Pilato) and the people started to call it so.
Before being restored in 20th century, the house was forgotten for many centuries, becoming a stable.
In 1939 and still today, the house became a History of Architecture Centre, which holds an interesting collection ranging from monuments renovation to urban studies.

The Crescenzi House



Architectural elements

Architectural elements


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Santa Maria della Scala and the ancient Apothecary

The church of Santa Maria della Scala (English: Holy Mary of the Staircase), built between 1593 and 1610, is set in the historical district of Trastevere.
According to the tradition, the church takes its name from a picture of the Virgin Mary, which in 1592 was located in the stairs of a nearby house. This relic was regarded as miraculous since it saved a child.
In the 16th century the Carmelities built one of the most ancient urban Apotechary in the monastery near the church. At the beginning only the friars could use it but in the 17th century it was opened to all the citizens.
The Carmelites were excellent chemists and they became famous for preparing a lot of remedies for every diseases using the herbs of their garden, such as the water of the stair for neuralgia, the melissa one as sedative and the samaritana one as disinfectant.
Even Pope Pius VIII (1761-1830) used their preparations, so the workshop became known as the Popes' apothecary.
The friars cessed their activity in 1954, but the Chemistry is still open and you can visit its laboratories, located in the first floor of the monastery.
These rooms conserve apothecary vases, mortars, balances, herbals and recipe books.
King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele I and other historical personalities visited the chemestry and these events are testified by paintings on the closets.

Santa Maria della Scala

Paintings on the closets

Apothecary

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