L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 L'Italo-Americano Y ou kn ow all those romantic, colorful images of Rome in the early decades of th e 20th cen tury, th ose usually involving children run n in g aroun d in th e streets, buxom women in simple clothes doing their shopping at a market and voices with a thick Roman accen t colorin g th e air around? Or those picturing narrow, cobbled alleys and old, b eautiful b alcon ies adorned with flowers, com- plete with the ubiquitous line of laundry drying in the sun? Well, usually, when we think of those images, we're thinking about Trastevere. Trastevere is the distilled essence of Rome, because that's where the Romans' heart beat: it's a place made of roses, stornelli and bucati- ni, of sampietrini, history and old tales. Saint Peter 's is R ome's spiritual h ome, Piazza di Spagna and Via Condotti is where fashioni- stas go, Via Veneto is the place for Dolce Vita nostal- gics, but those who want to have a slice of Roman poe- try choose Trastevere. Beloved home to Rome's most popular contemporary poet, Trilussa (n é C arlo Alberto Salustri: Trilussa is the anagram of his surna- me), to w h om on e of its most characteristic spots, Piazza Trilussa, is dedicated, Trastevere's history goes all the way back to the times of the Ancient Romans. When Rome was founded (753 BC) , the area we know as Trastevere belonged to the Etruscans. The Romans eventually conquered it, as it held a strategic relevance to th em — from th ere, th ey could control the Tiber on both banks — but it remai- ned uninhabited for quite a while, its only connection with the growing city being the Pons Sublicius, the ear- liest known bridge of the Etern al C ity. Durin g th e Republic (509 BC- 27 BC), the area became home to people w h ose liv elih ood depended on the river, like sailors and fishermen; many of them were Syrians and Jews, who built a number of religious b uildin gs in Trastev ere, j ust like th e mysterious Santuario Siriaco on the way to the Gianicolo, w h ich is still visitable today. Un der th e rule of Augustus (27 BC- 14 AD), Trastevere finally became officially part of the city: the Emperor h ad decided to div ide th e city in 14 districts, Trastevere — cal- led regio transtiberina — was the 14th. However, it was only with Emperor Aurelian (270-275 AD), who extended th e city's w alls, th at Trastevere, along with the Mons Vaticanus (th e Vatican Hill), became part of Rome effectively. Durin g th e Empire, Trastevere became a bit of a VIP's hotspot, with many important personalities cal- ling it home: Clodia, dear friend of poet Catullus, had her home there and part of a large R oman v illa w ere found near Villa Farnesina: its beautifully preserved fre- scoes can be admired today in P alazzo Massimo. Arch eology b uffs w ill b e happy to know there is more Roman beauty to be disco- vered under the churches of Santa Cecilia an d San Crisogono, where remains of two Roman domus are, an d un der th e former S . P asquale Baylon 's music school, in Via dei Genovesi. Fast forw ard to th e Middle Ages, an d Trastevere begins taking on the shape we know and love today, with alleys so tor- tuous and narrow it was dif- ficult for carts and carriages to travel across them. On top of th at, most h ouses h ad mignani (balconies) on their façades, that made passage ev en more complicated. During the Renaissance, at the end of the 15th century, mignani were demolished, but the traditional labyrinth of alleys and roads typical of Trastevere remained. In those years, Trastevere was a place of contrasts and peculiarity: here, the impo- sing, luxurious villas of the wealthy stood beside the miserable dwellings of com- mon ers, stark con trast between the two souls of the city. But Trastevere was also a magical, lively place to be, a bit like today. Since its very birth, it had always been relatively isolated from the rest of Rome and charac- terized by an openly multi- cultural nature and that's why its people, i Trasteverini, were almost seen as of a dif- feren t kin d: th ey w ere kn ow n for th eir pride, stren gth , h on esty an d authenticity, and its women were considered incredibly beautiful. In 1744, Pope Benedict XIV reviewed the borders of each Roman rione, giving to Trastevere its modern shape. In 1870 the Savoias, in order to protect the area from floo- ding, had most buildings along the Tiber demolished. It is in this occasion that the historical Fontana di Ponte S isto, on ce kn ow n as th e Fontana dei Cento Preti, and lovingly called Fontanone b y R oman s today, w as mov ed from its origin al location on the other side fo the river to its current loca- tion, in Piazza Trilussa. Here h e is again , Trilussa… the voice of the most gen uin e R ome. Far from emb odyin g th e ste - reotype of th e early 20th century intellectual, Trilussa lov ed th e streets of Trastevere more than any literary salon an d w rote exclusively in Roman dia- lect: h is poems, some of them composed in the form of sonnets, are a vivid sket- ch, in bright, warm colors, of th e Etern al C ity's most authentic, gritty people. Trastevere today is truly the soul and heart of Rome. With its alleys and medieval buildings, with its sampie- trini and the Tiber as belo- ved companion, its streets are filled with the sounds and scents of the most tradi- tional, the most wholesome Rome you can expect. In the evening, its restaurants and taverne fill with people from R ome an d from ab road, happy to share some time in such picturesque surroun- dings. Lively and indepen- dent, Trastevere is, indeed, th e essen ce of popular R ome: simple, b eautiful, honest and with a penchant for poetry. A picturesque shot of a typical street in Trastevere, Rome (Copyright: Dreamstime) Trastevere, the popular soul of Rome SIMONE SCHIAVINATO LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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