Castelli Romani Half Marathon

On Sunday we went to the Alban Hills, south east of Rome, for the 12th Castelli Romani Half Marathon. Vincenzo ran a 22 km course that began and ended in the town of Genzano, winding its way through the hill towns of Fontanaccio, Ariccia, Villimi, Albano, Castel Gondolfo and Le Piagge.

We arrived early so that Vincenzo could warm up in the streets of Genzano.

Here are the runners leaving the starting gate.

Vincenzo running around a corner

with just a few hundred meters to go.

A happy runner with medal and flowers at the finish line!

Food Court in an Italian Mall

About 15 minutes from our apartment is an enormous shopping center called Euroma2. It is nearly 300 stores on three levels, with thousands of parking spaces.

Recently I was walking through the food court to get to an electronics store.(I needed vacuum cleaner bags.) It was not quite dinner time, so the food court was nearly empty. I took some pictures to give you a look at how Italians design food court outlets!

The golden arches of MacDonald's (above and below) are hardly visible!

About a dozen Italian coffee bars are scattered about in other parts of the mall. Here are a couple of them.

Roman Apartment House

Nestled against the west side of the monument to Victor Emmanuel II in Piazza Venezia is the site of an ancient Roman insula, or apartment house. Excavated in the early 20th century, it is possible to identify all five floors of this 2nd century AD building that contained the apartments for about 380 people.

Two levels below the current street level are visible, exposing original Roman street. The street level of the building contained shops. The apartments of the store keepers were on the floor above. Further up you can identify a bell tower from the medieval church of Saint Biago. In the 17th century another church (dedicated to St. Rita) was built on top of everything. This church was removed in 1927 during the excavations.

Saturday Field Trip

Last Saturday I took students from my class on an "optional" field trip. We visited the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the king who was responsible for the unification of Italy.We climbed 124 steps in front of the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli to reach a glass elevator that took us to the top of the monument.

When this equestrian statue was completed there was a celebration with 20 people sitting down to lunch inside the horse.

SPQR: Flag pole in Piazza Venezia

Last week I saw SPQR on flag poles in Piazza Venezia.

Senatus Populusque Romanus

"The Senate and the People of Rome"

It originally referred to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature, appearing on coins, civic inscriptions, and on the standards of the Roman legions. Today, SPQR is the motto of the city of Rome and appears in the city's coat of arms, the city's civic buildings, manhole covers, billboards and even on flag poles!

September 11th

Last year Rome erected a memorial to the victims of 9/11, using two ancient columns in a small rose garden at the east end of the Circus Maximus.

This is the memorial tablet in front of the columns

This view also shows the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

SPQR: September 10

Today I noticed a new plaque with SPQR near the Colosseum.

It commemorates the victory of Abebe Bikila, the Ethiopian Marathon winner of the XVII Olympiad, held in Rome 50 years ago. The world watched as this champion ran barefoot through the streets of Rome.

Senatus Populusque Romanus

"The Senate and the People of Rome"

It originally referred to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature, appearing on coins, civic inscriptions, and on the standards of the Roman legions. Today, SPQR is the motto of the city of Rome and appears in the city's coat of arms, the city's civic buildings, manhole covers, billboards and even on commemorative plaques!