WEDNESDAY 
ROMA

Two nuns on a bus. There is another one sitting next to her. You'll just have to trust me.
Tiber Island is located in which river?

A) Mississippi River
B) Danube River
C) Yangtze River
D) Come on, don't be stupid.
It was raining and the river was high.
Now begins the tour of the Jewish ghetto. Pope Paul IV forced the Jews into the walls of the ghetto in the 16th century. Catholics built churches at each gate. Wasn't that nice of them? This one, beneath Jesus, has a quote from Isaiah which is misused in a bit of an anti-Semitic way. "All day long, I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and faithless nation that has lost its way".
Portico d'Ottavia was built by the future emperor Augustus (probably not actually by him but others did for him). After the fall of Rome it became a fish market.
It is located in what is called Largo 16 Ottobre 1943, which is named for the day the Nazis parked trucks here and threatened to take the Jews to concentration camps unless they produced 110 pounds of gold in 24 hours. The demand was met, with help from non-Jewish Romans, and the Nazis took it away. Oh, and because the Nazis were bastards they later took the Jews as well.
Just down the way is the Teatro di Marcello, built in 13 B.C.E.
You would expect to find kosher restaurants in the Jewish ghetto. These are the only surviving building fronts in the area.
In addition to the restaurants, there is a bakery and Judaica store.
A narrow alley that leads to...
...the Piazza Mattei, where stands the Fontana delle Tartarughe  or Turtle Fountain. The fountain dates back to the 16th century but the turtles were later added by Bernini. It seems he cared about the Jews and honored them with the symbol of the turtle.
Here's the synagogue. I had gotten there just too late to get in and see the museum.
So instead I visited the Pantheon, which I had not entered when I saw it on the first day. This is the oculus at the top of the dome. It is the building's only source of light.


Okay, there are some electric lights, but before electricity it was the only light source.
I suppose under that purple cloth is a cross. I don't know why it is covered. Maybe something to do with Lent?
Same thing at the main altar.
The original Roman temple was built in 27 B.C.E., but it was rebuilt during the reign of Hadrian around 120 C.E. It has been in continuous use since its construction.
This is the tomb of Raphael.
Also in the Pantheon are the tombs of the first two kings of the modern united Italy. This is the first one, Victor Emmanuel II.
And his son, Umberto I. Beneath Umberto is his queen Margherita, after whom the delicious pizza is named.
Near the two tombs is a guard and a guestbook, which I signed. Although after reading about how some of the Savoy kings and their descendants were kind of jerks, perhaps I shouldn't have.
You thought Duff was just a cartoon beer. So did I, but there it is. Doh!
You wouldn't expect the communists to have a lavish headquarters, would you?
Back across the river and the island to get to the Trastevere.
The bridge is over 1600 years old.
Wikipedia says (and is Wikipedia ever wrong?) that the name Trastevere comes from the Latin "trans Tiberim", literally "beyond the Tiber".
Someone must have a stencil, because I saw this alteration of do not enter signs in several places. In fact I think I saw one in Florence as well.
This was a school built during the fascist period.
Today this is a restaurant, but a thousand years ago it was...
...a synagogue.
There was something going on in the Church of St. Cecilia, so I didn't stay too long.
The Trastevere is a grittier colorful area of Rome that seems less touristy.
A church with a pharmacy tacked onto it. It's Our Lady of the Perpetual Prescription.
A church without an attached drug store is the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
A fancy gold ceiling. The church was built on the site of a home where early Christians worshiped illegally.
A joke about a priest and a child would be too obvious here.
Behind the altar is a mosaic of Jesus posing with his mom.
Last day, last meal. It was a lasagna.
I had to take this photo from the morning I left to show two things. First, the guy on the left is wearing a shiny puffy jacket. These are quite popular over there. Everyone walks around like Michelin men. But more interesting is the man on the right wearing a cape. Seriously, a black hat, a red scarf and a cape. Now that's a fashion statement.

Well that's it from Italy. Ciao!

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