Useful and enjoyable: exploring the beauties of Italy and burning calories in the meantime. To do this, nThere is nothing better than devoting yourself to discovery unknown corners of Rome: areas forgotten by tourist guides, places full of history, treasure chests of curiosities and anecdotes.
A recently published book, Rome, an unusual guide for city explorers by Carlo Coronati (ed. Il Lupo) offers a different way to enjoy the Eternal City, for tourists and residents alike.
Thus, the four health steps to lose extra pounds become an opportunity to grab an unusual Rome. Forget the traffic jam, the difficulty of parking and let yourself be carried by your feet. The author has acknowledged 15 urban treks on foot and on two wheels to wander through the parks, the suburbs, the street art.
“Walking is surprising and gives well-being in body and mind,” says Carlo Coronati. “It allows you to linger, go back, take pictures, talk to people and browse around a bit.”
4 hours walk to the Monteverde neighborhood
A route full of surprises is to discover Monteverde. His journey 11 kilometers It winds through stairs and staircases, between art nouveau villas, parks, memories of Pasolini and testimonies of the Roman Republic. It is a wandering of his almost 4 hours in a very green neighborhood, full of gardens and architectural gems.
The starting point is a Ippolito Nievo Square, on the tuff hill. Opposite is the old Trastevere station, which operated until 1911, then replaced by the current station. The walk begins by going up a steep ramp Via Ugo Bassi characterized by a mural. It is an example of street art dating from 2015, the work of artist David Vecchiato, a tribute to Elena Sofia Ricci in the 1990 film In the name of the sovereign people by Luigi Magni. At the top of the ramp take a right and then an immediate left and then others 200 steps you reach a panoramic balcony on Via Aurelio Saffi. This is the heart of Monteverde Vecchio, a neighborhood built in the early 1900s.
A short stop and then with another staircase, continuing via Ugo Bassi, you are in freedom. In number 103 there is the graphic Liberty Villa “Sara” where in ’68 the director Bertolucci set the house of Clara (Stefania Santrelli) in the film Partner. There is also the Villino Cirino Silveri, reflecting the Venetian style with its windows and turrets. It was commissioned from the architect Pirani by the opera singer Cirino Silveri and has been chosen for settings such as The commander with Toto, Cursed is the day I met you with Verdone and Crime novel.
Below are the Gianicolensi Walls of Villa Sciarra. The plaques at the entrance recall the battles of the Roman Republic in 1849. The seven-hectare villa inspired Gabriele D’Annunzio who chose it as the setting for the novel The pleasure. Leaving the villa, walk along the Gianicolensi walls and reach the Porta San Pancrazio from 1854, the work of Vespignani, which replaced another that was a tax collection point. Today there is the seat of the Museum of the Roman Republic and the Garibaldi Memory.
Further here is the entrance to Villa Pamphili. Various panels recall the battles between the Italians and the French in June 1849. At 184 hectares, the villa is the largest in Rome. It is rich in palaces and historical memories of the dynasties that inhabited it. There it is Corsini Building, now the municipal library, and Trajan’s Aqueduct, along the Via Aurelia Antica, and the Arch of Paul V Borghese, rebuilt between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Then you meet it Casino del Bel Respiro or Palazzina Algardi (used by the Italian government).
Walking on the paths you discover them fountains, waterfalls with cherubs and sculptures, swan lakes, labyrinthine gardens and an extensive pine forest. Leaving the villa, you find the most popular part of Monteverde, where Pasolini lived from 1956 to 1963. The buildings built in the 1930s they served as a background to Boys of Life. In the nearby via Poerio, in a small villa of dilapidated beauty, the director Ozpetek directs the film Enchanting presence. At the corner with via Cavallotti, there is the painter’s residence Maurice Cornelius Esserknown for woodcuts with an illusory optical effect.
- Among libraries, fairytale houses and artistic murals
Discovering the neighborhoods of Garbatella and Tor Marancio
Another route for mural lovers unfolds between Garbatella And Tor Maranzio. “Only the inhabitants can know the labyrinthine lots and the narrow streets that connect them,” says Carlo Coronati in his book.
The ride (from about 10 km) part from Piazza Pantero Pantera and from the next Via Guglielmotti, uphill, leading to the entrance of the district, built in the 1920s and consisting of 62 plots. Just cross it and you will find yourself in front of an architecture full of balconies and stairs, a kind of “Roman Baroque style” with low houses with strange chimneys, like a country village. Let yourself be guided by curiosity, maybe stop to talk to the residents, who are usually very rich in anecdotes. Everyone can invent their own tour.
Wandering you arrive at Commodilla Park which hides catacombs from the middle of the 4th century etc Palladio Theatre, once a “red light” hall and now the seat of the Third University. It’s interesting to take a look Moby Dick Library, where there used to be public toilets because the houses only had one sink. The atmosphere is fabulous. And here we find corners made famous by the directors. Exists the Cesaroni Barknown for the fiction of the same name, while the ancient arches leading to Via Antonio Rubino are the ones Nanni Moretti crossed on his Vespa in the film Dear Diary.
Leaving Garbatella behind, the surprise continues as you enter Tor Marancio after crossing the main thoroughfare Cristoforo Colombo. Gray and sad buildings have been transformed into a magnificent park huge murals. Between them The Redemptive child by Seth and The weight of history by Jaz. Besides these, always outside, Welcome to Shanghai 35 of the Caratoes. Hold your breath: you’re in front of the world’s first condominium museum. The secret of this area of the city is that an anonymous street like Via Massaia reveals, unexpectedly, a beautiful murals dedicated to Victor Cavallo.
At the end of the tour, after covering the kilometers, fatigue gave way to the thrill of discovering an unusual face of the capital.
Walks team’s
There are many associations that offer lesser known itineraries to discover Rome. Most recommend dating on facebook.
“Eighth Hill” organizes walks in the peripheral areas of the capital. Visits to private museums or less frequent charities are also offered.
The group is also on FB Move Monteverde which aims to promote movement and in particular walking as “medicine” for health. For those who have children and want to introduce them to art, the club LaMage organizes “Roman Adventures”, historical-artistic routes for families to introduce the little ones to the wonders of the city, with anecdotes, curiosities, myths and legends.
Art Safari is a site that offers a historical treasure hunt by walking around the city looking for clues. Familiar places are rediscovered in a new way, through the observation that the game requires. You can buy the book containing the map or join the group tour or book a private one.
(photo from Pixabay)
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