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• Dining with a spectacular view of Rome!!
  in eating & gourmet
  

  Cruise on the Tiber River with Dinner

  Romantic Dinner in Rome

   

  Experience Rome with a magical evening in an exclusive environment - see the eternal city from the water while enjoying outstanding Italian cuisine!
  
  Boarding Point: Sant'Angelo Pier (opposite Sant’Angelo Castle, on the left bank)
  Cruise Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes approximately
  Departure Time: 9:00pm (customers are required to arrive 15 minutes before the departure)
  Reservation: Booking required
  Available Dates & Times: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from April 1 to October 31
  
  The Tiber Cruise Service includes:

   

   

  • Appetizer
  • First course
  • Main course with vegetable side dish
  • Dessert
  • Mineral water (0.5 liter)
  • Coffee
  • Background music

  Please Note:

   

  • Wine and soft drinks are not included in the basic price.
  • The menu is fixed, and changes every two weeks. According to catering availability and subject to confirmation at the moment of the reservation, changes can be made for justified reasons, such as allergies.

   

  Cancellation Policy:
  Individuals: Full refund for cancellations requested until two (2) days before the cruise
  
  Groups of over 15 people:

  • Full refund for cancellations or changes until 20 days before the cruise
  • 25% of the fee will be charged for cancellations or changes requested from 20 to 5 days before the cruise
  • No refund for cancellations or changes requested less than 5 days advance of the cruise date

   

   

  PLEASE NOTE: Immediately after submitting an order, you will receive an email with your order summary plus a second email confirming your successful payment. A confirmation email with links to the vouchers will be sent one business day after you place your order (Monday afternoon for orders submitted on Friday and during the weekend).

   

   

  Sources and Copyrights:   http://en.roma.waf.it/tour_dett/233-boat-tours/2128-cruise-on-the-tiber-river-with-dinner.html

   

   

• Readings about the Tiber Island
  in art & culture
  

   

  Tiber Island (Isola Tiberina) -

  Spectacular Island in te middle of the Tiber 

  The Isola Tiberina has always been a mysterious place, shrouded in legend, surrounded by the river and linked inseparably to the origins of Rome. The island is heralded by the "Ponte Rotto" (broken bridge), the "Pons Aemilius", the first stone bridge in Rome, restored several times because of the turbulence of the Tiber, which at that point has won the battle leaving only a few remains.

  This remarkable piece of land in the middle of the Tiber was called "Intra duos pontes" (between two bridges) by the Romans; the island was connected to the terra firma by two bridges that were originally wooden. One is the Cestio bridge, built in 46 BC by Lucius Cestius and restored numerous times over the centuries because of the flooding of the river, so that what was a single-span bridge ended up with three arches; it was also called Ponte San Bartolomeo and "ponte ferrato" (bridge strengthened with iron).

  The second bridge, Fabricio, preceded by the Caetani Tower, which belonged to the family that had transformed the island into a small fort in the Middle Ages, was also called "Ponte dei Giudei" (bridge of the Jews) because it was near the Ghetto. It is associated with a terrible legend: the double Herms of the bridge are said to be the heads of four architects entrusted by Sixtus V with the restoration on the island; they evidently had a disagreement with the Pope and were beheaded at the end of the works!

  In reality the marble heads are eight in number and the anecdote is probably due to the pope's notoriety as a "beheader", that had distinguished him for his policy of harsh repression of crime.

  The origins of the Isola Tiberina are to be found in the numerous legends surrounding it: it was supposed to have arisen over an ancient ship, whose shape it still maintains, further accentuated by the Romans, who to feed the legend built a stone prow and stern on it, giving it the shape of a warship, with the obelisk in the centre of the island like a ship's mast!

  Ad yet, since prehistory, the island was not at the mercy of the current, it was well anchored to the river-bed and was the easiest point to ford the river towards the trade routes to the North and South; not by chance the first and oldest port of Rome, the place where Aeneas disembarked, arose just opposite the island.

  According to another legend, the island was said to have arisen on the mud accumulated over the crops of Tarquin the Proud, thrown into the water by the people with a feeling of liberation and protest, after driving the hated Etruscan tyrant out of Rome. The historian Livius tells us that in 229 BC the Romans had gone as far as Greece, to Epidaurus, where the great sanctuary of Aesculapius, god of medicine, stood, to ask the oracle how to put an end to the plague that had broken out in the city.

  The priests of the god had given the Roman ambassadors a sacred serpent which, as the ship approached the Tiber port, had dived into the water and crawled to the island, hiding in the thick vegetation. Thus the Isola Tiberina was consecrated to the god of medicine and from then on acquired the fame, reinforced by the presence of a spring of health-giving water, that distinguishes it to this day, of a place of healing and hospitals. During the plague of 1656 the entire island was transformed into a lazaretto.

  The Romans built two temples there, one dedicated to Faunus, protector of women giving birth, and the other to Veiove, who guaranteed oaths.

  The Temple of Aesculapius, with the ditch full of serpents consecrated to the god, which the priests had the task of feeding, stood where the church of San Bartolomeo stands today, with its baroque façade, but built around the year 1000 by Otto III, who dedicated it to St. Adalberto.

   

  Sources and Copyrights:  http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/rome/aventine/tiber-island/isola-tiberina.htm

• The Wonderful thermal baths of Caracalla…
  in art & culture
  

   

  Caracalla

  Wonderful Terms of Caracalla

   

  Encyclopedia of World Biography | 2004 | COPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

   

  Caracalla

  Caracalla (188-217) was a Roman emperor whose reign was characterized by cruelty in his private life and irresponsibility in his public life.

  Son of Emperor Septimius Severus and his Syrian empress, Julia Domna, Caracalla was originally named Bassianus. His father renamed him Marcus Aurelius Antoninus in 196 (Severus pretended to have been adopted into the prestigious Antonine family of emperors), but the boy was commonly called Caracalla from a Gallic cloak he affected.

  Caracalla was named caesar (successor-designate) by his father in 196 during Severus's struggle with his rival, Albinus. Two years later Caracalla was promoted to the rank of augustus, or coemperor. His younger brother, Geta, received the same rank in 209. Both boys were with their father in Britain when he died in 211, leaving them corulers of the empire. Caracalla straightway returned to Rome, where the long-standing animosity between the brothers led Caracalla in 212 to assassinate Geta as he cowered in his mother's arms. Those that indicated disapproval were executed, but Caracalla secured the loyalty of the troops by a donative and raise in pay.

  Caracalla fancied himself a military genius, the reincarnation of Alexander the Great. In 213 he led an expedition against the Germanic Alamanni, who threatened the northern frontiers. He defeated some and bought off others, while completing permanent fortifications in the area. In 214 he campaigned on the Danube. Meanwhile, he raised a phalanx of Macedonian troops so that he could proceed on an expedition to the East, in perfect emulation of his great hero, Alexander.

  Caracalla reached Antioch in Syria in 215. But his ambition to create a Romano-Iranian empire was at first thwarted by the reluctance of the Parthian king to quarrel. Caracalla thereupon made a trip to Alexandria, where, in his resentment at the citizens' traditional liberty of speech, he assembled the city's youth and had them massacred by the army.

  In 216 Caracalla decided to join Rome and Parthia by marriage, if he could not do so by arms, and asked for the hand of the Parthian king's daughter. A refusal was followed by an ineffectual invasion of Media. The Emperor wintered at Edessa and was preparing a more vigorous campaign for the following season when, in the spring of 217, he was assassinated near Carrhae at the instigation of his praetorian prefect and successor, Macrinus, who had information that Caracalla was planning his execution.

  Caracalla is best known for the baths he built in Rome, which carry his name, and for an edict in 212/213 which granted full Roman citizenship to nearly all the free inhabitants of the empire, thus fulfilling centuries of legal progress. Some see in this a reflection of Caracalla's ideal of a world state, but ancient authorities found the motivation in increased revenue: only Roman citizens paid an inheritance and manumission tax, and this tax was doubled at this time.

  Further Reading

  A discussion of Caracalla by S. N. Miller is in S. A. Cook and others, eds., Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 12 (1939). See also H. M. D. Parker, A History of the Roman World from A.D. 138 to 337 (1935; rev. ed. 1958).

   

  Sources and Copyrighs:  http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Caracalla.aspx

   
• Gnammi Gnammi...Ice Cream!!!
  in eating & gourmet
  

  God's Own Ice Cream

  A gelato crawl to some of the best ice cream parlors in Rome, Italy

  When is really hot, eat always a good Ice - Cream !!

  Although not quite the ice cream mecca Florence is, Rome's gelato is still heavenly.

  Any gelateria (ice cream parlor) that advertises produzione propria (homemade) will have a high-quality, tasty stock, but who has the best gelato in town?

  Well, that's a question fiercely debated by any and all ice cream lovers.

  First, a few ground rules:

  • Don't call it ice cream. First thing to know, to call gelato "ice cream" is insulting to gelato and unfair to ice cream. Gelato is much richer, smoother, and more flavorful than ice cream.
    
    It is churned, not whipped (as is most traditional American ice cream), so it is far denser, giving it a richer mouth feel. Gelato also is not as laden with sugar and cream, so the subtle tastes of its flavoring comes through much better than in ice cream.
  • Get it at a gelateria: Second thing to know, gelato is something you go out for at a special parlor called a gelateria, and most of it is consumed during the early evening passeggiata stroll—not that gelaterie aren't equally busy during the heat of midday, or late at night...
    
    I mention this because, unlike in America, gelato is not typically eaten after a meal—or at least you typically don't order it at the restaurant.
    
    Restaurants often do offer "gelato" on their dessert menus, but this is almost always of the pre-packaged variety. This is fine (I'm partial to a tartufo, a Gobstopper-like sphere of vanilla, chocolate, and fudge dusted with cocoa) but it's not real gelato.

• Cram in as many flavors as you can think of: Third thing to know, you pay by the size of the coppa (cup) or cono (cone), not by the scoop. That means you can (and are encouraged to) squeeze two or even three flavors into even the smallest cup.
  
  Italians taught me that even unusual pairs go great together; a personal favorite: cioccolato e limone (chocolate gelato and lemon sorbetto). No, really; try it.
  
  (Also most Italians order by the cup; the cone is a fun—if messy—American addition to the options, but not too popular).

The best gelaterie in Rome

★★★ San Crispino - Everyone's favorite "secret gelateria," which is code for "not (yet) crammed with tourists". In point of fact, it's a pretty poorly kept secret, for which we should all be thankful...

★★ Caffè Giolitti - Perhaps the most famous gelateria in Rome, going strong since 1900 and still serving the best classic Roman ice cream...

★ Tre Scalini - Classy cafe on Piazza Navona serving the classic homemade tartufo, a gelato gobstopper with a cherry in the center...

★ The granita cart - On warm, Roman summer nights, the last remaining traditional shave-ice stand in Rome parks on the banks of the Tiber River in Trastevere....

 

Sources and Copyrihts:  http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lazio/rome/dining/gelato.html