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The residents of
Trastevere speak of themselves as Noiantri "we
ourselves"-a tradition
celebrated every July with an all-night feast, but
in fact it is among the most welcoming of Roman
neighbourhoods, filled with cafés, restaurants, and
shops.
its twisting backstreets rich with the scent
of home cooking. From Piazza Belli, take the
second street to the right, V. Della Lungaretta, to
the Piazza di S. Maria in Trastevere,
the
liveliest part of the district and its undisputed
heart.
Local
families chase their toddlers around the graceful fountain in
the center of the square, while tourists gape at the
incomparable 12th-c. Byzantine mosaic facade of the Church of
St. Maria, depicting Mary with the suckling infant Jesus,
flanked by 10 young women carrying oil lamps, The
interior is equally dazzling.
Leave
time after visiting the church to
explore nearby streets, then follow v. dI S.
 Cosimiato (to the
right of the fountain) out of the piazza to V. di S. Francesco
a Ripa.
Turn left; the street cuts diagonally across the
district to Piazza di S. Francesco d Assisi and the church of
St. Francesco a Ripa , where
you can visit S. Francis's cell. Follow V. Anicia out of the
piazza to V. Della Madonna dell'Orto, right to V. di S. Michele,
and left to Piazza dei Mercanti and the Church of St. Cecilia
.
From
here, follow the map back to Piazza G. Belli by way of tiny
Piazza Piscinula.
Trastevere is a
picturesque medieval area located on the west bank
of the Tiber. The area escaped the grand
developments which changed the face of central Rome,
and is a charming place to wander, eat or relax.
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Isola Tiberina and Cloaca Maxima |
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Tiberina Island
in Rome |
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Tiberina
and Cloaca Maxima
Information
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Tucked into the widest bend of the
Tiber, and accessible
from the Ghetto by Ponte Fabricio , Rome's oldest surviving
bridge, is the picturesque Isola
 Tiberina.
Felicitously shaped like a boat, the tiny island inspired
ancient Romans to embellish it as one, with a stone "prow"
and "stern" and an obelisk in the center as a "mast." Legend
holds that during the plague of 291 B.C., a delegation was
sent to Greece for a statue of Aesculapius, the god of
healing, whose intervention it was hoped would end the
siege. As the ship carrying the statue approached, a huge
snake, Aesculapius's symbol, was seen swimming from the ship
to the island, a sign that a temple should be built there.
The original had wide porticos, beneath which the sick slept
in hopes of a cure. In the 10th c. it was replaced by a
church, long known as St. Bartholomew's for the relics
of the saint it holds inside a beautiful red porphyry tub
beneath the main altar.
A medieval hospice has since been
supplanted by the hospital of the Fate bene fratelli
("brothers who do good works"), toward which a steady stream
of visitors heads bearing flowers.
Before leaving, descend
the stairs on the far side, where Ponte Cestio links
the island to Trastevere, and enjoy a quiet stroll around
the island, stopping at the south end for a look at the
Cloaca Maxima where it feeds into the river.
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