[Understanding Rome]

The Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere (three hours)

The Jewish community in Rome is the oldest in Europe. The first Jewish settlers arrived directly from the Holy Land, ambassadors sent in the 2nd century B.C. to forge an alliance with the Roman Republic in defence against the Syrian king, Antiochus. This military alliance swiftly became a trading alliance and the Jewish community grew on the west bank of the Tiber, in Trastevere. In the late Middle Ages the Jewish community gravitated across the river. In 1555, deep in the throes of the Counter-Reformation, a papal Bull issued by Paul IV decreed that the community be segregated from the rest of the city and the walls of the ‘Ghetto’ were built around this area where the community was based. The walls were finally demolished in the late 19th century and the area today is the vibrant heart of Rome’s Jewish community.

The Tempio Maggiore, the city’s major synagogue, was built at the turn of the twentieth century, its opulence emphasising the change in fortunes of the Roman Jewish community following the Unification of Italy. On the edge of the old Ghetto, the splendid ruins of the Portico of Octavia and the Theatre of Marcellus are a reminder of the area in the Augustan period, but also the site of the deportation of Jews during the Nazi occupation of the city.

Crossing the Tiber Island (over a bridge which has survived two millennia) we enter Trastevere. From the Latin trans tiberim, it takes its name from its position ‘across the Tiber’. This ‘otherness’ is celebrated every year in the “Festa di No’antri”, the festival of ‘we others’ the name for Trasteverini in the dialect of the area, traditionally different from that of the rest of Rome. The prettily cobbled Trastevere area, we can visit the churches of Santa Cecilia and Santa Maria. The beautiful tranquility of the courtyard of the convent of Santa Cecilia, and the church itself with 9th century mosaics, is a million miles from the bustle of the city. When opening hours permit we can visit the organ loft with the surviving fragments of the grand frescoes carried out by the great Pietro Cavallini in the late 13th century.

Crossing over the Viale Trastevere we come into the busier northern area of Trastevere. The Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is the heart of the area, the focus of evening passeggiate. The central fountain provides an underlying soundtrack to gossip and the occasional thwack of a football against the ancient columns of the church. Inside the cool quiet of Santa Maria itself we can admire mosaics of the 12th and 13th centuries, and a splendid amount of recycling of ancient stone.

Piazza Santa Maria is a charming place to finish the tour, leaving you free to find lunch or an aperitif in one of the nearby piazzas.

The Field of Mars (three hours)

Outside the boundaries of the Republican city, the Campus Martius occupies an area of low-lying land within the loop of the Tiber. Initially reserved for military training, the area took its name from an altar dedicated to Mars. The once swampy central area was associated with the entrance to the Underworld in archaic tradition, and a legend claims that it was here that Romulus was received into the afterlife. In 7 BC, soon after the birth of the Roman Empire, Augustus divided the city into administrative riones one of which occupied the area of the Field of Mars. This marked the beginning of major building projects in the area, by now drained but still at constant risk of flooding. The addition of the largely empty area to the city, and the space it offered, made it a perfect place for the experimentation of new architectural styles.

The new cults, borrowed from Egypt, of Isis and Serapis were housed in temples in the area, and the temple to all of the gods was built here. This Pantheon is of the defining monuments of the area, arguably one of the most influential buildings ever constructed. Throughout the Imperial Age the area became particularly associated with entertainments, an area of theatres and racetracks. The most notable, and visible, of these racetracks was the stadium built by Domitian where today we see the beautiful Baroque Piazza Navona. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, and the massive slump in population which followed, the Field of Mars remained fairly densely populated, becoming the heart of the late medieval and Renaissance city. Today cobbled streets snake from piazza to piazza, often tracing the forms of the ancient monuments which lie beneath the furniture restorers and fruit-sellers.