Roma Passeggiata

QUOTE
“The expressive poles of passeggiata performance can be emphasized with varying degrees of intensity. On a mundane level, effective aesthetic display facilitates casual sociability, while ineffective displays lead to boredom. However, when performers truly ‘hit their stride’ in the promenade, they become attuned to their environment and enter into what I call the passeggiata zone. When one is in this zone, the rich play of sights, sounds, and pleasures all work produce an intense gestalt of sensual feeling…During these special moments, the world seems to reveal itself as an object of unique beauty and meaning.” Giovanna P. Del Negro, The Passeggiata and Popular Culture in an Italian Town: Folklore and the Performance of Modernity

DESCRIPTION
The passeggiata is a late afternoon into evening stroll that occurs throughout Italia. The passeggiata is not organized or coordinated, but rather is born of a communal desire to interact, to live a shared experience. Village elders, families, and teens convene on an accepted pedestrian street and stroll without a specific destination. The passeggiata, the communal walk, itself is the destination. The largest passeggiata in Roma occurs on the Via dei Corso.

ACCESS

Walk through Roma

HISTORY

“The Passeggiata and Culture in Rome reinforces the sense of belonging. Individuals greet their friends and acquaintances while sharing all the latest news and gossip. Women frequently hold hands, walking together in what appears as an informal parade. As they mark the end of the workday, men can be heard to say Andiamo a fare qualche vasca, or ‘let’s go do some laps.’ Not only is the custom of la passeggiata a social bonding experience, but also good exercise, and each of us can use all that we can get!

According to Margie Miklas, “one of the original purposes of la passeggiata was to display the charms of young women who were eligible to be married, and in this process, parents of these girls encouraged them to be flirtatious. They wanted their daughters to fare una bella figura, or to look good. This could be one of the reasons that generally people change their clothing after working, and put on their finer attire, dressing to impress, for the evening stroll. The goal is, after all, or to see and be seen.” https://followourfootprints.com/italian-tradition-passeggiata-evening-stroll/

PASSEGGIATA WALKING TOUR

PORTA FLAMINIA/PORTA DEL POPOLO

“The original name was Porta Flaminia because from here the consular road Flaminia came out, and still does, which in ancient times began much further south, from Porta Fontinalis, near the Altare della Patria. In the 10th century it was named St. Valentine from the basilica and catacombs of the same name, located at the beginning of the current Pilsudski avenue. […] Given the importance covered by the Via Flaminia, from the earliest times of its existence it had the main role of sorting city traffic rather than a defensive use. This led to the supposition, however doubtful, that it was initially built with two archways (with the two lateral cylindrical towers) and that only in the Middle Ages, when the traffic requirements ceased also due to the demographic collapse, it had been brought back to a single arch . […] The current appearance is therefore the result of a sixteenth-century reconstruction, also made necessary by the renewed importance that, at that time, the gate had again assumed, from the point of view of urban traffic coming from the north. The external façade was commissioned by Pope Pius IV to Michelangelo, who however transferred the task to Nanni di Baccio Bigio, who carried out the work between 1562 and 1565 inspired by the Arch of Titus. The four columns of the façade come from the ancient basilica of San Pietro and framed the single large archway, surmounted by the commemorative plaque of the restoration and the papal coat of arms supported by two cornucopias; the original towers with a circular base were replaced by two mighty square watchtowers and the whole building was surmounted by elegant battlements. […] The internal façade was instead built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Alexander VII and was carried out on the occasion of the arrival in Rome, on 23 December 1655, of the abdicated queen Christina of Sweden.”
https://www.prolocoroma.it/porta-del-popolo-porta-flaminia/#

SANTA MARIA DEL POPOLO

“The church originates from a small chapel built by the will of Pope Pasquale II at the expense of the Roman people, from which it takes its name. Later it was rebuilt and enlarged, between 1472 and 1477, with a Renaissance look and over the centuries it was enriched and modified by skilled architects and artists.”
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/basilica-santa-maria-del-popolo

This church is home to a chapel designed by Raphael, a sculpture by Bernini, and two spectacular Caravaggio paintings.

PIAZZA DEL POPOLO

A monumental square and heart of where the three main streets meet: via del Babuino, via di Ripetta, via del Corso.

TERRAZZA DEL PINCIO

Above Piazza del Popolo, the beautiful appearance of this promenade.

VIA DEL CORSO

“Central street in Campo Marzio, Colonna, Trevi, in the authentic focal point of Rome.”
https://romecitynow.com/via-del-corso

PIAZZA AUGUSTO IMPERATORE

“The political staging of antiquity in the form of the Rome myth, the identification with the Roman Empire and the asserted continuity between Augustus and Mussolini can be illustrated in the Piazza Augusto Imperatore. After all, there is not only the Augustus mausoleum on this, but also the Ara Pacis and thus two monuments which were linked to the Augustan golden age and its author Augustus and which fascism instrumentalized for its propaganda.”
https://www.future-history.eu/de/ansicht/piazza-augusto-imperatore-roma-1938-romexkursion2018

MAUSOLEO DI AUGUSTO

“The Mausoleum of Augustus was created by Augustus ca. 28 BCE, thus slightly before the Ara Pacis. After serving as the family mausoleum, it was altered over the centuries for different purposes. It served as a fortress and, as with many ancient structures, as a source of marble for later buildings, then as a hanging-garden, bull-ring, and in 1789 as an amphitheater. In 1907 it became Rome’s symphony hall, the Augusteo, and was still in use as such at the time of the Fascist intervention in 1936.”
https://www.reed.edu/ara-pacis/meier/piazza-augusto-imperatore/mausoleo/

ARA PACIS

VIA DEI CONDOTTI

SPANISH STEPS

On Piazza di Spagna with a fountain by Pietro Bernini called ‘Fontana della Baraccia’.

FONTANA DEI TREVI
“Roman aqueducts were incredibly important in terms of distributing fresh water to the public baths and fountains across the Eternal City. The Trevi Fountain is located at the end point of what was the Aqua Virgo Aqueduct, constructed in around 19 BCE. Legend has it that Aqua Virgo, meaning Virgin Waters, is named after a young Roman girl who would lead soldiers to the source of the spring to quench their thirst. The three-road junction at the end point of the aqueduct – ‘tre vie’ – is where the Trevi Fountain’s name comes from. It is literally the Three Street Fountain!” https://darkrome.com/blog/Rome/things-you-never-knew-about-trevi-fountain

Ancient Romans used to throw coins into rivers or the sea prior to guarantee safe travel. This tradition has evolved into a modern lighthearted version at the Trevi Fountain. Visitors throw coins with their right hand over their left shoulder to ensure the following results. One coin will result in a return to Rome. Two coins will assure you to meet the love of your life. Three coins will result in marriage.

GALLERIA SCIARRA

GALLERIA ALBERTO SORDI

COLONNA DI MARCUS AURELIUS

PALAZZO CHIGI

“The seat of the Italian government since 1961.”
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/chigi-palace

PIAZZA DI MONTECITORIO

“The Palazzo di Montecitorio, which was designed by Bernini for Cardinal Ludocivo Ludovisi, of a wealthy family and the nephew of Pope Gregory XV. After the death of the pope construction stopped and was not completed in Bernini’s lifetime. The final construction was carried out by Carlo Fontana, who added the belfry on top.
The palace is now the home of the Chamber of Deputies, one of the houses of the Italian Parliament. The palace is open to visitors on the first Sunday of the month from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm. In the middle of the piazza is an obelisk brought from Egypt by Caesar Augustus, that he used to form the core of a giant sundial.”
https://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/piazza-di-montecitorio

GIOLITTI

In business since 1900, this place is the master of making perfect ice cream in Rome.
https://www.romeloft.com/pointofinterest/rome-giolitti-gelato/

PIAZZA DELLA ROTONDA

PIAZZA NAVONA

FOUR RIVER FOUNTAIN

CAMPO DE FIORI

“One of the most popular squares in Rome. During the day the are is busy with the Farmer’s Market which takes place every morning from Monday to Saturday. After dusk, Campo de’ Fiori becomes one of the trendiest meeting places in Rome thanks to its wide range of restaurants, cocktail bars and terraces.”
https://www.walksinsiderome.com/de/tour-attractions/campo-de-fiori/

JEWISH GHETTO

“In this are you will be fascinated by the historical significant neighborhood in Rome city center. Here, you find the Rome Synagogue, ancient Roman ruins, pretty cobbled streets, tons of restaurants and many memories of one of the darkest times in the history of Rome: the fasci-nazi period.”
https://mamalovesrome.com/jewish-ghetto-of-rome-travel-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jewish-ghetto-of-rome-travel-guide

ISOLA TIBERINA