Rome 3 - Mercato Testaccio and the Colosseum

The next morning, Hart stayed home while Anna, Flinn and I walked down to the Mercato Testaccio - a large food and goods market I had been dying to check out. First, though, we passed the amazing Panificio Passi, which was crowded with locals getting their baked goods before everything closed on Sunday and Monday for the Epiphany holiday.

Hm...doesn't look crowded...but it was!

We got some bread for the apartment, some pizza bianca, some little pizzette, and a slab of pizza with zuccini blossoms and hidden anchovies, which came as an unfortunate surprise for Anna ;-)! 

Anna and Flinn headed off to find cappuccino and more street art, while I dove into the Mercato Testaccio. Like most neighborhood markets, it was buzzing. I got a caffé macchiato and did some people watching. I found a pair of boots, and when the seller tried to over-charge me by 6 euros, I didn't have the heart to call her out. Luckily, her co-worker did, so I paid the right price.

Purple artichokes were in season, and everywhere!

I had heard of a stand called Mordi e Vai, which makes sandwiches with typically Roman fillings. The line was long, and the guys were working hard. I took my number and tried to decide what I wanted. It was HARD...everything sounded amazing. I settled on polpettine della nonna (grandma's meatballs),  alesso di scottona (boiled beef with greens), vegetariano (an artichoke cooked alla romana smashed into the roll with shavings of pecorino romano) and trippa alla romana (stewed tripe).

Sergio, the master, at work...

Vegetariano on the left, scottona on the right

They were really delicious. You wouldn't think boiled beef could be so moist and flavorful. Hart inhaled the meatball one, but I got a bite...no cheese, light, fresh marinara - a revelation.

After lunch, all four of us walked up to the Colosseum. It was a super-fun afternoon, I think especially for the two gladiator-school graduates ;-) ... here are some pics - Anna took some, I took some, and Hart took some...

Anna said after she took its picture, this bird asked for a euro.

Hart circumvented the charges by taking a picture of someone taking a picture of the greedy bird.

Hart took these next three - I think they are really great.

It was crowded, but not Vatican crowded. Really pretty darn cool ... and now we all want to watch the movie Gladiator again!

Rome 2 - Testaccio and Gladiator School

 We loved our neighborhood - Testaccio. Not only is it a haven for food lovers, it has ancient history interspersed among the modern infrastructure. For instance, the Porta San Paolo. This was part of the efforts of Emperor Aurelian to modernize the city walls built in the 4th century BC. Aurelian had these walls and their gates constructed in 275 AD. Modern.

Anna, Flinn, me and Hart

 

Right across the street was the remarkable Piramide di Caio Cestio, or the Pyramid of Cestius, constructed around 12-18 BC as a tomb for Gaius Cestius. As one cab driver remarked, the old Romans were obsessed with Egypt, and Cestius was rich. He wanted a big pyramid, and he got it. Still standing, although there is not much on the man himself out there.

There are three inscriptions on the pyramid - first: 

C · CESTIVS · L · F · POB · EPVLO · PR · TR · PL

VII · VIR · EPVLONVM

"Gaius Cestius, son of Lucius, of the gens Pobilia, member of the College of Epulones, praetor, tribune of the plebs, septemvir of the Eupolones"

 

The second inscription says that the pyramid was constructed in 330 days by Cestius's heir, following the instructions of the will. The third was added in the 1660s, commemorating excavation and restoration work. Sounds a bit like vandalism, to me....

Speaking of vandalism, here are some incredible shots Anna took of graffiti art as we walked through Testaccio. She has quite an eye!

 

The four of us pushed on to Eataly Roma. This one was HUGE and better than NYC. Of course it was, it is Eataly in the capital of Italy! I love Eataly. Any Eataly. But this Eataly especially. Anna was enthralled with all the beautiful little tins of candy and mints. Flinn and Hart loved their gelato - nocciola (hazelnut) for H, stracciatella (vanilla with shaved chocolate) for F. 

Three floors of kitchen supplies, groceries, produce, salumi, cheese, pasta, snacks, cookies, meat, seafood, beer, wine, candy...plus a bunch of food stands, a couple of restaurants, and a coffee bar.

 We all got pizza for lunch, and as usual, it was great. Our friend Tesa said that eating pizza in Italy ruined her for any other pizza. We concur wholeheartedly. Pasta too. Sandwiches too - I grabbed a sandwich from fast-food counter at the Florence train station, and it was better than any sandwich in Texas. Gave NY and SF a run for their money, too.

The boys got margherita, Anna got vegetarian, and I got puntarelle pizza. Puntarelle alla Romana is something that was on my list to try - the shaved hearts of puntarelle with an anchovy dressing.

 This is puntarelle.

Never expected to see it on a pizza! The little blobs of mozzarella di bufala were a delicious counterpart to the crunchy puntarelle and pungent anchovies. It was amazing. Not quite Bonci potato pizza amazing, but amazing.

 

After lunch and more soul-affirming Illy caffe, we hurried to make our appointment with the Gruppo Storico Romano - a group of living history performers and historians who offer up Gladiator School. Hart and Flinn were enrolled, and we all had a wonderful time.

The session began by passing out tunics and rope belts to all the participants, followed by a trip into the little museum which was full of replicas of weapons and armor.  The two guys leading the program were so great - enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and fun! They asked for volunteers to try on the different helmets as they explained who would wear that particular one, and as they demonstrated the different functionalities of each.

The guy behind Hart called him a "giant blond barbarian!" I feel him ;-)

Flinn got a super-cool helmet - he could stab people with his chin!

 We learned that the ancient soldiers put garlic on the ends of their swords. Apparently it is an anti-coagulant, which provided a better chance for wounds to make the victims bleed out. They also put horse poop on their swords, to encourage infection of any wounds not immediately fatal.

 Then, despite the frigid temperatures, all the "warriors" were led to the yard for training, which first involved running a parcourse. Hilarious.

 

Then, the warriors were taught basic offensive and defensive moves with wooden swords and shields.

And at last, they battled!

And the winner of 2 out of three matches was....FLINN!!!!!

Everyone got a certificate and became "citizens" of the Roman Empire.

Can't recommend the experience highly enough. It was hilarious and wonderful and educational and cool. And, hilarious....