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Author Topic: Holiday in Rome  (Read 10544 times)

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Offline Postumus14

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Holiday in Rome
« on: March 27, 2007, 09:34:39 pm »
I will be vacationing with my wife and child in Rome for a week at the end of April.  The standard tourist checklist is prepared.  However, I am interested if anyone wishes to share any personal hidden gems of Roma.  Further, any advice on which museum or bookstore(s) will satisfy an ancient coin numismatist.

Offline awl

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2007, 12:53:18 am »
The vatican museum has plently of coins and go to all of the other famous sites as well.




Offline slokind

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2007, 04:01:07 am »
In the basement of the Palazzo Massimo just across from the Baths of Diocletian and very near the Termini railway station (also the big yard from which busses from all over Rome depart), you will find the numismatic museum, which I cannot recommend too highly.  Lots of Gnecchi's collection, for instance, and much more.
Pat L.

Offline Jochen

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2007, 06:17:21 am »
Besides all the infinite objects of interest of which Rome is full, I want to recommend a special tip here: Under the church of San Clemente you can find a Mithraeum. It is worth to visit it.

Best regards

Offline slokind

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2007, 03:58:43 pm »
Straight out past the Pyramid of Cestius, is perhaps the most important part of the Musei Capitolini collection, housed in a more than century-old electrical power station that was the wonder of its age.  The effect of ancient sculpture against gigantic machinery is accidental but wonderful, rather like post-Futurism effected by putting Antiquity against pre-Futurist machines.  All cleaned up, the machines remind us how good Italy was in designing heroic machinery, but also the steel sets off the statues, which, N.B., hold their own in this setting.  Which is instructive.
The popular stuff is in the palazzi on the Campidoglio, but the interesting and some of the most important statuary is at Montemartini.  Even the Senator holding the busts of his ancestors is there, even the pediments from the temple of Apollo Sosios, and much more that you never saw at all, including some of the best portraits.
http://www.centralemontemartini.org/
Pat L.

Offline wolfgang336

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2007, 05:20:00 am »
Catacombs of San Sebastiano are well worth a visit! Take the archaeo bus from Termini Station... it'll pick you up at the end of it. Make sure you're queuing for the Vatican Museum by about 8. If you go to the Trevi Fountain try to find a gelato place called Il Crispino, or something like that. Apparantly the best gelato in the world!

Evan

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2007, 10:20:12 am »
Cool! I will also be there during the same weekend!  8)

Offline the_Apostate

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2007, 12:43:19 pm »
Be careful about where you eat. The standards of Italian cooking have gone down horrendously the last few years. Avoid Otello alla Concordia at all costs. A place where Fellini and Mastroianni used to sit during the heydays and a nicely situated trattoria still recommended in many guide books. The food is inedible and I'm sure you yourself cook better blindfolded - at least I do -  ;)

Offline Postumus14

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2007, 02:24:30 pm »
Thank you to everyone for the suggestions.

Offline Numerianus

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #9 on: April 27, 2007, 06:45:55 pm »
Yesterday I was back from Rome where I spent with the family 4 nice days in this remarkable city. 
We profited mainly by strolling around and  visited only a few museums: Musei Vaticani and Musei Capitolini.
I was surprised that the latter were reshaped in a such nice way (unfortunately, my last visit was in 2001). 
My daughter  and myself made some shots of Roman busts and I share them here. Of course, they are not professionaly
done but I hope that they are of a certain interest.

Offline Numerianus

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #10 on: May 08, 2007, 06:21:10 pm »
Commodus from Musei Capitolini.

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #11 on: August 21, 2007, 12:39:42 pm »
I was in Italy three summers ago on a study abroad program, and we were in Rome for only two days. We were at the Vatican for eight hours, and the ancient coins I saw there gave me my passion for coin-collecting. The Vatican also has amazing statues, of course!

Offline SC

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #12 on: February 17, 2009, 12:28:20 pm »
What are the laws about buying Roman coins in Italy and Rome?

Are there vendors in the city?  Is it legal for foreigners to buy?  Is an export permit required?  If so can stores provide it or is there a long process of going through the government?  Does everything require a permit??

Shawn
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Offline Paleologo

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #13 on: February 19, 2009, 11:38:22 am »
Not much to be added to the previous suggestions, except maybe two personal selections: a visit to the recently opened excavations under Palazzo Valentini (the seat of the Province of Rome, near Piazza Venezia) and a quiet walk in the area of the Aventino hill (the hill overlooking the Circus Maximus opposite Augustus' Palace) to visit its several ancient basilicas and the "Giardino degli Aranci" (the Orange Grove, hoping it's open to visitors)

Re: otlichnik, yes there are ancient coin dealers in Rome, though not so many as one could expect. Probably the most suitable for tourists because of its location is Roberto Pedoni's shop in Via Vespasiano, a small street starting from Piazza Risorgimento (a few hundred meters from the Vatican). I guess the owner speaks some English. You will have to ring a bell besides the door and ask to be let in. Don't get confused because a few steps away there's another shop with coins on display in its window, but this is rather a souvenir shop: the one you are interested in is the first one you meet on the right side coming from the square (Piazza Risorgimento)
(N.B. I hope this is not unauthorized advertisement -- just in case; I am NOT Roberto Pedoni, though I know him  ;) If I am breaking some FORVM rules by writing the above, please remove this part of the message)

As to your other questions, vendors of ancient coins (antiquities, in general) must keep an updated record of their stock. All the goods they are selling should have been checked and cleared by the Authorities, and so it should be possible for anyone to buy and possibly export them. There might be very few items that have export restrictions, but we are talking about very important pieces with high cultural relevance, and restrictions should be explicitly stated in a certificate coming with the coin. In any case, you can directly ask the vendor for further information.

Regards, P.
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Offline commodus

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #14 on: March 12, 2009, 11:26:08 pm »
My wife and I recently returned from our third trip together to Rome, and I have a few suggestions of interest to numismatists and those interested in the Classical world (my apologies, museumguy, because some of these go a little off-topic for this board):
1.) Le Case Romane - this is an excavation of several houses of the 4th century A.D. and earlier below the Church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo, located on the Clivo Scauro on the Celian Hill
2.) Nearby is San Stefano Rotundo, believed by some to be the site (and possibly built upon the foundation of) Nero's Macellum Magnum, illustrated on a dupondius of Nero, one of the most beautiful coins of the early Empire, in my opinion.
3.) San Giovanni in Laterano - the church itself is a masterpiece, but particularly interesting to me are the bronze main doors, which were originally the doors to the Senate Curia in the Forum.
4.)Trajan's Markets - this has been recently reopened, and besides giving you a wonderful chance to wander through the Markets, it also displays a number of pieces found in recent excavations of the Imperial Fori.  Of particular interest to coin collectors is a bronze foot from the statue of Victory depicted on a denarius of Octavian (RIC I 254-255).
5.) The Circus of Maxentius and the Mausoleum of his son Romulus on the Appian Way.  The Mausoleum may be depicted on the follis of Divus Romulus issued under Maxentius (although it may also be the architecturally-similar and better-preserved Temple of Divus Romulus in the Roman Forum; obviously, anyone who reads this board is going to visit the Roman Forum when in Rome, but of particular interest to collectors are the above-mentioned Temple of Divus Romulus, the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, the Temple of Concord, the Temple of Vesta, the remains of the Temple of Divus Julius Caesar, the Temple of Venus and Roma, the Arch of Septimius Severus, and the Rostra, all of which are depicted on coinage.  Also of interest there is the Temple of Saturn, once the treasury and perhaps the location of a mint, and the nearby garden behind the Church of the Ara Coeli on the Capitoline Hill, previously the site of the Temple of Juno Moneta.  In the garden are ruins of the massively-thick walls of a mint of the Republican era.)
6.) The Museum of the Walls at Porta San Sebastiano. We've all seen plenty of city gates on coins -- this is your chance to walk on the real thing!  The gate is at the beginning of the ancient Appian Way.  Also well worth seeing (and free!) is the Museum of the Porta Ostiense located in the city gate popularly known as the Porta San Paolo, next to the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, of which it offers a remarkable view.
7.) Crypta Balbi in the Campus Martius not only has a museum of medieval Rome but also offers tours of the excavations in it and around the site of the Theatre of Balbus dating from the Republican Era through the Middle Ages.
8.) The Church of Santa Costanza, which was built as the mausoleum of Constantia and Helena, daughters of Constantine, and the latter the wife of the Emperor Julian.
8.) Hungry after all this exploring?  The Hostaria Antica Roma on the Via Appia Antica incorporates the columbarium built by Augustus and Livia for their freedmen.  Besides serving contemporary Roman cuisine, it also serves several dishes created using the ancient recipes of Apicius.  We went to see the architecture, but ended up having one of the most delicious and memorable meals of our lives!

Pictures are San Stefano Rotundo, the doors of San Giovanni in Laterano, the foot of the statue of Victory in Trajan's Markets, the Mausoleum of Romulus at the Circus of Maxentius, and the Porta San Sebastiano, where the Museum of the Walls is located. 
Eric Brock (1966 - 2011)

Offline commodus

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #15 on: March 12, 2009, 11:39:29 pm »
I ran out of space for pictures on my last post.  Included here are the Pyramid of Caius Cestius from the Porta San Paolo, the Church/Mausoleum of Santa Constantia, and Hostaria Antca Roma.
Eric Brock (1966 - 2011)

Offline slokind

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #16 on: March 13, 2009, 02:34:08 am »
I see that you made wonderful use of your time.  Did you see the Ara Pacis Augustae?  Its reconstruction was not yet complete when I was last there, and, though the Markets of Trajan are my very favorite monument, I did not get to see the foot of the Victory.
There are hundreds of things to see, even limiting yourself primarily to antiquitiesRome is inexhaustible.
Thank you for sharing.
Pat L.

Offline SC

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #17 on: March 13, 2009, 09:10:41 am »
Thank for those who commented.  The trip went well.

Didn't see the Vatican museum but the numismatic collection in the Palazzo Massimo is everything people said it would be and more.  Great for early bronzes.  Sadly they tried to put fancy magnifiers in each display case which you could move via buttons to get a close up of any coin.  However their servo motors were all burned out so no close ups and a few coins were in fact obscured.  The busts and statues in the rest of that museum were also worth the visit.

Trajan's Market is absolutely great.  Once you get outside you can wander all over the place.  Unlike the Colloseum I was alone most of the time at the Market so you can get a better impression of old Rome from street level.

I did get to the new Ara Pacis Augustae museum.  In fact the business event I was in Rome for gave us a guided tour of the museum (or at least that part, the basement is a modern art gallery).  Very impressive place.  You can look out the windows at Augustus' tomb too.

As for shopping I did buy a small number of coins from 4 stores.  Two were professional numismatists specializing in ancient and medieval, both with an excellent selection of high end stuff.  (I held, but could not afford, some truely museum quality aes grave.)  One was more of a "tourist" coin store with a generally over-priced junk tray which happened to have one beat up but still rare late bronze (Honorius AE4 URBS ROMA FELIX) that was well worth the price.  The last was a general antique store which again had a "junk tray" with one coin of interest.  As long as you buy coins from real stores and keep the receipts there are no problems exporting them.  I was not even asked about the coins at the airport by customs or security but had them all in my bag with reciepts and store business cards in case.

Shawn 

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Offline commodus

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #18 on: March 13, 2009, 02:59:56 pm »
We did not visit the Ara Pacis this trip and were unable to get close to the Mausoleum of Augustus due to restoration work on it and new excavations on the surrounding grounds. However, we visited the Ara Pacis a year and a half ago and while the great altar itself is magnificent, the atmosphere was ruined for me by a large exhibition of Valentino dresses on mannequins which were positioned all around it. The exhibition itself was inappropriate enough for the venue but to add insult to injury, the mannequins were arranged so that to approach the Ara Pacis one had to walk up an aisle between them with them all arranged with outstretched arms as though they were making some sort of salute toward the altar. Although not inteded to be, I am sure, the display was insulting to what was once a sacred religious monument and which still is a sacred shrine of Roman history. I found the display to be a mockery and and insult to Augustus and the Ara Pacis itelf, as if the dreadful architecture-free structure it is housed in nowadays were not bad enough.
On top of this, a guard chastized me for using the flash on my camera when I attempted to photograph the Ara Pacis from one of the few angles unobscured by Valentino mannequins. Now, although there is no scientific evidence that flash photography is harmful to anything at all, I can see restrictions with regard to paintings, textiles, and such, but STONE??? After all, the Ara Pacis is made of stone, it was outside and exposed to all the elements until quite recently, and for several centuries it was buried (in pieces) in the earth. I seriously doubt a flash -- or ten million flashes -- will do it damage. Then again, perhaps the concern was not for the Ara Pacis but for the precious Valentino dresses which, expensive as they may be, cheapened the experience of visiting this remarkable monument sufficiently that I had no desire to return (at €10 a ticket) this trip. There's so much else in Rome to do and see, after all.
If one hasn't seen it, though, the Ara Pacis is well worth the visit. Hopefully there will be no fashion shows or other inappropriate events taking place there when you visit -- but don't count on it.
Eric Brock (1966 - 2011)

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #19 on: March 13, 2009, 03:28:49 pm »
By the way, I had the same experience as otlichnik at the Palazzo Massimo (I think we were there at roughly the same time), with the magnifiers that didn't work. Last visit they worked but as with most gadgets it was only a matter of time.
The collection there is magnificent and a must-visit site for any collector of ancients. Also a must-visit is the much smaller but equally impressive collection of ancient Roman coins at the Capitoline Museum. Ask directions to the numismatic gallery, however, as it is so hidden away that you won't find it on your own just by wandering through the museum. My only complaint there is that the lighting is awful, though the coins are wonderful to behold.

There are a few good coin dealers in Rome, though not so many as one might think. I won't mention names here but one is located in the Via Barberini about midway up the hill from the Piazza where it intersects with the Via Veneto and another is in one of the gallerias on the Via del Corso close by the Column of Marcus Aurelius. Curiously, for higher end coins there are some bargains to be had, though I did not buy any of these as they were still out of my range for the trip budget. Besides which, with customs and such, who knows...
However, for other coins, ones which should be reasonably inexpensive, few were. Beware of fakes, too. They abound in Rome, though not from the legitimate dealers, of course. Most are rather obvious, though I saw a few well-made ones. Tourists without a numismatic bent are the target market for these and most are sold as reproductions. Still, caveat emptor.
Eric Brock (1966 - 2011)

Offline slokind

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #20 on: March 13, 2009, 06:43:04 pm »
Commodus: I appreciate your frustration, and I'm glad I didn't pay for an airline ticket to see the Ara Pacis just now.  However, the Ara Pacis not only is made of stone, but:
(a) Other visitors are bothered a lot by flash, and
(b)  really good photos cannot be taken with on-camera flash, or really any single flash, of any kind of sculpture and least of all of reliefs of the kind that are the glory of the Ara Pacis.  On the other hand, with delayed release I took, even with my first 2MP digital camera, a point-and-shoot, too, quite good slides for teaching that the EXIF record showed were taken at 1/10 sec.  And there is very little that you can't do with this technique, even if you also are zooming, as I was on the attached, from a famous funerary stele in Athens.
Flash pix of sculpture are almost all of them downright anti-sculptural.
Pat L.
This was not post-processed; of course, a later camera with a better lens and more megapixels, etc., would have done even better.  But flash would not have revealed any of the chisel work or the grain that this one did capture, as well as the character of the relief.

Offline commodus

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Re: Holiday in Rome
« Reply #21 on: March 13, 2009, 10:07:30 pm »
Pat,
Thanks for the tips.
I doubt any one would be bothered by the flash nearly so much as by the horrendous display that was going on there.
 :)
Eric
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