Rome's pretty neat, in this page I'll put some of my favourite things about it Uhh, that's it. yeah
I lied. I made this page because I live here and don't know much about this city. I'm in one of the suburbs and rarely visit the center. I'm both from and not from here. Rome kinda scares me, its so big!
Tips for Tourists: Beware of pickpocketers. Seriously, beware. Beware of scammers who approach you for money too. Drivers here can be very rude. If you have a bad time with public services or are disgusted by the trash cans' smell, you're living the Authentic Experience!
Neat Places
Agostinelli Museum
Domenico Agostinelli's collection put on display for free. He has some things like Al Capone's car or a dinosaur egg, but the main attraction is... stuff. Lots and lots and lots and lots of stuff. Buttons, umbrellas, vases, busts, paintings, dolls, fake hands, helmets, globes... Old stuff everywhere, even on the ceilings! (there are some drawers with old newspapers and magazines too, I'm not sure if you're allowed to touch them however). The museum is quite small, it's a crowded mess, in a good way. The only downside is that it's in Dragona, which is not close to the center at all. Here's something Agostinelli said in an interview in I-forgot-which-magazine (cutted out the article :P), bad translation from Italian by me:
"Now it's a mission for me, saving as many objects as possible from destruction. You can't notice it because you're young but there has been a fracture with the pre-50's civilization, in these last 70 years peasant and artisan civilization have been wiped out. Considering that 90% of people in Italy were peasants or artisians, it's as if a hurricane had passed and erased millennia of history."
LIPU* Oasis in Lido di Ostia
"It's an Autogrill for migratory birds" - a volunteer. This place was a illegal open-air landfill before. The LIPU volunteers had to buid the pond, the dunes, and plant all the plants! You can rent the bird-watching hides, or visit them freely saturday morning from 9 to 13 (well, you could untill covid-19 hit. who knows when things'll go back to normal). They also organize other events, sometimes rescued birds liberations too. So many birds to see here! You can even spot purple herons! If you're a bird-watcher it's a place to check out! It's also near and connected to the Pier Paolo Pasolini Literary Park®, built in the place where his body was found. Their website UKITA, Facebook page, Instagram (*LIPU= Lega Italiana Protezione Ucceli, Italian League for Birds Protection)
Capuchin Crypt
Real human bones used to decorate the crypt! Chock full of skulls! There's also a couple of monks that look more like mummies than skeletons. Looks much bigger in photos, still really cool place. My only complaint is that they told us not to take pictures to respect the dead, but they sold souvenirs with photos on them.
Lake Ex SNIA/Bullicante, the lake who defeated concrete
The story in short: a company wanted to build a mall were they shouldn't. Shortly after starting the construction site, they dug a hole and water came out nonstop. They hitted an aquifer and gave birth to the lake! The site was closed. People fought to keep the lake because they were tired of being surrounded by concrete. Other attempts to build something else were made (even if it's not really allowed, it was supposed to be public green land) and the citizens barely made it in 2014 Ex Snia is now a Natural Monument, it's an oasis for many species of birds, the only natural lake inside Rome, and you can pic-nic near it :)
The website has the complete story, in italian. I'm surprised I found out about this place late!
Assalti frontali & Il Muro del Canto dedicated a song to it called "IL LAGO CHE COMBATTE" (the lake who fights) youtube link
Ostia Antica Archeological Park
I've heard people call it Rome's Pompeii. It's easy to reach (Roma-Lido train at the Magliana metro station -> Ostia Antica station -> really short walk. around 30 minutes in total) and just, so cool. Look up photos! You can freely walk in the city's ruins and get lost in them, it's big! There's so much to see I don't even know where to begin. And every time I've been there it was never crowded. There's even an anphitheater that is still in use. My words don't do it justice. I really don't understand why this place isn't more famous. You can easely spend all day here (but there isn't much shade so if it's hot bewear).
Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome
It's a pretty nice cemetery. It's a quiet place in the middle of the city with lots of trees, and a cat colony is free to roam everywhere :3 The oldest part is like a tiny park, the newest looks a bit crowded but it's still nice. It’s often called “protestant” or “English” cemetery but it’s full of many other religions and nationalities (I’ve seen many Orthodox-Catholic graves especially. Maybe they’re just easy to spot?). Some famous people are buried here (Antonio Gramsci, Percy Bysshe Shelley), but the coolest grave is William Wetmore Story and Emelyn Story's, the OG Angel of Grief. William Wetmore sculpted it to commemorate his wife, and then it was copied all around the world lol
The cemetery's website and the cat colony's one for more info
Villa del Priorato di Malta's Keyhole
Literally just a keyhole through which Saint Peter's Basilica can be viewed. Doesn't seem like much but it has its effect, it's worth the time spent in the queue. If you don't want to wait too much, there's less people when it's dark (the Basilica is artificially illuminated)
St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs's Meridial Line
Kinda like a sundail but straight line on the floor, Wikipedia describes it better. Pretty neat! My best friend brought me here once.
On the Web
Hanno sgomberato la sede di CasaPound?
Daily updates on the turtle-infested building in via Napoleone III in Rome twitter CasaPound is a neofascist movement who has been occupating a six floors public building in a pretty important street since 2003. These fuckers are using it as their headquarters, and while they declare that the people living there are in a housing emergency, they actually put there friends and families who can afford to live regularly (the Guardie di Finanza confirm it). I'm not agains occupied places, I just hate fascists.
IbombRome
This guy makes cool dioramas of Rome's streets with a particular attention to stickers, throw-ups, tags, posters... Only on Instagram :/
List of Rome's Legal Walls and Halls of Fames. link
A Legal Wall is a wall on which anyone can do graffitis legally. A Hall of Fame is a wall which is assigned to a writer for 90 days.
some expressions/verbs/whatever grammar isn't my forte ok
most of these are pretty rude, the roman dialect is like that. translating them is so hard, I know what they mean but I cannot put it into other words! I have so many open tabs...
ahó: sound used to call someone's attention, or to express irritation or surprise.
ammazza: (imperative of to kill) often shortened to 'mmazza. basically "wow".
aridaje: (to give them again) expression used to underline an annoying unnecessary repetition of words or actions. (example: "aridaje with this story! how many times do you have to tell it?")
attaccate ar cazzo / attacca e tira forte: ("hang to the dick / hang and pull hard")
ironic advice to give to someone you don't want to help. it comes from the italian phrase attaccati al tram (hang to the tram) which means the same thing, we just made it more rude.
bucio de culo: (ass hole) often shortened to just culo. saying that someone has a (great) bucio de culo means they're lucky. saying that you did/you're doing a bucio de culo, or that a task is a bucio de culo, means that the task in question is very tiring. 23 bucio de culo aiutame te!
daje: (to give them)
used to encourage, to cheer, or simply to express approval. it also means "to give them". (examples: "DAJE [insert here football player] FACCI SOGNARE!!!"; A:"let's go for pizza?" B:"daje")
li mortacci tua: (your awful deads) often shortened to 'tacci tua, li mortacci, mortacci.
this exclamation can have a myriad of meanings. from an expression of anger, rage, frustration, and/or resentment, to an expression of surprise, joy, and/or affection. it all depends on context. it has completely lost the association with the dead. DO NOT use it with someone not from Rome unless you're insulting them!
me cojoni: (short of mi coglioni? (are you shitting me?) which is no longer used) basically wow, a little stronger than ammazza, often used sarcastically.
'n sacco, 'na cifra, 'n botto, 'na caterva: (a sack, a digit, a barrel, a ???) "a lot of", so many you can't quantify it. except for 'na caterva, they can also be used to say you like something a lot.
stacce: (stay there(???)) quick way to tell someone that they must accept the situation, doesn't matter if they like it or not.
sti cazzi: (these dicks) who gives a fuck. (I've heard that in Milan it means "wow/amazing" lol)
sto cazzo: (this dick) . can also be used like deez nuts.
these types of people/insults seem the same to an outsider, but there's some subtle differences difficult to explain:
coatto:
burino: it comes from the time peasants moved into the city, so it means rude, lout, boor, embarassing, in the way an "uncivilised" peasant can be;
boro: rude, lout, boor, embarassing, but it's someone born and raised in Rome;
sborone:
truzzo:
some words
pedalino/i: sock/s;
rega': guys;
Media
Amore Tossico - Toxic Love
Bianco, Rosso e Verdone - White, Red and Green*
(It's a wordplay. The main actor's surname is Verdone, Verde means Green in italian)
Gigi Proietti's I Sette Re di Roma
Febbre da Cavallo - Horse fever
Romanzo Criminale la serie - Criminal Novel the series
Strappare lungo i bordi - Tear along the dotted line
Shit I still have to watch:
ladri di biciclette
all of Pasolini's movies
Rome Open City
La Dolce Vita
la roba de Er Monnezza perchè li guardava mi madre
and more!
I refuse to watch those colossals set in ancient Rome
Birds I've seen here because I like birds
I'm a very casual bird watcher. I don't go out my way to see them, but I like to know the names of the birds I spot around the city
Barn Owl. I've only seen one and for, like, 5 seconds, flying in a pine forest. I didn't know we had them!;
Common Blackbirds. It took me way too long to realize that the beautiful melody I often heard came from them;
Common Chiffchaff, probably. Only caught a glimpse of it;
Eurasian Collared Doves. When I was 12 a kid told me that these where female pigeons and I believed him :/ . Love their coos;
Eurasian Coots. Saw a nest at the Lido di Ostia LIPU Oasis :) . The volunteer told us that they killed a seagull who was too close to it;
Grey Herons. Big boys!;
Black-headed Gulls. They come in winter so they don't have a black head when here. Not assholes;
Yellow-legged Gulls. Not only near the sea! These lovely bastards make nests on rooftops and eat trash, rats, and pigeons. Loud assholes, I like to call them sky bullies. Screw the roman eagle, THIS is the iconic bird of Rome;
Common House-Martins. probably. Saw a lot of them flying around the Tiber!;
Hooded Crows. Cool crows :) Mean to pigeons :( ;
Hoopoes!!! I love their colours and their crest! They're not that common so seeing one is always a nice surprise;
Jackdaws!!! they don't live near me :( ;
Eurasian Magpies!!! Sadly I've seen them only outside urban areas when travelling by car. I finally got to see one! A collared dove was bullying it lol. They're also called Pica pica, an adorable name;
Mallards. Quack! Don't feed them bread!;
European Robins. I haven't seen that many, hope they're not disappearing;
Rose-ringed Parakeets and Monk Parakeets. Yes Rome has fucking parakeets now! They're so loud! words of a LIPU volunteer:there was a guy who was very good at breeding animals, so good that zoos asked for his services. One day he went a bit cuckoo (probaly from old age) and started keeping animals illegaly (volunteer didn't specify). A few days before the police was supposed to seize his animals, he freed his birds and, since he was a fantastic breeder, he had tons of them. Now Rome has parakeets.
Ring-necked Pheasants (2). My best friend and I were walking around in the further area of the the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica and these two guys popped out of nowere and we were like ???these live here??? They do;
Pigeons. I've seen so many dead ones it's not even funny :( ;
Black(?) Redstart. Only saw a female one, which was brown;
Italian Sparrows. You can see quite a few of them around outdoor restaurant tables. Legends say that if you make them drink Uliveto water they'll learn how to talk;
Common Starlings. Sometimes you can see huge flocks flying around like a big black cloud;
Barn Swallows. Lovely birds, they come in spring and make cool nests :) ;
Swans. Once I saw one swim near the seashore. It's odd to see a swan in the sea;
Common Swifts! I love listening to them!;
A tit. Either a Great Tit or a Eurasian Blue Tit (or a coal one?). I stared at it for minutes but I don't know which one it was.
White Wagtails!!! The name is very appropriate, they wag their tails a lot! In italian they're called "ballerine bianche" (white ballet dancers) which I think is also very appropriate;
Moltoni's Warbler. Unfortunately a dead one so I'm pretty sure it's not a eastern subalpine one, it had too little red. I buried it, and then decided to clean its skull (will share a pic);
Eurasian Wrens (only heard). In italian they're called "Scricciolo", which is also a cute way to call someone who's small;
I also found (and lost) what I'm pretty sure is an Eurasian Jay's feather, but haven't seen the full bird. And there's a couple of birds which I can't identfy. One is black with a long neck, around the size of a gull. One looks like a tiny white heron
burning ATAC busses are a meme. It doesn't happen that often, but it happens...
image from wikimediaThe animals I associate Rome with are: wolf (Capitoline Wolf), boars, and seagulls.
Yes I'm dedicating an entire section to Zerocalcare
Zerocalcare is an Italian cartoonist and "the last intellectual" [L'Espresso, lmao] His pen name means "zero limescale", one time he had to quickly join a discussion on an forum and took the name from a jingle playing on TV He's proudly from Rebibbia (an urban zone of Rome) and can't imagine to live anywhere else. He often mentions Rebibbia's Mammuth,"the other thing in Rebibbia besides the prison", and even put it in a mural in Rebibbia's Metro station
I don't think he's ever esplicitally said his political alignment, but if you know him a little bit (never hid his opinions and sympathies), and know that Gaetano Bresci is his hero... :)
He's famous for (or at least I know him for):
Comic books, duh (see below). Sometimes he also publishes stuff on magazines like L'Espresso, L'Internazionale or Wired;
The blog where he tells his daily misadventures and thoughts using a shitton of pop-culture references and hyperboles first entry;
Long ass meetings where he'll draw something for every. single. person. The queue lasts hours;
His animated shorts, especially Rebibbia Quarantine, a series he made during the italian lockdown of 2020 youtube link to my playlist;
Strappare lungo i bordi, a series he made for Netflix which YOU MUST WATCH NOW! GO IT'S GOOD;
Posters/stickers/banners/... for 1293283 causes because he can't say no, especially the kurdish one in Syria, and the Genoa G8 massacre;
I know he made a lot of stuff like covers for self-published punk albums or art for photocopied magazines, I don't think I'll ever see one with my own eyes;
Bonuses! His friend Secco's facebook page called "Ti piacciono davvero le bombe carta se" (You really like paper bombs if), his other friends' craft screenprint store that also sells Zerocalcare ones