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I randomly was skimming through my guidebook today and happened to notice a page that had a picture of the water fountain that is at the end of my road by the school (see previous post for more info!) It turns out that this fountain used to be in the Corso and now is in the wall of the Banco di Roma which is the building next door to us. It was created around 1590 and as you can see, the fountain is actually a porter holding a barrel that is putting out water. Yet another beautiful, old work of art that is right outside my door : )
So I know that I have mentioned them before, but the water fountains here are SO COOL. I can't believe that present-day Romans are still using the water system (aqueducts) that the ancient Romans built thousands of years ago. All over the city, there are marble or stone fountains that are constantly putting out fresh, drinkable water from the mountains. Everyday, I fill up a water bottle before class at the one that is at the end of our street. Also, I think that it is funny that even though there are so many sources of clean water all over the city, restaurants still find it necessary to CHARGE 3 Euros for water. This is a picture of the water fountain by my school.
Today the class went on a walk where we went to some of the places that were mentioned in The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne (a required text for class). The first place we went to was the Trevi Fountain which is the ending point of one of the aquaducts the ancient Romans built. It's amazing to me that present-day Romans are still using the water systems that the ancient Romans built thousands of years ago. It is said that if you throw a coin into the fountain over your shoulder, you will come back to Rome... so of course I did!! After that, we went to a place that still had bullet holes in the walls from WWII. After that, we went to the Crypt of the Capuchins. This was the eeriest place I have ever been in my life. It's a crypt housing over 4,000 bodies (mostly Capuchin monks). The bodies aren't just laid out though. They have been disassembled and the different types of bones are used to decorate the ceilings and walls in intricate patterns (DEFINITELY Google this!!!) When we were done there we headed over to the Spanish Steps. This is an area that was actually considered Spanish territory during the 17th Century.
