la notte

Piazza Venezia and Piazza del Gesù at night.
First image participates in this month's Theme Day in the CityDailyPhoto community.

basilica di san pietro

sant'egidio a trastevere

belvedere

ghetto

 

The ancient Jewish quarter of Rome is commonly referred to as the "ghetto." Today it is one of the city's most charming and eclectic neighborhoods, known for its great restaurants serving traditional Roman cuisine and Jewish specialties, and home to a large Jewish community.
But in 1555 a Papal Bull ordered Jews–who had lived freely in Rome since antiquity–to be segregated in a walled sector with three gates that were locked at night, and subjected them to various restrictions on personal freedom, like limits to allowed professions and compulsory Catholic sermons on shabbat. Jews were disabled from owning any property even in the ghetto, yet had to pay a yearly tax for the "privilege" of living there.
In 1798 the Ghetto was legally abolished, and the Tree of Liberty was planted in Piazza delle Cinque Scole, but it was reinstated as soon as the Papacy regained control over the short-lived Napoleonic "Roman Republic." In 1848, during the brief Mazzini revolution, the ghetto was abolished once more, again temporarily. Finally in 1888 the city of Rome was able to tear down the ghetto's walls, and the area was fully reconstructed around the new Synagogue of Rome.

I usually have breakfast in Piazza Costaguti–the heart of the ghetto–before setting off on my culinary tours of the city. The early morning light is beautiful, and I enjoy observing the activity as shops begin to open, and kids scurry off to school.

sacro e profano

il tridente

{early morning romance}

The three roads that fork out of the Piazza del Popolo are referred to as the 'trident.'

The central Via del Corso runs south-west all the way to Piazza Venezia, can you see the monument in the far distance? Via Ripetta, to the right of the twin churches, ends in Piazza Augusto Imperatore, near the Ara Pacis. Via del Babuino, to the left, will take you to the Spanish Steps in Piazza di Spagna.

I was here early this morning, and the grey sky, sparsly populated square and these young lovers entwined in a sweet kiss, set the mood to this otherwise busy and majestic piazza to "very romantic."