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Episode 1: Rome
Griff Rhys Jones gets under the skin of another three cities in the second series of Greatest Cities of the World.
Following the success of the first series Griff will be exploring a typical 24 hours in the life of Rome, Sydney and Hong Kong. Griff paints a landmark portrait of each metropolis revealing what gives each city its unique identity.
Griff takes viewers off the usual tourist trail and discovers the interesting, quirky and sometimes eccentric secrets and traditions that form the heart and soul of each city.
Rome is a city with a real sense of history; it was already a teeming metropolis of a million people when London and Paris were mere villages.
In this episode of The World’s Greatest Cities, Griff will discover how today’s Romans live with 3,000 years of history on their doorsteps.
Griff will experience twenty four hours in the life of Rome and its people, discovering the traditions, history and secrets of this fascinating city.
As dawn breaks over the city, Griff hitches a ride in the back of a van carrying fresh fruit to the centre of a city Griff describes as: “The most complicated, confusing and fascinating city that I’ve ever been in.”
It’s rush hour and the streets are full of the sounds of car horns and the screech of brakes. Rome’s roads are notoriously dangerous, with an average of 60 serious collisions every day. The Piazza Venezia is the hub of the city and in this chaotic whirlpool of crazed motorists and kamikaze pedestrians Griff witnesses a very Roman solution to the mess - the sublimely imperious figure of traffic policeman, Gianluco Fabi. With authority and grace - and a whistle - Fabi controls the traffic using elegant hand signals that halt even the most impatient drivers.
In an effort to lessen the traffic congestion a third Metro line is in the process of being built, but in a city steeped in history the construction process is constantly delayed. As Griff discovers, the problem is that whenever they excavate, buried layers of ancient Roman streets are found, and as far as the archaeologists are concerned the Metro will just have to wait.
Searching out breakfast, Griff heads for a popular coffee shop. Griff says: “This is an essential pit stop in the Roman day, you drink your coffee standing up, it’s not a lingering drink, and there are absolutely no seats whatsoever.” Coffee was originally seen as Satan’s drink; the Pope frowned on it – until he tried it – but now it’s one of the essential pillars of the city.
Rome was born on a river, the Tiber, which once provided all the water that was needed until the river became too polluted to use. The solution was to pipe in water from distant sources and its abundance is celebrated with over a thousand public fountains.
Griff meets up with underground explorer Adriano Morabito who takes him to an underground aqueduct which was built in 19BC. All the great aqueducts end their journey with a ‘Mostra’, which is a show of some kind, and in this case it’s the Trevi fountain, made famous by the film and song: ‘Three Coins in the Fountain.’ Tourists and locals nowadays throw a lot more than three coins - 80,000 Euros worth of coins are gathered from the fountain every month and donated to the Red Cross.
Griff then pays a visit to Santi Quattro Coronati, the home of a contemplative order of Augustinian nuns who spend their lives in complete and utter silence apart from when they are in prayer. A special dispensation has been granted to Sister Maralena, to talk to Griff about the history of the convent. Griff is honoured but admits that he doesn’t really understand much of what she is saying, but this doesn’t deter her. Griff comments: “For someone who spends her life in silence, she certainly enjoys talking.”
It is lunchtime and Griff visits a local market with cook Daniela Del Balzo, to buy ingredients for a typical Roman lunch which he is going to help cook. Centerpiece of the meal is offal which is highly regarded in Rome. With baby veal’s intestines and lamb’s heart, lungs and liver in the bag, they head for the home of Daniella’s friend Marcella Starace, whose family has run a trattoria in the city for many generations.
After a lesson in how to cook offal the Roman way, and full from a delicious lunch, Griff turns his hand to more physical labour.
Rome is a city of craftsmen and Griff visits Daniele De Tomassi marble workshop which has been in their family for generations. Griff is allowed to try his hand at carving an intricate design on a marble frieze but soon realises that it is a skill that takes years to learn.
Rosalina Dallago runs the only female shoe shine in the city. She claims to polish the shoes of the most powerful men in Italy and know many of their secrets, and, as her shop is next door to the Presidential Palace, Griff thinks that is probably true. Despite Griff’s attempts Rosalina stays tight lipped and will not be drawn into gossiping about her famous clients.
The annual festival of the Madonna de Nianthre celebrates the date 500 years ago when the statue of the Madonna was found in a box on the banks of the River Tiber. Every year there is a ritual river procession to honour the statue, and Griff has been invited to take part. He has to become a temporary member of the Order of Masons and wear their traditional robes in order to accompany the Madonna.
It seems as though the whole of Rome has turned out to witness the procession, with crowds lining the shore and bridges as the sun sets. When they reach the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere the Madonna is carried through the streets. Griff is one of the bearers and says of the experience: “Even more striking than the spectacle of it all is the emotion on people’s faces as the Madonna passes.” He describes the ritual as: “Extraordinary because of the strength of belief that you find here amongst the people that take part in it.”
It’s the middle of the night and Rome is still wide awake. The Romans start their nights out late and the city doesn’t start to quieten down until about two in the morning, and that is when Griff experiences one of the most quintessential Roman pastimes – a late night scooter ride with the Vespa Club of Rome. As the night draws to a close Griff takes a final ride past the city’s great landmarks and as his 24 hours in Rome ends he reflects on his experience: “Other Italians say Romans are arrogant, aloof, that they moan a lot … but I love the way they talk, the way they care about their city and their traditions . . I love Rome. I think you could live here for ten years and still only scratch the surface of this eternally fascinating town.”
Last edited: Tuesday, 6 April 2010
