Rome: Where All Roads Lead - Italy - page 60

della Pace (Vicolo del Arco della Pace, 5; % 06-6861156; officially but rarely

open Tues-Fri 10am-12:45pm) is worth trying to get in, though it seems the
posted hours mean nothing. But try to visit so you can see Raphael's Sybils.
While you are here, duck into the Cloister of Bramante next door, which is pri-
marily a modern venue for visiting art exhibits, though if you only want to see the
heavenly cloister, you generally don't have to pay the admission for the exhibit.
These cloisters are some of the best in Italy, and define precisely the meditative
purpose these structures serve.
Back on the other side of the Pantheon is the glorious church of Sant'Ignazio
di Loyola (Piazza Sant'Ignazio; % 06-6794406; 7:30am-12:15pm and 3-7:15pm),
which is the center of the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church. When this church
was built in 1626, those living in a nearby monastery feared that a giant dome,
which was in the original plans, would block their light. Instead, the artist Andrea
Pozzo just painted the ceiling to mimic the inside of a dome—if you stand on the
circular disk in the nave, you will be fooled into thinking the dome is genuine.
CAMPO DE' FIORI & THE JEWISH GHETTO
The sliver of city along the Tiber River stretching from the Jewish synagogue to
the busy Via Vittorio Emmanuel II is very much the lifeblood of Rome's center.
The streets here are tiny alleyways and, unlike Trastevere (p. 63) on the other side
of the Tiber River, or the more posh Tridente close to the Spanish Steps, there is
a better sense here of neighborhood and Roman culture. It is here you see the del-
icate balance between those who have always lived in Rome—mostly in this
district—and those who come here to live for a few days or a few years. In the
Jewish Ghetto, the matrons bring their kitchen chairs outside to sit together each
evening before supper in a way more reminiscent of a tiny village than a sprawling
European capital.
Campo de' Fiori is the core of this section of Rome. Starting about 6am, it
offers a colorful display of regional pride as the market vendors make an art out
of selling everything from rosemary plants to potatoes. It is a ridiculously expen-
sive vegetable market, though, with prices per kilogram sometimes double those
of other markets. But people don't necessarily come here for the produce—it is a
piazza with energy and vibrancy—perfect for a visitor who wants to feel as if he
or she is part of the community. It is very much un like Testaccio (p. 80), though,
because there are many hotels and a very high concentration of foreign residents
living in this part of Rome.
Mid-afternoon is the most dangerous time to be here; lately local police have
pinpointed this area as an afternoon drug haven. But around 5pm, it becomes a
mod locale to take an after-work drink, and those over 30 gather at the wine bars
and beer joints around the perimeter. By mid-evening, though, the square trans-
forms into an open-air mecca for the 20-something crowds whose stamina should
be admired. There is a sense of unnerving chaos here come midnight, especially
in the summer months when the piazza is filled with drinking, smoking, moped-
driving kids.
It is never a mistake to take a walk through the Galleria Spada

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(Piazza Capo
di Ferro, 3; % 06-6874896; www.galleriaborghese.it; adults € 5, seniors and
students € 2.50; Tues-Sun 8:30am-7:30pm). This gorgeous palazzo houses the