I came back to Rome following my return to Malta for the Christmas holidays and the New Year. With only a month left till the end of my Roman adventure, I realised that time is really getting on so this is really the time to see and absorb as much as possible of Rome. I opted to visit the Janiculum – a step away from the centro storico yet a complete change of scene.

The Janiculum (Gianicolo) is the second tallest hill in Rome, after Monte Mario. Despite its height, it is not considered as one of the seven hills of Rome, since it is outside the boundaries of the ancient city.

It is a site of great historical importance on two different levels – St Peter and Giuseppe Garibaldi. Reminders of the lives of both of these two are found all around. These, combined with a breathtaking view of Rome make the Janiculum hill a very special place.

The Janiculum hill is said to have been a centre for the cult of the god Janus (the two-faced god of doors, gates, beginnings and endings), and since it offers a good view of Rome, augurs used this site to look out for auspices, or signs from the gods.



Fontana dell’Acqua Paola

Built on the Janiculum hill, the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola, also known as the Fontanone, is a monumental baroque fountain constructed in 1612 for Pope Paul V (hence its name) by Giovanni Fontana and Flaminio Ponzio. The fountain was built to mark the renovation of an old aqueduct, originally created by emperor Trajan in 109AD. The façade is decorated with angels, monsters and dragons, and a number of columns and arches. The marble used for this fountain was derived from the Nerva Forum.



San Pietro in Montorio

Legend has it that St Peter met his death on the Janiculum hill and thus this church was built on the site. Yet this theory relating St Peter to the Janiculum hill is disputed by many who claim that St Peter actually met his death in the Circus of Caligula and Nero, at the site of San Pietro in Vaticano.

In the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio there is the Tempietto, a tiny, circular shrine built by Donato Bramante in c. 1502 according to tradition on the specific ground upon which St Peter was executed. This shrine is a mere eight metres in diameter and 13 metres in height and was inspired by the Tempio di Vesta in the Forum.

San Pietro in Montorio was commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and is decorated with various notable works of art from various masters like Sebastiano del Piombo and Niccolo Circignani.

The fourth chapel has a ceiling fresco by Giorgio Vasari. Tradition has it that Beatrice Cenci is buried either in this chapel or below the high altar. The story of the Cencis is an intriguing one to say the least. Beatrice Cenci was a noblewoman, daughter of Francesco Cenci who abused his wife and sons and committed incest with Beatrice. Francesco had been jailed but thanks to his noble title, his was freed early. Beatrice had tried to inform the authorities about her father’s way of treating her and the rest of her family, but this was to no avail, although everybody in Rome knew what kind of person her father was.

The four Cencis went on to murder Francesco and three of them were then sentenced to death themselves. The common people of Rome – who knew the reasons for this murder – begged for clemency for the Cencis, but Pope Clement VIII showed no mercy at all. Giacomo was quartered with a mallet and his limbs hung in four corners. Lucrezia and Beatrice were both beheaded with a sword. The young boy was spared but was made to see his siblings and mother being executed and then returned to prison. His property was all confiscated in favour of the pope’s own family. Interest in Beatrice Cenci’s story was ignited by Percy Bysshe Shelley in his play, The Cenci.

It is perhaps apt that a church dedicated to St Peter is built on the Janiculum in that the latter derives its name from Janus, god of doors and gates, among other things, and that St Peter is believed to be the holder of the keys to the gates of heaven.



Giuseppe Garibaldi

The Janiculum is the site of a battle started on 29 April 1849 between the forces of Garibaldi and French forces fighting on behalf of Pope Pius IX, who sought to restore the dominion of Papal States over the newly-proclaimed Rome republic. The volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi were forced to surrender after two months of intense fighting. In the centre of the piazza, there is an imposing monument showing Garibaldi riding a horse: the monument is in the highest point on the Janiculum so from here Garibaldi looks down over Rome. At the base of the monument is the inscription Roma o Morte (Rome or Death).

Despite this defeat, Garibaldi is nonetheless regarded as a hero for having managed to put up a fight with an “army” of volunteers and stands today as much as he did then as a symbol of resistance.

A short distance from the Giuseppe Garibaldi monument, there is the monument to Anita, Garibaldi’s wife, also shown riding on a horse, who was buried in the Janiculum in the spot chosen by her husband.

Daily at noon, a cannon fires once from the Janiculum in the direction of the Tiber to signal the exact time when Garibaldi’s “troops” were defeated. This tradition goes back to 1847 when the cannon of the Castel Sant’Angelo signalled the surrounding bell towers to start ringing at midday. In 1904, the tradition was transferred to the Janiculum and continued until 1939. In 1959, it was resumed from the Janiculum after a 20-year interruption.



Mausoleo Ossario Garibaldino

This mausoleum in via Garibaldi is dedicated to all the people who fell in combat between 1849 and 1870. It is a very austere monument made out of white marble and bearing a number of inscriptions.



From Janus to La Befana

Back in the centro storico, reminders of the tradition of La Befana, the old lady who, according to tradition, rides on a broomstick and visits children on the night between 5 and 6 January, were absolutely everywhere. This tradition is very close to heart for the Romans who thus prolong their Christmas festivities. The term Befana is said to be derived from the word Epifania and the first legend is in fact said to be connected to the feast of the Epiphany, since it is believed that the Befana met the Three Magi on their way to visit the Christ child.



Caravaggio and San Luigi dei Francesi

This church is located in Piazza dei San Luigi dei Francesi, just off Piazza Navona. It is the French church in Rome and is perhaps most known for having three Caravaggio paintings: The Calling of St Matthew, The Martyrdom of St Matthew and St Matthew and the Angel.

For a Maltese person, a Caravaggio is always of great interest and the Calling of St Matthew in particular, is a magnificent work of art.

Inside the church there are various blow-ups of the details in this painting and explanations of each of these. The chiaroscuro technique comes out very beautifully in this painting with a ray of light following the line of Christ’s arm to the face of Matthew. In a typical tax collector manner, Matthew looks up at Christ but keeps one hand on his coins; with the other hand he points to himself in a surprised fashion.



The Return

It is wonderful to be back in Rome; it is such a wonderful blend of all that is good – food, coffees, shops, art and so much more.