Longest/Hottest day EVER....or so far.
Trip Start
Jun 19, 2010
1
8
30
Trip End
Aug 15, 2010
Veii, Latium, Italy
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Since today was the feast day of San Pietro e Paulo (patrons saints of Rome) we were on our own for breakfast; the Centro staff had the day off along with most of the people in Rome. Thus I went to my favorite neighborhood bar up the hill for my cappucino e cornetto.
It took about an hour by bus to get to Veii, the most important Etruscan city. Veii had a long and prosperous history, although once it came into contact with Rome it eventually fell under Roman hegemony, becoming a municipium in the 5th century BC.
Veii is most famous for its sanctuary to Apollo, the ruins of which are still visible, and most especially for the statue of Apollo made from Terra Cotta which was found there (we saw it at the Villa Giulia on Saturday).
After Veii we travelled to the site of Cosa, a Roman colony established on the coast c. 273 BC, stopping for a picnic lunch along the way. Cosa is interesting in that it was established by the Romans as a purely defensive colony to help them in their quest for expansion. Additionally, there is NO potable water source in Cosa (an unusual choice for a settlement), so they had to set up a series of cisterns. The lack of drinking water was outweighed by the vast defensive advantages of the site....namely it is at the top of a VERY long, VERY tall hill......did I mention we had to climb said hill? In the midday heat and sun? Oh, it was quite fun. The hill is literally two miles long and at least a 45degree angle.
In addition to fairly extensive ruins there is a nice museum at Cosa which houses the artifacts found in situ....including some interesting fishing gear since it is a coastal town.
After we left Cosa we stopped at the beach at Tarquinia on our way home. The ocean was quite cold and had lots of seaweed.....not as nice as Sullivan's Island, although the cold water felt really good after our long, hot day. We left the beach at 6pm and then promptly got caught in all the traffic of the Romans on holiday heading back into the city just like us. (Think coming back from the Hamptons on Labor Day)....
We finally got back around 7:30, and then we had a cookout since we had to make our own dinner (since the staff was on holiday and the restaurants are all closed). We have a lovely, large garden here at the Centro and there are several pretty serious grills. The guys had gotten some charcoal, so everyone was in charge of their own meat and drink and bringing something to share. The guys did a great job of running the grill and we had a nice cookout.
I can't remember the last time I slept as hard as I did last night......this heat will take it right out of you! And of course the heat will only get worse......
