Blog

We had received a tip at the hotel reception about a lake in Rome, where you can rent rowing boats. Perhaps there were bathing facilities there? The tip was Villa Borghese and the associated 80-acre garden. We took metro A to Piazziale Flaminio, from where you get up close to Piazza del Popolo (The People’s Square). This is a very nice piazza. Indeed, there were even a lot of Lionesses at Fontana del Nettuno!

When you ascend from Piazza Popolo to the Pincio hill, you get a fantastic view from Terrazza del Pincio, including the Vatican.

The Mansion, Villa Borghese Pinciana from 1616, today houses a museum, but was originally built for garden parties. The building was designed by Flaminio Ponzio on the order of Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese. The large garden is filled with works of art, including an insane amount of busts. Idun noted with excitement that several ancient mathematicians were represented (among others Pythagoras), but turned grumpy as it turned out that in this whole crowd of heads, all were male. We searched and searched and finally we found a female statue. Headless! It was more fun to check out the water clock from 1873.

The hydrochronometer was designed by Gian Battista Embriaco for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1867, where it won both prizes and applause. It was difficult for us to see where the water actually comes up, which made the sight even better. At an entrance to the rural part of the garden we found the Fontana del Fiocco (Leaf Fountain). The temperature in the air was 35 degrees celcius, and Idun had an urgent desire for a fountain bath. ‘There are almost no people here!‘ But Knut didn’t think it was worth risking a fine of 450 Euro, so we did the statue game instead. Esculapius has been removed for restoration, so space was ready for the reservist Idun.

This water was incredibly fresh and clear and tempting, but to no use (the fountain is defined as a drinking water fountain). Correction: There were two turtles in the fountain, and they certainly enjoyed the water, so the water was indeed useful.

Further into the park we finally caught sight of the lake. This was bad stuff! There are approximately 40 springs and fountains in the park, and the water quality varies slightly, from dry to overgrown to green (from cynaobacteria?) to crystal clear.

But where were the boats? The Fontana Rotonda di Villa Borghese is large, but still not a lake, so we just had to continue strolling. Giardino del Lago is a really beautiful park with large, tall trees of many kinds. With a little clean-up, as well as the benefits of a ban on single-use plastic, it can be even nicer… Rome was very dry in July, but under the trees there was green grass every now and then, and there were people who enjoyed life in the shade. Finally we found the lake. Beautiful! Green! On an artificial peninsula there is a temple dedicated to the God of medicine: ‘Tempio di Esculapio’, which was completed in 1792.

Idun was really excited. ‘Then we can rent a boat, row up to the small waterfall and tumble in. If we make it look like an accident, they can’t demand 450 Euros from us?‘ Knut was very skeptical. ‘It will be a big mess and very expensive. And is it really that tempting?‘ We took a closer look. There were birds everywhere. Swans, ducks, even a turkey. What about the bird shit? And that green colour… Bathing with cyanobacteria is very unhealthy. No, indeed, the bath in Lago Giardiano del Villa Borghese with a big disappointment turned to a ‘not’.

What do you do then? There is a café just north of the lake, ‘Satyrus Temporary Bar’, but we would not recommend it. Things are rather slow and the prices on the bill do not match the prices on the menu. Instead, go back towards Terrazza del Pianco and then in the direction of the Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna). We found a combined café and restaurant Ciampini at the south end of the park, half outside and half inside. Fresh and nice air, good food. With bird bath. We brought the goat Heidrun, who had a trip to the bathroom. But stuffing your feet in there? In the middle of the restaurant? No, we couldn’t do that.

Outside, however!

After a visit to Villa Borghese, a film from Rome might be an idea. One possibility is Franciolini’s film ‘Villa Borghese’ from 1953, or “Roman Holiday” with Kathrine Hepburn, also from 1953.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, not too far from the sea, northwest of Rome, a Taurus (a God in the form of a bull) strolled in the hills. One day he scratched his hooves on the field. This caused the ground to open and hot, sulphurous water to flow up to the surface. This is how the bathing adventure at Civitavecchia began, according to Rutilio Namaziano.

Purification with water before performing religious acts finds its roots all the way back to ancient Egypt. Health baths in mineral rich water were recognized in ancient Greece, so the Roman ‘thermae’ (baths) are based on very old traditions. The first Termes were based on geothermal energy. The baths were accessible to both rich and poor, and were important meeting places.

Over time, advanced facilities were built with good sanitary conditions, and separate pools for hot and cold baths. And they were beautiful! The walls and ceiling were covered in marble and mosaic, there were wonderful archways and lots of height under the roof.

The construction of Terme Taurine started around 80 BC, under the dictator Sulla. It was extended and rebuilt several times, and had a library as well as warm, intermediate and cold pools.

Gradually, the Romans developed more and more advanced heating techniques, and during the Imperial period, baths were also built inside the cities, independent of hot springs. They even had saunas!

After a visit to Terme Taurine, it is just perfect to try out Terme anno 2022. Our taxi driver could tell us that in his childhood (he was in his fifties), there was still hot water in Terme Taurine. It was a fun activity in the winter to go up the hill and have a hot bath in the old, mosaic decorated pools. Today, the geology has changed, but hot water is still to be found in the new bathing facility ‘La Ficoncella’, 3 km away. We just had to go there and try it!

La Ficoncella is named after a large fig tree that no longer exists. The facility is not large, but there are several smaller pools and also separate pools for those who cannot swim. There are no (!) changing rooms here, but four showers without doors. The water temperature is around fifty degrees Celsius, dripping directly into the shower rooms through 3-4 holes in the supply pipe. Showering is required (fortunately) before entering the pools, but in contrast to Icelandic tradition, your shower in La Ficoncella is supposed to be done without (!) the use of soap.

Then it was just a matter of jumping into it. Right? No, this simply wasn’t that easy. We were in La Ficoncella in July. It was 30°C in the air. And then you are supposed to voluntarily enter a pool, 42°C? That’s crazy! Like some say it is to take a bath in a norwegian fjord when the air temperature is below freezing.

Every centimeter you sink into the water, you feel your body shouting: ‘Don’t do it! It’s too hot!‘ But then you do it anyway, and it’s just fine. And then? Believe it or not, afterwards you cool off and feel absolutely great. Try it!

La Ficoncella is an unpretentious place. When we were there, we felt like being a part of the younger generation, but there were a few exceptions, and our daughters were not the only youths. This is a very nice place! People make contact as soon as they see newcomers. You will get a lot of advice and support including pleasant chatting. A bath in La Ficoncella in the middle of summer is absolutely something!

‘The old town’ lives up to its name, because people have lived here for a long time. The city is placed over an earlier Etruscan settlement. It was Emperor Trajan who started constructing the first harbor, at the beginning of the second century AD.

The city was earlier called Centum Cellae, which possibly comes from the hundreds of rooms in the emperor’s villa. The city became part of the Pope’s property in the year 728. A hundred years later, the city was attacked by the Saracens, and the settlement was moved to a safer place. According to tradition, the city was named ‘Civitas Vetus’ when the inhabitants shortly after moved back to the old city. In 1696, the city became a free port under Pope Innocent XII, and Rome’s most important port city.

In earlier times, the city was a shipping port for the mineral alum. Today, tourism is the main source of income, in addition to a large energy factory and the ferry port, with departures to Sardinia, Sicily and various cruise destinations. The city was bombed to pieces during the WWII, but has been nicely rebuilt, including much of the old brickwork. The beaches at Civitavecchia are many and long, the water fresh and clear, so it is really nice to swim here. But please do remember to bring your swimming shoes! There are pebbles and not sand on the beach. But otherwise excellent. And romantic too!

We had a cozy picnic under the palm trees by the beach, and this can be safely recommended.

But: If the children want a little more action, there is a completely different option in Civitavecchia: The Aquafelix water park. Don’t be confused by the slightly depressing entrance – this is a very good bathing place.

Once inside the facility, our daughters immediately threw themselves into the dance. Yes, you read that right: The dance! At Aquafelix there was ‘Dance along’ in the water lead by an energetic DJ. Just great!

Aquafelix is beautifully built and maintained, with paved paths between the facilities. They have built a number of exciting slides, one of which goes through a dark tunnel. For Idun, who is not very enthusiastic about slides, a tour in the current ringpool was more tempting – on a tube. The only concern is therefore this, from Idun: There is no suitable training pool in this water park. But they do have a small fountain, which made up for the disappointment. Finally, Idun could have a fountain bath in Italy!

After the bath, time is just perfect for dinner. We suggest you to head for Piazza Aurelia Saffi. There you can find several cafès, restaurants and pubs, and a beautiful view of the medieval walls. Buon appetito!

After an intense search for our kind of bathing places in central Rome, we just had to capitulate. There are none, NONE! Of course there are spas and swimming pools, but no lakes, rivers or old thermes. Big disappointment. Big!

The temptations did exist, in the form of Rome’s many large and beautiful fountains with crystal clear water. Don’t do it! It is strictly prohibited, and suddenly you have got a 450 Euro fine. So we didn’t swim in the Fontana di Trevi (Fountain of the Three Roads). It is simply too expensive. And certainly you will get a troublesome and bad day with a lot of yelling.

On the other hand, it’s not very far to go from the center of Rome to have a nice swim. What about a volcanic lake? 20 km southeast of Rome there is a 36,000-year-old volcano, and inside it two collapsed magma chambers, which today appear as the lakes Nemi and Albano.

The name Albano has been much discussed and comes either from ‘alp’ = ‘high’ or from ‘alba’ which means white (the hills around the lakes consist of, among other things, light grey tuff). The volcano still emits gases, and in 1999 29 cows died of CO2 poisoning. In some places in the area, it is therefore not recommended to have bedrooms on the ground floor.

Rich people have spent their summer holidays by Lago di Albano for thousands of years. For example, Emperor Titus built a villa by Lake Albano around 100 AD. The summer here is peaceful and the air is fresh and relatively cool. On a hill above the lake lies the town of Castel Gandolfo, which has just below 9,000 inhabitants. The palace ‘Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo’ has been the property of the Vatican since 1596, and was for many years the Pope’s summer residence. This was to the great delight of the inhabitants, as it attracted many visitors to the town. However, today’s Pope, Francis, has stated that traveling to the countryside in the summer is something the rich people do, and he is not (!) rich. So now there is put an end to this tradition, and the Castilians despair: ‘It is possible that you are not rich, but the fact that you do not come here in the summer any more, makes us poor!‘. To ease the situation, the palace has been converted into a museum, and tourists are arriving here again. But life in Castel Gandolfo is not as it used to be.

Lago di Albano experienced very varying water levels in ancient times, partly due to the CO2 production, which is known to have led to flooding at least once, as the gas lifted the water. Therefore, around 395 BC, a drain was carved out at one end – through the Albano Hill. The tunnel is 1,600 meter long, 1.2 meter wide and 2 meter high, and this is how the flooding problem was solved once and for all.

Knut’s cousin Ingrid has lived near Lake Albano for over 30 years, and she told us that the water level has been dropping steadily all these years. The ruins in the picture above were previously under water. This was the old harbour, and close by were several Roman villas.

And the bath? How was it? Great! Easy to get into the water, there is fine, grey sand on the beach, and the water is clear and fresh. Here you can both have a bath and do some swimming exercise. During the Summer Olympics in 1960, all the competitions for rowing and paddling were performed in Lake Albano. ‘The Albano Buoy System’ set a standard for lane marking which is still in use, and the buoys can be seen at the eastern end of the lake.

A swimming trip to Lago di Albano is just fine! And after? If possible – take the train back to Rome and go to a concert in Circo Massimo! We saw ‘Måneskin’ together with 70,000 others a few days before, and it was a great experience. After our Albano bath on the other hand, there was a family dinner at Knut’s cousin’s. Very good for us, but not possible for everyone of course.