Alice’s wonderland

“When I went to Flaminio market, it was the Saturday before Easter. Everyone was very busy, the sellers to sell and the customers to buy, and everyone seemed happy. There were eggs, colombe (typical Easter cake, with the shape of a dove) and little lambs. Mommy explained me that they would be roasted.
I am sorry for them, but it’s yummy with baked potatoes.
I liked Flaminio market because there is almost everything. But what I will never forget is this man who was working all the time on a pair of shoes. Every now and then he would hit it with a hammer or cut a piece of leather. I was hypnotized by his work, his hands, his hammer. Maybe when I grow up I will be a cobbler.”

Just around the corner

Walking around Via Guido Reni market, area which originally hosted barracks, will give you the flavor of  a city opening to contemporary art. So, among the controversies of those who prefer an antique Rome, in this district has grown an “art pole” which shows its major example in a former barrack: the MAXXI, National Museum of XXI century arts. With its sinuous lines and the stairs and curves inviting to explore different paths on 3 levels, the building itself, designed by the English Iranian architect Zaha Hadid, is worth a visit. But, on the other side, this is also the most common blame: many people say that the building is a container which is not good to exhibit arts, created to celebrate its own designer rather than host others’ creations. But who would be able to mention some artwork of the Guggenheim Bilbao collection, or who actually flew there to see a piece of art rather than the Museum designed by Frank Gehry? Well, some would say that Rome doesn’t need such an attraction to bring tourists, but often this objection has been used to reject any news. So it’s worth taking a look, to appreciate a public structure given back to the neighborhood and perfectly fitting with the surrounding roads and buildings, this is something everybody seems to agree upon.

The symbol of the new vocation of the district is no doubt the MUSIC PARK AUDITORIUM by Renzo Piano. With the work of the architect – first piece in Rome – the capital finally gave a stable home to the seven notes, which have been moving around from place to place. The first request for proposal for a “new” music hall was officially published in 1934: it should have been built between Circo Massimo and Caracalla baths, where today stands the FAO building. Then the orchestras moved from Augusteo theatre (built on the ruins of Augustus’ mausoleum) to Adriano theatre (now a cinema), then to Argentina theatre and temporarily in Via della Conciliazione in 1950, when a new request for proposal was announced. The selected area was Flaminio square, but no success.
The turning point was in the ‘90s with an international competition, won by Renzo Piano. The characteristic feature are the three concert halls covered by a lead armor, which makes them resemble to three big beetles (called “bacarozzi” in Roman dialect). Actually, according Piano’s original plan, the shape should have resembled to 3 upside down lutes: he compared the work of building a concert hall to the craft of a lute maker. Anyway, Romans appreciated these insects’ invasion in the Olympic Village neighborhood, not very well frequented after the games in 1960. Now, with its seasonal calendar and its many events (the summer concerts in the Cavea, the Film Festival in autumn, the ice skating ring in winter) and also thanks to the café-restaurant and the bookshop, the Music Park is a lively cultural area all year long.

While the competition to give Rome a music hall dates back in 1934, the idea of building a bridge between Flaminio and Della Vittoria districts was included in the town plan in 1909! A century later, that idea became reality, making happy a lot of people who cycle and walk, as the MUSIC BRIDGE, officially opened in 2011, is close to traffic.
The name perfectly fits in this art and architecture neighborhood, even though the bridge aims at a wider cultural goal: allowing the transit of electrical minibuses in the central aisle is the first step towards the creation of a public transport “Museum Line” connecting Vatican Museums to Modern Art Gallery. As far as the name is concerned, we have to mention that since 2013 the bridge has taken the name of a famous music artist: the director Armando Trovajoli. We owe him some of the most beautiful love declarations to Rome: “Nun je da' retta Roma” (Rome don’t listen to him),“Ciumachella de Trastevere”(Trastevere little snail) and the most famous “Roma nun fa' la stupida stasera” (Rome don’t be silly tonight).
All sang in Roman dialect, but able to go much further than the Grande Raccordo Anulare (Rome’s motorway). Actually Rugantino – musical by Garinei & Giovannini with Trovajoli’s music, of which “Roma nun fa' la stupida stasera” is the most known song – was the first Italian musical at Broadway, with three weeks of “sold out” in February 1964. At that time the protagonist was Nino Manfredi (with Aldo Fabrizi and Ornella Vanoni): later the role has been played by Enrico Montesano, Valerio Mastandrea and Enrico Brignano, who took it back to New York 50 years after the historical tour. Trovajoli didn’t need this to be recognized as an artist internationally: he wrote the music of “Aggiungi un posto a tavola”, the soundtracks of all Ettore Scola’s movies and, as jazz player, he shared the stage with Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and Django Reinhardt.

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