By Andrea Zachrich

Hostaria Antica Roma is an awesome restaurant we went to as a group after we visited the Catacombs de Domitilla on the outskirts of Rome, and I have a lot of good things to say about it. All of the food was delicious and it was definitely the best service we had while in Rome (also, it has air conditioning). I would for sure go again the next time I’m in Rome.

The Location

The restaurant is actually in a very cool location. It’s right across the street from and in the shadow of the tomb of Cecelia Metella, which is a large cylindrical tomb along the Via Appia (one of the largest roads leading into and out of the city of ancient Rome). It was a tomb built by a wealthy woman for herself in the 1st century BC, probably during the time of Augustus. She was the daughter of a consul and married quaestor (both very high positions in the Roman government), but she built this tomb all for herself without her family. Some of the original decorations around the outside still survive. In the middle ages, the tomb was turned into a fort and used as a toll station by the family who owned it. Nowadays, it’s a museum and you can go inside of the tomb. Below I’ve included some pictures of the tomb.

The Food

The food here was absolutely amazing. We did a group lunch, so it came with appetizers and dessert. I cannot say enough good things about the appetizers. First off, there was a ton of food. There was a meat platter and grilled veggies and an amazing garlic cheese spread and bread and fish and olives – literally so much food. I was nearly full by the time our entrees came.

We got to pick from about 10 selections for our main dish. Personally, I was really excited because the food was based off of ancient recipes from a cook named Apicius. During the spring quarter right before this class, I had actually taken a class about ancient food and medicine and had made some recipes from the same cookbook as part of a final project. I immediately emailed my professor about it because I was stoked. I got a lasagna based on an Apicius recipe, and it was very unique because it did not have any red sauce. Even though tomatoes are a staple of Italian cooking now, the ancient Romans did not have them because they are a crop from the new world. As such, this lasagna was made of noodles, cheese, meat, and had some fennel in it. It was tasty.

For dessert, we also go to pick from a limited menu. Our table got tiramisu and chocolate mousse, and both were delicious. I would recommend either (or both if you’re feeling ambitious).

The Experience

A big part of the reason this was one of my favorite meals in Rome was because the waiter, Paulo, really did a great job. I’ve worked as a server, and I know how hard it can be to interact with tables. He told us all about the history of the restaurant (which is owned by his father) and knew a lot about the history of the tomb across the street. He was also very knowledgeable about the recipes from Apicius. He told a lot of cheesy jokes and put everyone in a good mood, which I can appreciate. Plus, the food came out incredibly fast. The entrees were ready for a table of around 20 almost immediately after we had finished our appetizers. This place is really a smoothly run restaurant with great service.

The only bad thing I could possibly say about this meal was that it was one of the more expensive I had in Rome, but I think it was worth it. If I remember correctly, it was just under 30 euros, which isn’t horrible considering the massive amounts of food we got. If you’re an adult with a real job and not a broke college student, the price would be super fine for a vacation lunch or dinner.

Overall, this place was amazing. It has unique entrees, good appetizers, great service, and is in a really cool location.

By Andrea Zachrich

The first Tuesday, which is the first full day of the program, we headed out to see the Forum Boarium. This used to be a bustling part of the city used for commerce (mainly trading of cattle), political speeches, and housed places of worship. Today, however, its a relatively quiet part of the city. We visited two temples, two arches, and two churches here. I thought the most interesting places were the temples because they are actually ancient structures, while the churches were built over ancient temples and altars, and its hard to see what’s left of them now.

The two temples are both related to the area they were found in. The round temple is called Hercules Olivarius (Hercules of Olives) or Hercules Victor. It would have been a very expensive temple to build because it is made of imported Greek marble. At the time it was built during the Republic in late 2nd century BC, marble had not yet been discovered in Italy. It is called Hercules of Olives because it was dedicated by a rich merchant who sold olives (according to an inscription found inside the temple). It survives in such good shape today because it was turned into a Christian church, and because it has been restored and cleaned. Ancient buildings that were used as churches often survive in much better condition than buildings that were left alone, used as housing, or stripped for building materials. During the middle ages and the Renaissance, people believed that it was a temple of Vesta, goddess of the hearth, because it was round and temples of Vesta were always round. However, when restoring the temple, an inscription stating who built the temple and its dedication to Hercules was found inside, confirming its identity. The wooden roof is a modern addition, but that’s what it would most likely have looked like in antiquity. Additionally, there are many other depictions and items dedicated to Hercules in the Forum Boarium because it is said to be the place in Rome where the hero stopped while completing his twelve trials.

The rectangular temple in the Forum Boarium is dedicated to the god Portunus, who is the god of ports. This is fitting, because the Forum Boarium is quite close to the Tiber river, and they would often trade goods in this area that had been shipped on the river. As with the round temple dedicated to Hercules, this temple was used as a church, and has been restored, and they have added a tile roof. It is also from the Republican era of the Roman empire. Unlike the round temple, this particular temple is made of travertine, which is a white stone used extensively in buildings Italy (including modern buildings). Most of the white stone you see in Rome is travertine. You can tell the difference between travertine and marble because travertine is much more porous than marble, and thus often gets dirtier much more quickly.

The temple is in a very typical Italic style. It has a raised porch that would have been used for political speeches and announcements. It has engaged columns built into the walls with free standing ones on the porch. It’s built in a rectangular shape with a pointed roof (although the roof is a restoration). In later times, the travertine was covered in reliefs sculpted out of stucco and painted in order to look like marble. None of these decorations survive today, but we can still get a pretty good idea of what the temple looked like.

There are also two arches that survive in the Forum Boarium, one of which we know a lot about and one which we know very little about. They are called the Arch of the Argentarii and the Arch of Janus/Constantine. The Arch of the Argentarii was built during the reign of Septimius Severus in the 3rd century AD as a tribute from the cattle merchants to the emperor. It survived essentially untouched (except by the elements) because it was incorporated into the side of a church. The main bit of damage done to the arch is actually contemporary with its building. After Caracalla killed his brother Geta (who was murdered while running to his mother and died in her arms), he erased Geta’s image and name from all of the monuments in Rome. The Roman Emperors were savage, but I suppose that’s part of what makes studying ancient Rome so fascinating.

The second arch, the Arch of Janus, is in much worse condition than the other one still standing in the Forum Boarium, although parts of it have been recently restored. The arch is called the arch of Janus because it is one of the few arches with four openings. It is also sometimes called the Arch of Constantine because it was built during the time period of his reign. It actually had the original top on the arch until the 18th century, when they removed it thinking it was a later addition. Modern scholars believe, however, that they unknowingly destroyed the original decoration. The Cloaca Maxima (the main sewer line of ancient Rome) runs directly down the center of the arch (underground of course). That may have significance, or it may be coincidental.

Also in the Forum Boarium are two churches that have ancient ruins under them, and one of them has the Hand of Truth (Roman Holiday anyone?), but you can only see the ancient ruins under one of the churches. Saint Nicola in Carcere is a church is built over three Roman temples, which are currently the foundations/crypt for the church. We got to go down there, and its creepy because they just casually have bones sitting in notch holes in the walls. You could reach out and touch them if you felt so inclined (but please don’t, obviously.) We didn’t get to see the ancient ruins under the other church, Santa Maria in Cosmedin, but it was a beautiful church. It’s one of the few medieval churches left in Rome (many were re-built during the Renaissance and Baroque period) and it has a beautiful floor made of small pieces of marble cut in a geometric pattern. This type of floor was made by the Cosmati brothers, and is popular for churches in Rome from the Medieval period. It is stunning.

Also, outside of this church is “The Hand of Truth” featured in the American movie Roman Holiday. This ancient Roman sewer cap, which depicts the face of the river god Oceanus, has a particularly interesting back story that has origins in the middle ages. Legend has it that if you tell the truth when you stick your hand in the mouth of Oceanus, then you get to keep your hand, but, if you lie, then you lose the hand. We didn’t want to risk losing a hand before we had to write our midterm, so we didn’t test if the myth was true while we there :).

The Forum Boarium is a great place to go for a lot of ancient Roman monuments fairly close together, and is one of the quieter places in Rome. It’s also right next to a very good pizza place in Testaccio Market called Casa Manco. It was a fun morning with a delicious lunch after!