When in
Rome visit some of the more unusual attractions
The beautiful
and historic city of Rome in Italy is well-known by travellers and offers
some great sights to see, including the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman
Forum, the Trevi Fountain and St. Peter’s Basilica, among many others.
However,
if you have already seen all the regular tourist sites but are longing
to visit Rome again, here are a couple of the more unusual, attractions
of this famous city for an exciting, if sometimes a touch eerie, return
trip
to Rome.
Keats-Shelley
Memorial House
For those
in a literary frame of mind, the Keats-Shelley Memorial House is a must-visit.
Located at Piaza di Spagna 26, this was the last home of John
Keats, the tortured English poet. The house has been made into a museum
and memorial to Keats, as well as his contemporary, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Sadly
Keats died of tuberculosis in the house on February 23, 1821 at the young
age of 25. The room that contains his death bed has been preserved as a
shrine to the writer.
The
museum contains various memorabilia from both Keats and Shelley, as the
latter had a strong relationship with Rome himself. It hosts an impressive
collection of 8,000 examples of Romantic literature by poets of that era,
as well as a small cinema showing an introductory film. Some even say the
haunted spirit of the poet himself is still in residence.
The
Keats-Shelley Memorial House is a national historic landmark and is easy
to find. As you can see in the photo above, it’s located at the base of
the famous Spanish Steps.
Porta
Alchemica – Alchemist’s Magic Door
Most people
visiting the city don’t even notice this “magic door” in the park at Piaza
Vittorio, but the locals know all about it. The “Porta Alchemica” or Alchemist’s
Door, set in the remains of an old villa, is said to be a portal into a
secretive world of alchemy back in the 1600s.
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Photo: Porta Alchemica CC BY-SA 2.0 Emanuele
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The door was built in the
early 1600s by a Roman marquis, Massimiliano Palombara and is full of symbols
and inscriptions relating to alchemy. Palombara himself was a member of
the group of Alchemists of Palazzo Riario who met in the Roman court of
Christina of Sweden, an ardent supporter of both alchemy and science.
Once part of a set of five
gate doors set in Palombara’s villa, the “Porta Alchemica” is now the only
one remaining. Palombara is said to have inscribed the recipe to turn metal
into gold on the doors in the hope that someone would understand it and
come knocking. Even today, the mysterious symbol above the “Porta Alchemica”
(pictured below) still attracts many theories and debate.
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Photo: Inscription at
the top of the Porta Alchemica CC BY-ND 2.0 Marco
/ Zak
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There are many more eerie
and fascinating attractions to see in the city of Rome. Take a few
sidesteps on your next visit to Rome and enjoy the more unusual side of
the city.
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