A great new Photo Tour idea in Rome: riding the legendary tram 19

in Blog, Photo Tours by andreamatone — May 29, 2010 at 20:06 | 0 comments

Just had a great idea.  Have had some fascination with the 19 tram trolley car train in Rome for quite some time now.  It is old, it is rundown and truly distinguishes a Roman lifestyle which goes back to the 1960s but is slowly disappearing into the 21^st century. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to run a Photo Tour on it!?    It runs across:  Piazza Risorgimento, the Prati and Parioli quarter, Viale Regina Margherita, quartiere San Lorenzo, Porta Maggiore and Via Prenestina.

This is somewhat an experimental Photo Tour as it runs out of the mainstream landmarks and monuments of Rome, it is more of an off-the-beaten-track Photo Tour where the participants would need to exercise a certain sense of travel adaptation to the Italian transport system which is the fastest way to arrive late to your destination. But how characteristic and typical would it be? Even on a rainy day or in black and white photography.

Such an Italian transport odyssey could become an exceptional itinerary for those that wish to discover the true Italian or Roman lifestyle and reveal the most peculiar and authentic aspects of the city and of living in Rome Italy.

The alternative is the Double Decker busses that run across Rome which will take you to see the most famous and important landmarks and monuments, which on one side it would be both pleasurable and comfortable but on the other you would lose all peculiar aspects and distinct characteristics of discovering true Italian lifestyle.

A ride on tram 19 will lead you on an exploration Photo Tour through the real city of Rome where around every corner you will discover something wonderfully unexpected.

It would start from the Piazza Risorgimento, very close to Saint Peter’s Square, and pass by important museums, ministry buildings, typical squares and the zoo, chic coffee bars, the contemporary art area of Rome, the University of Rome La Sapienza, the ancient monumental town cemetery, the quarter where students reside, Porta Maggiore: a thousand-year-old stop, large buildings and graffiti, lots of graffiti, and many different cultural worlds collide as the tour heads for Via Prenestina and Cento Celle.

All of this will be colored with the flux of passengers getting on and stepping off which are swallowed up and spat out every time the tram stops.  Different worlds collide and change, lifestyles and societies change, expectations and desires exchange glances.

I am so excited about shooting such a Photo Tour that I am willing to give out a 20% discount on it for whoever wants to try it out.  Please check out my Photo Tour page for more details and sample photo tour images.

Here are more details:

The ride would formally starts from Piazza Risorgimento (500 m from Saint Peter’s Square) but it could also start from Saint Peter’s Square which is a must see either in this Photo-Tour or on another day.   It is an excellent location for a Photo Tour in Rome as it is very iconographic, perhaps the most touristy destination of the entire ride.

So off we go on the old traditional Roman Tram which carries the characteristic number 19 on the front. It will pull away among a 19^th century background with office building hosting lawyer’s offices and the well to do families which you will notice from the window seat.  Passing over Ponte Matteotti, the tram will take Via delle Belle Arti. On the left hand side you’ll see the Parioli quarter where many soccer players dine in the various restaurants, you will also see the houses of those lawyers where you just previously saw the office buildings in the Prati quarter,  and the houses of the managers of the above mentioned soccer payers which also live in this area.  On the right hand side you will see Via Giulia and the museum of all museums as far as Etruscan remains and pre roman antiquities are concerned.   This could make for a quick stop..

Back on Tram 19 going to Via Aldobrandini which rides along the luxuriant Villa Borghese.

This could also be an ideal place if you would like to lose yourself among the green vegetation and the open spaces, reach the biopark, or lean over the belvedere del Pincio, we could go down to piazza del Popolo and dive into intense shopping in the center of Rome.

Otherwise we could get back on the 19 and head towards Piazza Ungheria and view another small piece of the Parioli quarter.

Again we change travel companions.  The architectural students get off to reach the architecture faculty and domestic Filipinos helpers get on and kids under the age of 14, those that have even just one day over 14 prefer to ride on these small kid cars which you might have seen around town that look like scooters with a roof. Tiny but very expensive. Soon after we’ll reach Piazza Bueno Aires which introduces this strange quarter of Rome which is called quartiere Coppedè found in Piazza Mincio.  This could be our next stop. Otherwise we could continue on Viale Regina Margherita.  This could be an excellent stop to visit MACRO (the museum of modern art of Rome).

At the end of Viale Regina Margherita we will begin to see the University of Rome La Sapienza and the Hospital Policlinico Umberto I.

The human and city landscape start to radically change now.  The tram tracks lead to the San Lorenzo quarter, the student quarter of the city.  It was also the quarter which was bombed out during the second world war in 1943.  Before reaching it let’s talk about the Rome Cemetery of Verano. The tombs here are quite artistic and a stroll is worthwhile.

The street flowers shops and the marble tomb vendors lead the way to the entrance on via dei reti and subsequently in via dello scalo di san Lorenzo which itself leads to Porta Maggiore and Via Prenestina.  The doorway is truly astounding and to wait for the tram in such and ancient place, among corroded travertine slabs and stray cats, is something truly singular.  Again we switch travel companions again, new worlds to explore.  The Via Prenestina is so long and on the side you’ll find beautiful Villa dei Gordiani and numerous very populated quarters characterized by a certain degree of urban decay.  The end of the line is Piazza Gerani, Centocelle quarter.

In front of you have Via dei Castani, a shopping and mingling road. Behind you Forte Prenestino, an occupied area where the youth meet and gather during the day and at night.  Two ends of the line so different from one another.

Tags: italian photographer, photography tour, Rome, tram 19