Last full day in Rome and our last AI inspired itinerary. Today was a walk along the Tiber to Isola Tiberina, into the Trastevere area before walking up Janiculum Hill for the views. The timing of all of this was crucial as we needed to arrive at the Piazza Gianicolo at just before midday. To achieve this we spent a long time sat in a cafe with a coffee and a freshly squeezed orange juice!
Il Cannone del Gianicolo
The reason for the precision is that at midday every day a 105/14 howitzer (yes I looked it up) is wheeled out, fired and put back in its home again. This involved three in ceremonial uniform and one in fatigues carrying out a short ceremony, firing the gun and then swiftly getting into a van and driving off! You can see this, minus the leaving in the grey van, in the video below and let me tell you that the video does not do justice to just how loud a 105/14 howitzer is when you are standing that close to it.
You want me to sit on that?
There are many things that fascinate me about the Italians like, for example, their attitude to zebra crossings which, like the French, they seem to think are there purely for decoration. However, it is the lack of toilet seats in restaurants and public loos that really grinds my gears. Do they really expect me to sit on the porcelain after the previous occupant has peed all over it? I have it on good authority that it’s not like that in the ladies so us men are being singled out for special treatment!