In the beautiful courtyard of the Palazzo Baldassini (Via delle Coppelle, 35) there is a small carving of an elephant. The palazzo (1514-19) was constructed by the Florentine architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484-1546) for Melchiorre Baldassini and the relief depicts Annone, an elephant that once belonged to Pope Leo X (r. 1513-21).
Shortly after becoming pontiff, on March 9th 1513, Leo X (r. 1513-21) received a rather special gift from the King of Portugal, Manuel de Aviz. The gift took the form of a small elephant, which was called Annone (Hanno), in memory of one of Hannibal's generals. Annone quickly became a great favourite, both with the pope and the people of Rome, who flocked to see it. He was taught by his keeper to do a variety of tricks, one of which was to kneel in the presence of the Holy Father. Sadly, Rome's climate did not suit Annone and he died three years later, much to the distress of the pope.
Lying 15 miles from the sea, Rome may seem a strange location for a lighthouse (faro). However, in 1911, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Kingdom of Italy, a lighthouse was presented to the the nation's capital as a gift from Italian emigrants who had settled in Argentina.
The lighthouse, which stands on the Janiculum Hill (Colle delGianicolo), was designed by the architect Manfredo Manfredi (1859-1927), who had worked on Il Vittoriano(the monument to King Victor Emmanuel II), which was also inaugurated inthe same year.
The Faro del Gianicolo, as it is known in Italian, stands 20 metres high and is topped by four lions. The lantern was originally designed to beam out the three colours of the Italian flag on the evenings of national holidays.
The Fontana di Treviis the most famous fountain in the world and everyone knows that you have to cast a coin into its waters to ensure your return to Rome. However, few people are aware that within its shadow lies another fountain; one which has a much more romantic custom attached to it.
Known as the Fontana degli Innamorati, the Lovers' Fountain is made up of nothing more than a small basin and two spouts. It was once the practice for a young couple who were about to be separated* for a long period of time, to go to the fountain on the evening before they were due to part. There they would both drink water from a new glass, which they would then smash. This ritual was believed to guarantee that the lovers would eventually be reunited.
*The most common cause of separation was compulsory military service, which lasted for two years.
Attached to the walls of what was once the house-cum-studio of the great neo-classical sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822) are numerous fragments of ancient sculptures plus three plaques.
Two of the plaques bear the years 1822 and 1871, while the third is inscribed with the date 1 Gennaro MMDCLXX (January 1st, 2670). This doesn't seem to make much sense until one remembers that in ancient Rome the years were often calculated Ab Urbe Condita (A. U. C. ), from the founding of the city. The traditional year for the foundation of Rome is 753 BCE, which makes the year on the plaque 1916, the 2,670th year since the city was founded.
The bronze bust of Canova is the work of the Roman sculptor Ettore Ferrari (1845-1931).