A different tour of Rome. Civis Romanus sum

Piazza del Gesù (the square of Jesus) is probably the most windy place of Rome; but there is a particular motive to explain it. In Rome there is a legend that tells that once the devil and the wind were walking together in this area and when they arrived near the Church of Jesus, the devil said to his mate: "Wait for me here. I have to make some damage there. I'll be back". Since that day, the devil never came out and the wind is still waiting for him. That's why this place is so windy. For more, post me. Dblk

The church of San Paolo fuori le Mura was consecrated in the 324 by Pope Silvestro with the will of Emperor Costantine; here there is buried the body of Saint Paul. In this basilica you can see a series of images (icons) of popes, 266 exactly; but here there are still some empty spaces, that will be filled with the faces of future popes. So, there are still 28 empty spaces and a legend tells that when them will be stuffed, there will be the end of the world. For more, post me. Dblk

Two thousand years ago, in Rome, a new cult was getting famous. Practiced in caves, it tells about a god that was born December 25 from a Virgin; he preached a message of brotherhood and solidarity. This god before leaving earth, made a last supper with his disciples, breaking bread and giving wine to them, then he ascended: he was 33 and his name was Mithra. This is a difficult research that I made, first going to the church of San Clemente, near the Colosseum: infact, under this church, there was a temple dedicated to this god. So, what is this cult? Let me make an example: immagine for a moment that today instead of Christianity, there is the cult of Mithra. This could be a Mass. Instead of the crucifix, there is the immage of Mithra killing the cosmic bull (plants and animals are born from its blood); near this picture there is a simulacrum of the sun (symbol of the god of the sun, friend of Mithra). There is a "pater" (for the priest) with two men close to him: Claute, with a torchlight put up to symbolize the sunrise, Cautopate, with a tochlight put down to simbolize the sunset (this cult give a lot of importance to astronomy and astrology). Just after the preaching, there is a theatrical representation: for example about Zeus. The bread, in fine, is given from men with a mask of a crow while faithfuls are lying down on beds. I have to say that this was a secret religion and that it was revealed just to some people: moreover to know anything about it, it had to reach the first extent. There were, infact, a lot of degrees: when a man (there were not women) joined it, became a Crow, protected from Mercury, then he got a Nymphus (symbolize from a grub or a snake that is changing its skin) under the protection of Venus. Then there were the Miles (soldier) under Mars: to became it, a man should steal a sword from another man during a battle. The Lion, under Zues, was the next level; then there were the Persian, safeguard from the Moon, the Eliodromus fostered from the Sun and, at last, the most important extent, the Pater (father) who was the minister protected again from Mercury. I have to add that sometimes (very few times) there were women: they became Hyenas or they followed the same path of men. At the end, what are the differences from Christianity and the cult of Mithra? I have to start from the similarity: in addition to the incipit, both of them baptize with water and promise a resurrection; Mithra, just like Moses and S. Peter, made streamed water from rocks. There are, anyway, differences and explanations: Mithra was born from a rock, but years later this was probably associated to Jesus'cave. The birth date of Mithra (december 25) was used for the one of Jesus because it was the festivity of the sun and it was near the winter solstice (moreover it was used from other religions too). Baptizing with water was common and the resurrection was pointed up from disciples of Mithra to scoop christians (moreover they believed in the reincarnation and so they were vegetarian). There are not evidences of the life of Mithra, instead there are of the one of Christ. Lastly a quote of the historian Ernest Renan: "If Christianity was been stopped from a chronic disease, maybe today we'd believe in Mithra". For more informations, post me. Dblk

This is the story of one of the famous ghosts of Rome. Donna Olimpia was a girl who was so impudent and beautiful to become the wife of a rich man of Rome despite she was poor and she was boned in Viterbo ( a small village near Rome). Her husband died suddenly so she inherited all his money. Now she was rich, but her lucky star was just starting to surprise her: infact she maried Pamphilio Pamphilj one of the most powerful man of Rome. Noreover he was the brother of the cardinal that became Pope Innocenzo X. Her new husband died few years after their holy matrimony so she was lonely again, but now the situation was different. She was rich, she was young, she was the second powerful person of the city; that's because she was the only relative of the Pope so anyone that wanted to have business in Rome went to her with gifts to have the goodwill of the aristocracy. But her lucky life ended in the 1655: Pope Innocenzo X was dying and she was smart enough to understand that without her protector she was in a dangerous situation. Infact anyone that wanted to hae a revenge against her could now act without any concern (a lot of romans infact hated her for her position and apathy for their troubles). So she took two trunks full of gold and left the city crossing Ponte Sisto (a bridge). No one saw Donna Olimpia again, but there is a legend: a lot of people tells they have seen her ghost riding a black lorry among Ponte Sisto chuckling against Rome and romans, and they affirm that is a very scary experience. For more, post me.