A magical door in the multicultural Esquilino neighborhood
Alchemic rituals, ethnic restaurant and a unique food market.
Dear readers,
How are you? Here in Rome, after a never ending summer and the most torrid October that we ever had as far as I can remember, it’s finally getting colder. It’s starting to feel like Autumn, the perfect season for going for long walks and taking a look at the foliage in the many beautiful parks of the city.
In this edition I’ve decided to tell you the story of a park and its mysterious door. A door, known as Alchemical or Magical door, that is considered a portal, a passage that leads to another dimension and whose history is surrounded by occultism and esoteric beliefs.
Alchemical door in Piazza Vittorio
The door is located in the “Nicola Calipari” gardens, at the centre of Piazza Vittorio. The gardens, after years of neglect and maladministration, were finally restored by the Capitoline municipality and reopened to the public a couple of years ago. The Alchemical door was moved into the park in 1890. On both sides they were placed two statues that represent an Egyptian divinity, called Bes. Originally the gate, built between 1655 and 1681, belonged to Villa Palombara. A magnificent palace that, after the annexation of Rome to the Reign of Italy (1870), was expropriated and later destroyed between 1882 and 1887.
Villa Palombara painted by Annibale Angelini, 1859
Villa Palombara was built by Massimiliano Palombara, the Marquis of Pietraforte. The Marquis was a scholar of esotericism. He was also a member of a group of people known as “The Alchemists of Palazzo Riario”, a palace that corresponds to Palazzo Corsini, the actual seat of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. The group revolved around the Roman court of Christina, the Queen of Sweden. Legend says that during a dinner the Marquis met an alchemist, said to be Giuseppe Francesco Borri, who told him that he could turn metal into gold by using a certain herb. The next morning the alchemist was seen to disappear through a door, but left behind some gold flakes, the proof of his transformations, and a sheet of paper on which he wrote the recipe for the transformations. Unfortunately the Marquis has never been able to decipher Borri’s notes, that’s why he decided to engrave the symbols on the gate of his villa hoping that one day someone could decrypt them and knock on the magical door. The door is actually full of inscriptions and symbols. Among them, on the doorstep, there’s an interesting palindrome, “SI SEDES NON IS,” meaning both “If you sit, you do not go,” and “If you do not sit, you go.”
If you happen to be in the Esquilino neighborhood I’m going to give you some recommendations about places to eat and to shop.
EAT
If during your stay in Rome, you would ever get tired of eating pizza and pasta everyday (I know, it’s quite impossible, but it could happen) take note of the two following restaurants.
Hang Zhou da Sonia
Via Principe Eugenio, 82
This is without any doubt the most famous Chinese restaurant in Rome. A real institution for the Chinese food lovers of the Capital. I used to go to Hang Zhou when the restaurant was still located in a narrow alley nearby the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. At that time it was a very small place, but it was so famous that people were willing to wait hours to get in. After a few years Sonia, the owner of Hangzhou, decided to move in a bigger place in via Principe Eugenio, one of the main streets of Esquilino neighborhood. Inside the walls are crowded with hundreds of pictures of famous people who have visited the restaurant over the years. If you decide to give Hang Zhou a try, don’t forget to try as a dessert their rabbit steamed bun. They’re incredibly good.
Photo courtesy of Hang Zhou Facebook page
Kathmandu Fast Food
Via Buonarroti, 38
This little restaurant serves nepalese specialties. A dear friend of mine made me discover it a few months ago. We had to go to an exhibition in the early afternoon, so we arranged to have a super quick lunch. She suggested this tiny little restaurant near her home. The place was really a lovely and unexpected surprise. The food was great and abundant for a ridiculously low price and the staff was super kind and helpful. I had a delicious samosa and a chicken curry. My friend prompted me to taste also their Mango Lassi, a creamy drink made with mango, milk, yogurt and sugar. Honestly too sweet for my liking, but good.
SHOP
Variety of legumes at the Esquilino market
Located in an ex-barracks, you can find the most multiethnic market in Rome, the Mercato Esquilino. Here is where all the different ethnicities of the city come to buy the right ingredients for their recipes. It is also the place where locals, attracted by curiosity, come to buy exotic ingredients to try new flavours. The market is a triumph of seasonings, scented herbs and colorful spices.
Mural by Mauro Sgarbi
The magnificent mural on the market’s external walls painted by the street artist Mauro Sgarbi says “diversità elemento di vita”, which literally means “diversity element of life”. It is really a touching hymn to solidarity and inclusion. It reminds us that the merchants of the market not only sell their goods, but they also bring part of their culture with them and in this way they contribute to our cultural enrichment.