History – Papa Rex Restaurant Blog

12/01/201829/01/2018

Caesar murder and the ancient feline colony of Rome

One of the ancient feline colony of Rome live in a wonderful place, located in the center of the city near the imperial Fora, where was murdered Julius Caesar. This place is known as Largo di Torre Argentina.

Largo di Torre Argentina was excavated in the late 1920s, revealing multilevel temples below the modern street level. It is a magical place where you can see the remains of four different temples and a part of the famous portico of Pompey.

Pompey’s portico was the place where Julius Caesar was betrayed and killed in 44 BC.

Largo di Torre in Argentina also is home to a feline colony of Rome composed of over 250 cats. After the site was dug, the wild cats of Rome moved immediately. Quickly increasing their number and becoming one of the biggest feline colony of Rome.

This cats live safely even if they are in the center of city traffic. Some volunteers take care of this cats as of the other cats ofr other place of the city. During the years, thanks to the care of “gattare” (the ladies of the cats) this number is growing and this colony is a part of Rome beauties.

The volunteers take care of sick or injured cats, and partecipate to a sterilization and neutralization program to keep the wild population under control.

During the afternoons you can see this cats laying lazy taking a sunbath, showing to us the mood of Rome.

Papa Rex – Traditional Restaurant in Rome since 1991 – Saint Peter – Vatican area

24/06/201724/06/2017

The story of Amatriciana Pasta (Matriciana Pasta)

One of the most appetizing sauces of Roman cuisine (though originally from Lazio) is made up of a few selected ingredients: fried pudding and shade with dry white wine, tomato, pecorino cheese. A wonderful and unrepeatable blend of flavors and scents.

Amatriciana pasta comes from gricia pasta (or griscia). According to some sources, the name would come from Gricio, the bread-seller and other edible goods of nineteenth-century in Rome. The name Gricio in turn would also come from a group of these sellers, immigrated to Rome from the Swiss Canton of Grigioni (Graubünden). Another source states that this name originated from the village of Grisciano (a few miles from Amatrice, part of the municipality of Accumoli) where this recipe had long been spread. Gricia or Griscia has always been known as amatriciana without the tomato, although it differs for some ingredients.

Here a complete recipe (in italian) of Amatriciana Spaghetti

The invention of tomato sauce at the end of the eighteenth century allowed the introduction of the tomato in the quill, creating the Amatriciana (the first written testimony dates back to 1790 by the Roman cook Francesco Leonardi).

The close link between Rome and Amatrice (dating back to the early 1400s) allowed the wide spread of this recipe also because many Osterie (popular restaurants) of the nineteenth century were handled by Osti originals of Amatrice. The term Matriciano thus became synonymous with Inn with cooking.

Although Amatriciana or Matriciana has other origins, it has always been considered a typical recipe in Rome.

Papa Rex – Traditional Restaurant in Rome since 1991 – Saint Peter – Vatican area

26/05/201723/06/2017

Pyramid of Cestius

The Pyramid of Cestius (Piramide di Caio Cestio or Piramide Cestia) is an ancient pyramid near the Porta San Paolo and the Protestant Cemetery. It stands at a fork between two ancient roads, the Via Ostiensis and another road that ran west to the Tiber along the approximate line of the modern Via della Marmorata. Due to its incorporation into the city’s fortifications, it is today one of the best-preserved ancient buildings in Rome.

The pyramid was built about 18–12 BC as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, a magistrate and member of one of the four great religious corporations in Rome, the Septemviri Epulonum. It is of brick-faced concrete covered with slabs of white marble standing on a travertine foundation. The pyramid measures 100 Roman feet (29.6 m) square at the base and stands 125 Roman feet (37 m) high.

In the interior is the burial chamber, a simple barrel-vaulted rectangular cavity measuring 5.95 metres long, 4.10 m wide and 4.80 m high. When opened in 1660, the chamber was found to be decorated with frescoes, which were recorded by Pietro Santi Bartoli. Only scant traces of these frescoes survive, and no trace of any other contents. The tomb had been sealed when it was built, with no exterior entrance, but had been plundered at some time thereafter, probably during antiquity.

Papa Rex – Traditional Restaurant in Rome since 1991 – Saint Peter – Vatican area