The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1921-12-12
DANVILLE
GIRL TELLSOF
LIFE IN ROME
Miss Grace Cobb In City
of Old EmperOrs and
Magnificent Temples


who is in Italy with her uncle
Nat Cobb, the artist, writes IN
terestingly of life in Rome, sup
plementing her letter with recipes
for Italian cookery that many
Vermont housewives will want tc
try. Much of the letter whicf
was written to Mrs. Stella Allen OF
st. Johnsbury Center, Miss Cobb
aunt, follows, dotted Rome, Italy
Oct. %:
We have been back in Rome
about a month now and | find il
lovely since the first week. Then
it was terribly hot and the air was
terrible but ever since it has been
fine, little too warm to enjoy
walking in the middle of the day
but nice in the morning or late in
the afternoon. ! love to go out
about four but it gets dark so
soon after five that there is not
much time left as | never intend
to be out after dark alone and It
takes a good half hour to come
home on the tram and nearly an
hour to walk in from the center of
the city. However we are enjoy
ing the nice warm time while we
can for the rainy season IS due
any day now. 1t usually rains for
a month or six weeks most of the
time about this season of the year.
After that it will be cold enough
for big coats and heavy dresses till
nearly April. | think October Is
by far the nrettiest month | have
seen in Italy. 1t doesn't seem pos
sible I've been here nearly a year.
1t seems so short but sometimes
seems as if it had been an awfully
long time since I've seen any OF
the home folks though.
Since we got back to Rome
have had two lovely days in the
county near You know all the
little mountains near Rome have
castles where the nobleman who
owned all the valleys between
used to live. All the houses of
the peasants who work the land
for miles around live inside the
city walls. OF course it was for
protection when it was done but
even now you never see house
in the country even miles from a
town. The people think they can't
live unless they are close to-
gcther on account of being lone
some. They call it an awful thing
to have to sleep in a room alone,
of course ! am speaking Of the
peasants and the lower class
people now. So all the houses are
inside the walls of the towns. The
first day Uncle Nat and | went
alone to ~lace called Rocca dl
Papa (Castle of the Pope) which
we got up to on railroad where
the cars were pulled up bv ropes,
| forget what you call it but you
know what | mean. It was a dear
old town, probably exactly the
same in appearance, except for the
clothes of some of the younger
people, as it was before the time
of Christ. | suppose all the
clothes are different but nothing
else.
OLD CHARIOT ROADS OF
ROME
The castle of the town is all in
ruins so one can't see much of
it but leading up from the town
is a paved road over which the old
Roman Emperors used to go in
their chariots at certain festivals
to worship Jupiter in the great
temple at the top. The marks OF
the chariot wheels are still to be
seen on the tuffa rocks, the hard
est kind Of rock in existence,
showing that it must have been
used for thousands of years as the
festivals came only few times
year and from the time of Christ
till comparatively recent times no
vehicles were used and since re
cords have been kept it has been
impossible for any vehicle they
have ever had to 90 up so the
tracks must have been made blythe
chariots entirely. The wheels were
very close together and as they
had not springs and the road was
naturally rather rou0h | am afraid
the old fellows didn't ride any too
comfortably. At the time Chris
tianity gained a foothold in Rome
this magnificent temple was torn
down and now an old monastery
stands there. We walked from the
town un to the monastery, a walk
of an hour and a half, where we
expected to be able to get bread
and the country cheese for lunch.
but we found no one there. How
ever the view was superb in every
direction. On the other side of
the mountain from whore we had
come up was a beautiful lake
Lago do Albano, and still farther
away the lake of Nemi, sometimes
called the Specchio do Diana mir
ror of Diana where Tiberius built
a temple to the onlv virpin God
dess, Diana. A few ruins of it
can still be found. Among other
things he built a beautiful barge
CONTINUED on page seven)