JULY 12th

1994 During works in Via Veneto it was found underground a "thermopolum" or ancient Roman bar! This was quite funny considering that the Via Veneto became famous for the movie "La Dolce Vita" directed by Federico Fellini, which portraited the night life in the bars of Via Veneto in the 50s. It is not rare that remains of the old city are found during works. In most of the cases the finds are documented (with drawings, maps, photographs) and then covered again with dirt.

JULY 9th

1648 Starts the construction of the central fountain of Piazza Navona: the fountain of the Four Rivers by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. "...At this point Bernini opened the waters and the fountain came to life." This costed to the Papal Treasury 30.000 "scudi" (the currency of the time). The Trevi fountain (built between 1732-1762 by Niccolo' Salvi) costed 176.000 !

1849 At 10pm the firemen, escorted by a French troop, removed a red-hat (symbol of the revolution) from the top of the Obelisc in the Piazza del Popolo. The Roman Republic (which substituted the Papal power from February to July 1849) fell under the siege of the French troops of Luigi Bonaparte. Indeed Bonaparte was in search of the political support of the French clergy and so decided to help the Pope Pius IX (who toke refuge in Gaeta, near Neaples, during the 5 months of life of the Roman Republic) to return to Rome. The French troops found great resistence in Rome as the troops of Garibaldi faced the siege with great honour and supported by the poeple. Indeed, differently from the Papacy (linked to the Roman noblety), the Roman Republic tryed to give support to the people and the farmers for a better economy. Finally the French troops entered Rome at the beginning of and restored the Pope's power. The Republican assembly decided to promulgate the new Constitution anyway, while the troops of Luigi Bonaparte were entering Rome.