* You are walking through Rome and all of a sudden you hear a bang. What is it? What’s happening? Nobody seems to show any concern and people go about their business as usual, except that they look at their watches. It’s midday! And the bang you heard is the 12 o’ clock cannon shot fired every day from the Janiculum Hill. This is a tradition that started in 1847 to give people a time signal to set their clocks and watches by.

* Would you ever believe that a keyhole might be considered an attraction by tourists visiting Rome? Yes, this can happen if that keyhole allows you to view trees lining a garden and in the distance the shape of St. Peter’s Basilica. All you have to do to have that great peep is go up the Aventine Hill – one of Rome’s famous Seven Hills – and wait for the sunset when the Giardino degli Aranci, or Orange Garden, closes. Then simply look through the keyhole and… enjoy!

* Do you really think that all artistic masterpieces always have noble origins? You may be surprised to know that is far from true. Take, for instance, the Bocca della Verita, or Mouth of Truth in Rome, millions of visitors put somewhat hesitatingly their hands in that mouth, fearing that they might lose them. Do you think that they would have a picture taken if they were putting their hands inside a sewer? Because that’s exactly what they are doing! The Mouth used to be the top of a sewer manhole located in the Roman Forum. But then again, that was long ago…!

* Do you know that Rome is famous for the quantity and quality of its water? Actually this has been the case ever since antiquity, when the Romans built aqueducts to bring water to the city. What you might not know is that some of the aqueducts that are feeding water into the pipes of a large part of Rome are still the original Roman aqueducts! And most fountains you can admire in Rome receive water the same way.

* Have you ever walked up and down the Seven Hills of Rome? If so, sometimes you may have wished that uphill slopes would suddenly go downhill. Unfortunately that doesn’t normally happen, but there is a road known as the “bewitched” climbing slope, at Ariccia, a town near Rome, where objects tend to roll uphill, rather than downhill. Scientists have been wracking their brains to work out why this happens, but to no avail. Why don’t you see for yourself and try to explain it?

* Have you ever stopped to think how giant machinery allows man to carry out fantastic jobs almost without any effort? Only a few centuries ago this was unthinkable. In 16th century Rome, for instance, one day they were trying to lift the obelisk currently standing in the middle of St. Peter’s Square. It was a strenuous job that required great concentration for the 800 workers involved. To ensure silence, the crowd had been told that anyone caught even simply talking would be condemned to death (the necessary scaffold had already been set up). Someone realized that the ropes were giving way and to help out the people on the job, cried out: WATER TO THE ROPES! The trick worked perfectly… and the man, far from being punished, was given a prize and a title!

* Jealousy has always been important in the relations of men, particularly artists. A popular story that is frequently told about two great Italian artists, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, is very much to the point. When Bernini built the fountains in Piazza Navona, Rome, one of them was designed to show that it seems to turn its back on the Church of St. Agnes designed by Borromini and another appears to cover its eyes with its hand to protect them against such a horrible sight.

* You all know Pope John Paul II. But do you know that he risked being left out of the conclave and only managed to get there in time thanks to a Roman bus driver? Well, Carol Wojtyla was running late for the opening of the conclave and was walking along the road in the hope of hitching a ride. A bus driver who was driving back to the depot stopped to find out why this unusual priest was trying to get a ride. When Wojtyla explained the situation to him, the driver offered to take him to the Vatican with the bus. After a few days he realized he had given the last bus lift to a priest, but the first one to a Pope!

* Aren’t you proud of the fact that Americans have made that wonderful, handy invention known as fast-food? Ahm, maybe you’ll be surprised to learn that that is not quite true. Romans had thought of it – and put it into practice – well over 2000 years ago. Their road network used to link Rome to the rest of its Empire and those roads were equipped with facilities that you would normally expect in a modern-day service station: gas refueling (horse changes), restrooms, diners, refreshment facilities and even take-away hot meals (they’d return the hot stone containers at the next service area).

* Have you flown into Rome or driven there? Do you realize that there used to be another way to get to Rome? In ancient times the Romans used to sail their ships up the Tiber, right into the city. This of course is an old story, but it could come about again if the project the mayor of Rome has in mind is approved. So next time you come to Rome you may be able to sail your way into the city.