Museo di Roma in Trastevere

The works of Ettore Roesler Franz have an undoubted value as evidence, not only for the urban reconstruction begun after 1970, but also because in them the artist depicts, with an anthropological sensibility, the many activities of everyday life in a Rome which is still fundamentally a village. In the watercolours of the “Vanished Rome” series we find depicted, with a wealth of detail, the popular knowledge and abilities that were for a long time efficient instruments of daily activity.
In Room I, dedicated to the river Tiber, the crafts and activities related to the river are emphasised. The Tiber in those days was the most important communication route, by which every type of merchandise came to the city, carried in boats or barges. Much traffic passed through the river ports of Ripetta and the Ripa Grande: merchandise, such as oil, grain or wine, from the Sabine Hills and Umbria was unloaded in the Ripetta; while the port of the Ripa Grande took in the big ships from the Mediterranean sea. The fish, and brought mainly to the Portico of Octavia, was sold wholesale (“cottìo”). Selling took place at auction, as was the tradition. An argot was developed for the bargaining, consisting of terms which were understood only by the “cottiatori” and the buyers: retailers, restauranteurs and the cooks of the great Roman families. The paìna, for example, was the total value of the fish bought by a fishmonger in the course of a week, while “ingrandire uno” meant to sell someone fish that was not fresh. The fish market was particularly crowded on Christmas Eve, as tradition stated that dinner that day should be fish and greenery. As well as to the fisherman, the Tiber gave work to boatsmen, ferrymen, significava vendergli pesce non fresco. Il mercato del pesce era particolarmente affollato la vigilia di Natale, poiché la tradizione imponeva che la cena fosse a base di pesce e verdure. Oltre ai pescatori il Tevere dava lavoro a barcaioli, traghettatori, molinari (those who worked the mills on the banks of the river, where grain was ground), unloading crews, sailors and bridge workers. But the Tiber was also important for the entertainment that it offered to the Romans in their free time. At the beginning of 1883 the Gymnastic Society of Tiber Rowers was founded, followed in 1884 by the Remo Club. The members were all from the elite, with the presidency held by various Roman princes. Young men, however, despite severe Vatican sanctions, continued to bathe naked in the river, while the shadowy banks, with there rich vegetation were enjoyed by lovers.
In Room II various crafts and activities are displayed, those done by women (spinning, patchwork, laundry, selection and preparation of food), and by men (blacksmithery, goatherding, umbrella making); the various types of transport: human, carried either on the head or shoulders, or using animal traction on various types of vehicle. In many watercolours the clothes themselves are shown hanging from the window in the traditional fashion, that is to say hung by their corners from small loops of cord, which themselves hang from the main line. Many other details of urban furnishings are shown, such as the street signs (which were then largely painted on the walls), the election advertising (testimony to the important transformations of political life in that period), the shop signs and the inn signs, the latter of which were indicated by a branch (usually laurel or ivy), or a red flag, or the rim of a barrel or a cart wheel. Finally various aspects of popular worship are depicted, such as the votive kiosks, known as “madonnelle”, at which people prayed for deliverance from illnesses, disgrace or danger. These constructions were placed on the facades of houses, or at cross-roads, and surrounded with anatomical votives, made from silver or tin, or figurative votives such as painted tablets showing miraculous intervention. The lamps which burnt in front of the votive buildings would have been the only illumination in the night time streets of Rome.