whitehall

Our daughter surprised us with a last minute decision to fly to Italy from Florida and spend a few days with us. We have been European travel buddies numerous times, and this may be the last chance before her upcoming wedding. So, in preparation for going to Rome to meet her, we have scaled back our plans for this day.


Rural road outside Spello

We passed through the olive trees on the side of Mt. Subasio for a short drive in the Umbrian countryside.



Collepino

Collepino was created in the Middle Ages largely for employees of and protection for a nearby Abby, founded by St. Benedict 1500 years ago.


One of the closest little villages to Spello is tiny Collepino (or Castle of Wolves). It is a fortified Medieval village entirely constructed of white and pink rock. It still has four of its original seven towers and has been fully restored by its residents.


We were not surprised to be the only visitors to this Borgo of maybe 30 residents. But the residents spare no effort to decorate and beautify their little town as if they are expecting someone. They do have a spacious parking lot with a giant welcome sign, aimed at hikers to Mt. Subasio. We did notice a little restaurant that may or may not still be operating.


We wondered why anyone would want to live in such an isolated location, but the views speak for themselves.



Our main destination for this short day was Nocera. But to get there, we had to navigate rural gravel roads that became increasing narrower. But, as is often the case in Umbria, at least on our trip, we saw no other cars.


We stopped in Valtopina, even got out and walked a bit until we saw the closed railroad station and a train quickly passing by. The message to us, there was nothing here to see. We passed by some other hamlets and rural properties, but saw little activity.


Nocera

And, then we came upon Nocera, an attractive looking medieval village “hill town.”. The original Nocera, 700 year BC, was in the valley and lasted through Roman prosperity until its destruction 1600 years ago. At that time, survivors began to develop the town on the hill. The town has the usual history of destruction and wars, but here there is even a story about suspected adultery that resulted in killings and revenge.

Although Nocera had seen recent earthquake destruction (1997), today it is a beautiful town. In fact, it made us wonder what, for example, makes a Spello such a busy tourist destination and what keeps tourists away from a Nocera. Both beautiful towns. We decided it is all about location. Spello is close to a significant Umbrian motorway and is minutes from large Foligno and the popular Assisi.

Of course, the domino effect is that more tourists means more shops and restaurants, and that brings in even more tourists. Seems like Nocera has the space if is ever discovered.


Just outside the walls of Nocera were a number of attractive restaurants and businesses in a parklike setting.




Although the town sits on a relatively small hilltop, it has nice views of the Apennine Mountains.


We likely were the only tourists on this day. But when we reached the main square at the top of the town, a nearby restaurant had a loud speaker blaring “American Woman” by Guess Who, perhaps as a welcome message to my wife.


The duomo is just off this upper square, and, although there are plenty of frescoes and other ancient art, the interior looks fresh and newer. This is probably due to many updates and modifications over the last 500 plus years. In 1487, St. Raynald, a former Bishop from here and friend of St. Francis, was buried here. And today, the town's patron saint is honored in the main altar where he still rests. The photo of his body was taken from the web; when we were there it was covered with this beautiful rendering of the saint with a view of Nocera.

The Church of St. Francis in Nocera is now the municipal art gallery, open for a small fee. The significant works are by Matteo da Gualdo and an altar piece from the main altar of the cathedral (1483).


Mineral waters were a significant commodity for Nocera and the surrounding area, even making its way to North America in the late 1800’s. Thermal spas here were also popular well before then. We made an effort to find the springs (which are reportedly undergoing renovations and may be on private property) without any luck ending at a hotel in the nearby Town of Bagni.


Along the way, we enjoyed the quiet scenery of little hamlets like Stravignano and even came across what looked like a medieval style condominium, unusual in Italy and certainly not in keeping with this rural area.

Spello

Back home, we finally tried L’Orlando Furioso, our son’s pick for best pizza in Spello. Our son, who regularly shares his own brick oven pizzas with his upstate New York neighbors, is usually spot on. And, again he was. The restaurant is located outside the city walls and has a bit more upscale feeling than some pizzerias. Our sausage pizza was as good as it gets. We also enjoyed a bottle of local Greccheto white wine. We sometimes order French fries in Italy, because they seem to taste better. Yes, pizza and potatoes seem like an odd combo, but we have been to pizzerias in Italy, where they have French fries as a topping. Anyway, tonight we ordered a roasted potato, and it simply was the best potato we ever had. Fresh, perfectly cooked, olive oil, rosemary. From that day on, we began to notice on most menus, at least in Umbria, roasted potatoes as a side option, and we ordered many. All were different; all were great. So, okay, a beautiful pizza to feed two, a beautiful bottle of wine, roasted potatoes and a liter of still mineral water, including the $1.50 per person cover charge, and great service: $25.50 euro. Wow.

TDudette

Nocera look and sounds like a real gem.

HappyTrvlr

We enjoyed a day trip to Nocera from Spello and enjoyed seeing all the pork and sausage shops with their fun displays. Are those shops still there post-earthquake?

whitehall

I think you are referring to Norcia, which obviously sounds a lot like Nocera. And yes, there are plenty of pork and sausage shops in Norcia, which we visited on Day 19 of this trip. Still going through photos, etc., and trying to enjoy some nice fall days but will try to speed things up on this report next week. (Nocera was a casualty of 1997 earthquake but they rebuilt. Norcia was devastated and sadly still has a lot of damage from 2016 earthquake, and it was difficult seeing some of it.

bvlenci

Whitehall, I've just read your entire trip report up to now, and enjoyed it immenseimmensely.
We spend part of every summer in a little family summer house in Le Marche, in the Upper Potenza river valley, about 20 km from Nocera. (I'm eagerly waiting for the Marche portion of your trip.)

We visited Assisi from our summer house one day in August. We must have been there around the same time as you. We found long lines not only at the Basilica of Santa Chiara, but also at the Basilicas of San Francesco. I had never been inside the Basilica of Santa Chiara, so we waited to get in. Then, although we had both visited the Basilicas of San Francesco multiple times, we also waited for that visit. It was a very hot day, and those two visits about did us in. Like you, we saw no Americans, but also very few other Europeans.

I was delighted to see your photos of Nocera Umbra. It was a jewel of a town, and almost completely destroyed by the earthquakes of 1997-1998. We visited about five years later, and saw no evidence of reconstruction. It was heartbreaking, and I'm glad it's been rebuilt, although it's probably not like it was before.

The earthquakes of 2016-2017 nearly destroyed the medieval city of Camerino, near our summer home. As a matter of fact, we were there when the first earthquake struck in August 2016. Five years later, the medieval walled center of Camerino is still off limits, and many inhabitants of the nearby towns are still living in provisional housing. Many of the younger people and families have relocated to areas nearer the coast, and many of the older residents will probably end their days in the barrack-like temporary housing.

Our summer house was badly damaged by the 1997-1998 earthquakes. It took years to get permission for the needed repairs, and by then a lot of the furniture inside was irretrievably damaged by leaks in the roof. It withstood the more recent earthquakes with very little damage, because it had been repaired to modern anti-earthquake standards.

We were in Spello once for the Infiorata, which is held on the Feast of Corpus Christi. We went the day before, and watched the work of creating the artistic designs. It's certainly well worth seeing. The work can't begin before a certain hour the night before, and has to end at a certain hour the next morning. After the morning mass, a procession through the town basically destroys the floral mosaics. Most of the mosaics are made by experts who come from all over Italy to compete, but there were also local teams, much less ambitious, and one mosaic was made by a group of local children.

Lots of Italian towns have infiorate on this day. Even our town has a little one.

One little quibble: Collepino means "Pine Hill", not "Castle of Wolves".

whitehall

bvlenci Thank you for a great post and your kind words. Very envious of your summer home despite your scares and misfortunes. I have enjoyed many of your informative posts over the years.

As for Assisi, we are surprised that you had lines in August at St. Francis's church. It was simply empty when we were there at the end of the month.

We have been in LeMarche once before, staying in Macerata, Urbino and Ascoli Piceno and having memories of little places like Mondavio. It is an area we would love to base ourselves in for a month or so to better do it justice. We loved the area except for the one auto accident in my life near Ascoli. On this trip, we spent one day driving to Ancona with a quick stop in Fabriano and a little longer visit to Lesi/Jesi.

We were shocked at even our one September day in earthquake territory, not only to see the unexpected devastation still there after five years but to see how this has permanently changed the lives of people and their community fabric.

In my younger days, I did some reporting in newspapers and TV and always worked hard for accuracy. So, I apologize for any mis-interpretation (my Dad didn’t pass on his Italian fluency) of the name Collepino. I actually saw that reference in a couple of places, but we all know we should be cautious with the reliability of the web. From what I have now read elsewhere, the sources may have something to do with the village having previously been known as Colle-Lupino, or, which this other source translates as “Hill of wolves”. If true, the shortened version of that hyphenated name might suggest they didn’t mean to switch their allegiances from the wolves in the area to the pine trees.

Adelaidean

I’m really enjoying how you’re posting this, with snippets of history, lunch pictures, photos of less known places, ordinary street scenes. A great read.

whitehall

Thank you. We take a lot of photos that simply record our days. That's the beauty and ease of the wonderful iPhone camera. And I am trying here to provide that same chronology, and hopefully perspective, to accurately tell the tale of our trip as it happened. We talked about trying to do this report real time, but, for us, it either would have interfered with our trip or necessarily would have had to include less info due to time constraints. Our experiences undoubtedly are different from some others, but that's the fun of travel, where each of our experiences are unique.

whitehall

Off to Rome today to meet our daughter. She had to fly via Amsterdam to get an affordable rate, so she won’t arrive until late afternoon. We opted (something like $5 extra) to get first class rail (which, of course, isn’t much different than second) to have more Covid distance. We got so much distance, we had the coach to ourselves. No need for a green pass, since regional trains are exempt from the new rules, but exit and entrances on all trains now are at opposite ends of each coach. Follow the shoe prints.

Termini/Rome

Termini, like a lot of places, was quieter than when we were last there. We had always felt claustrophobic in the basement area, and, although we usually like to get in and out, we recollect that they are opening up some of the lower ceilings to brighten things up. Felt better. Sad though to see that the wonderful Mercato Centrale was closed. Hope that isn’t permanent. If you haven’t been there, it is an upscale food court area, accessed from the outside, that is like an Eataly. Unusual in a train station but it was always busy before Covid. We have had some great food there in the past.

We usually take a couple photos every day of fun cars (with a preferences for old Fiats). Italians love their cars perhaps more. In our first two hours back to Rome, we saw this possible electric conversion at an upscale hotel, a creative use of this VW bus in a gelato shop and the reception desk at our b and b.



We were thinking about Covid tests. Never had one, but we know we need one to get admitted back to the US in a few weeks. Noticed more tents near pharmacies popping up; they are mostly used by locals, who are unvaccinated, but need a negative test every two or three days to attend almost anything indoors (and since then, even to go to work).


We quickly found our b and b (a last minute inexpensive small apartment for three people). It was on a beautiful street, about halfway between Termini and major tourist sites. Even though it was a b and b, it was all self check-in, and the building was a bit confusing since we had to get entry to the building, then to an office/dining area, and get a key and find our apartment, all in a building full of others hotels and residences. On the outside, our apartment window was framed with a beautiful fountain, looked like it could be part of an elegant villa. The two-story apartment itself had a strange layout and fussy hot water, but the low price included a decent breakfast, served happily by three young Filipino women, in the morning. All for under $100.


In front of Spanish Steps

We took a quick walk to the tourist areas, like Spanish steps, that were busier than when we were here less than two weeks ago. Most of the people here seemed to be young people hanging out, rather than tourists from far away places.



On the way, we came across a building we had never seen. With some well appointed guards. After a dozen or so times in Rome over the years, we had never seen the Quirinal Palace, the presidential palace, maybe 20 times bigger than the White House. Always something new for us in Rome. Next time. Or perhaps the time after that.



On the subject of security, Rome has so many police escorts for important people than we have ever seen anywhere. In the less the few waking hours we were in Rome this time, I think we saw about six such escorts, some with unmarked cars and some with lines of motorcycles. These two buses were each full of policemen with big guns behind curtains, and we guessed this was the escort waiting for the Prime Minister.

As we returned to Termini, we took a second look at what looks like an old brick factory building. We have walked by it probably dozens of times over the years; it doesn’t look like much. Perhaps ruins. Perhaps partially being used for something. Actually, these are the ruins of the Roman baths that were closed over 1500 years ago. Although we have been regularly going to Rome for more than 20 years, often using trains at Termini, no idea that these baths housed the magnificent and large Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs, which has been there since the 1500’s. The interior work, which even included some work from Michelangelo in the beginning, has involved various alterations over the years. For many years, it was the state church of the Kingdom of Italy, but since WWII, it has often been used for funerals of soldiers killed in action.



We met at our daughter at Termini, let her shower and change and then off to let her get a couple of photos at the Forum and Coliseum. We also passed three wedding groups on the way to dinner at Trastevere.



Trastevere

Trastevere was packed, perhaps double or triple the number of people when we were here less than two weeks earlier. We had no choice of restaurants; the waiting lines were long. We settled for some simple pasta and spinach at one of the few places with an empty seat.



On the long walk back, we noticed the river restaurants also were hopping.



And, we were happy to see there is a plan in the dark of night for collecting all those scooters scattered about the city.




After breakfast, back to Termini, and our first visit to the fairly recent third floor food court there. Packed a lunch for the train trip from a nice little cafe in the train station..

We had to change trains in Foligno on the return and didn’t want to wait an hour, so we hired a taxi for the 10-minute drive. After introducing our daughter to our apartment and to Spello, she selected the nearby Enoteca Properzio for dinner.



Our dinner was simple, as is our custom, and we shared salad, lasagna, pasta and some great meatballs (always a side if you can find them, since there is no such thing as spaghetti and meatballs in Italy). The food was great, but the thing that is really special here was the delivery of our two glasses of Prosecco and one glass of white wine. The owner, Roberto Angelini, as is his nightly habit, is to bring unopened bottles to your table, explain the type of grapes and other characteristics about the wine, perhaps some history. He doesn’t speak English, so we had a wonderful waitress (who you can see also talks with her hands even in English) translate everything he said. And, did I say that these glasses of vino were something like 3 or 4 euros each?

Seating outside is extensive at Enoteca Properzio, on the main road through town, with maybe 15 or 20 umbrella covered tables. Even more remarkable is his outside garden tables in back, the tables scattered around crates of wine in various stone clad rooms inside or the cooking kitchen with dining. All of these seats, due to Covid, are currently empty. But if you go to the bathroom, you can see them all, including what looks like a wine warehouse. I briefly thought that some of these cases must be empty, because how do you sell this much stuff, until we realized that they operate a significant online wine shop at cellar pricing from here. With 2200 labels!



And to finish on perhaps a less interesting note, we play a lot of tennis, and, in our area, it is now easier to get access to regular tennis courts, since the adjacent pickle ball courts are all the rage. We were watching what looked like professional pickle ball at home before going to bed but noticed a distinctive difference. There are side and back glass walls that allow players to use them for a bounce before returning a shot. This photo, from TV, makes it look like a video-game. The following week, we watched players in Perugia playing this game we never heard of. They call it "padel" in case you want to start something new in your area.

Our daughter will be with us in Spello only three full days. Day one will be about Umbrian wines.

annhig

So glad that my words bore fruit, whitehall as I've been loving your TR and your excellent photos. What a wonderful experience to have bee able [or planned] to spend so long in one place. I've really explored very little of Umbria so far and you have inspired me to think of it as a long term destination rather then somewhere to pick at so thanks.

BTW that game of Padel is intriguing as the glass court in your photo looks very like the glass courts now often used in top flight squash. Anyway, interest piqued, this is what I found: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padel_(sport)

TDudette

The restos along the Tiber looked like great fun. The bathhouse is new to me. Sighing for Italy!

whitehall

For the next several days we are starting with three of everything, three fruit bowls and three pastries. As noted earlier, our daughter has traveled extensively with us in Europe, but her November wedding will change those dynamics, So, this week, we will slow down and spend more leisure time with each other during this brief, but previously unplanned time together. Slower food and wine. And, of course, it is risky to go to places we haven’t been when our daughter has so few days. So we discussed going to places we have been and enjoyed. And we dismissed new places like Marmore Falls that gets mixed reviews online and Norcia because of lingering earthquake damage. (We will save both of those places for later and will provide our take on them).Our daughter was anxious to do some bike riding. We initially were focused on the highly touted Spoleto to Norcia rail bed. She found a fun couple, who did guided bicycle/wine tours not far from us. And there was a leading electric bike rental place in Spello very close to our apartment.

Even on rural roads, there are trucks, and these roads are narrow by US standards and without shoulders. One day we slowed down our car near Bevagna, not noticing behind us a large MAN truck (picture a Mack truck times two) slamming on its brakes, and sounding a loud horn, inches from our back bumper. So, it was essential for me, at least, that we not share a road with vehicles. That eliminated some possibilities. The Spello shop was never open, so we emailed them and a couple shops in Spoleto without any response. We had also asked at a bike shop at Lake Trasimeno, since we read about what we thought was a dedicated bike trail around the lake. The proprietor said we had to share the road with vehicles. So, we gave up.


Bevagna

Our initial focus turned to wine tastings and stay closer to home, at least for the first day. We made a quick stopover in Bevagna and took our daughter on a walking tour of this beautiful village.



She picked Ottavius Hosteria d’Autore for lunch. We watched plate after plate of large piles of colorless gnocchi go to other tables. Obviously, this is the specialty of the house. We opted for color. The menu suggested they also like to roast some of their food. We opted for roasted red and yellow peppers, roasted potato and their version of bruschetta that was with roasted tomatoes. Loads of flavor with each.



Ottavius is another one of those places with a beautiful inside restaurant, but, due to Covid, everyone was eating outside.

We had emailed our new friend Giuseppe from Gubbio, the Umbrian brand wine ambassador for wine tasting suggestions. He recommended four places, with his highest rating for presentation and professionalism Cantina Caprai (Arnaldo Caprai). And it is located between Montefalco and Bevagna, very close to Spello.

Caprai was successful in the textile and fashion business. One of his neighbors told us that the winery, as with many others, experienced tough times during Covid and sold out to an American firm. Online we see that a NYC based company, with a large International portfolio of wines, talks about now being a “partner” with Caprai. Anyway, it may or may not be solely a family business any longer, but it’s always been a big business with 220 acres of local grapes. Everything looked manicured, even mulching their plantings around their buildings with zillions of corks.

They have an impressive tasting room, which was not terribly busy. We simply walked in and were greeted and served immediately. We guessed that perhaps they produce 700,000 bottles a year (based on an average yield of 3,000 bottles per acres).



They have some glass on the floor of their tasting area so that you can get a glimpse of their cellar. So, it seemed funny for us to watch someone putting labels on bottles by hand. Despite the beauty of the area, the great weather and Covid, the tasting was done inside.

After we sobered up (just kidding), we headed to Assisi where we had reservations to taste olive oil and wine at a smaller family owned vineyard. Our daughter found this one online, and, when we travel with her, she is great in finding such things as the best little local restaurants. This “tasting room” was far from polished looking, so our initial reaction was this was a rare miss for her. The tasting prep area looked like an area converted in the family home; outside, where we were seated, felt like we were in someone’s backyard.


And then we were greeted by Maria and her two beautiful and friendly brown and black German shepherds. Full of personality Maria, who, along with her husband, own Tili Vini Societa Agricola (Tili for short), has been operating this vineyard since 1978. There is some family connection to the 37 acres growing the grapes for 1,000 years.

Maria is lively, funny and friendly. She showed us a photo of a purple grape, and we asked her to do a side by side with her similarly colored hair. We all had a big laugh. That is the kind of person Maria is.

This family operation is far from tiny, producing up to 100,000 bottles a year of all organic wines.



We consume a lot of olive oil, perhaps too much, each year. We are very fussy that we have the freshest oils (since there are many fake oils and many old oils in the supermarket, and oil needs to be relatively fresh to get the health benefits). I am nerdy enough that I even read Olive Oil News online. While we are partial to Italian EVOO, last year we read about a guy in Corfu, Greece, who created an award winning oil and revived the local olive oil industry. We contacted him, bought his oil (it was expensive due to shipping), and gave some to family members. It was fabulous.

This tasting compared grocery store oil (Coop store brand) vs. hers. We knew where that would go, so we quickly shifted our attention to her wines.

As we tasted each wine, Maria brought us a beautiful plate of food. Not just beautiful, but as tasty as it gets. Perfect Bruschetta. A farro salad that was lick your plate scrumptious. So good, that our daughter found a store with local farro and took some home. And a nutty chocolate biscotti that was an equally delicious ending to the tasting. Maybe Maria should consider opening a restaurant.



Let’s talk grapes. I saved mention of the charcuterie plate we were served with some grapes that I thought might be for decoration. They were so perfect looking, they could have been plastic ones. Usually, they say that the best grapes for wine have seeds and thicker skin, so you often hear that they aren’t edible. I always assumed, incorrectly as it turns out, that wine grapes are bitter but actually they are bred to have the higher sugars needed in wine-making. First, in Italy most of the table grapes sold, unlike in the US, do have seeds. Most notably are the late varieties that come from Sicily. And, we believe they are tastier. Maria served us “Merlot” grapes. She indicated that those being served were too early for wine, and they had no seeds. We ate every one. They were exceptional.

joannyc

Loving your TR and pictures!

bvlenci

According to their web page, the Mercato Centrale is open every day. Once in the past, it was temporarily closed because of a health inspection, so maybe they were late in paying their bribes. I've never visited it. It's actually a fairly recent addition to the station. As you noted, there's now a decent food court on the upper level, where you can also buy some typical products, but not fresh groceries. There's also a supermarket on the lower level.

Across the street, in or above, or adjacent to, the Exedra Hotel (now renamed, I think) there was an actual Eataly. I think it's closed. I managed to drag my husband to Eataly once, but that will never happen again, I'm sure.

You also mentioned the ruins of the huge Diocletian Baths. The Exedra Hotel faces on Piazza della Repubblica, which is the footprint of the exedra of the ancient baths. There are other remnants of the bath structure in the Termini neighborhood, including a circular hall which now houses a restaurant and a garage. Another circular hall houses the Church of San Bernardo. The most intact piece of the baths is inside the National Roman Museum, where there are several of the monumental halls of the baths.There is also an octagonal hall, which I've always wanted to see, but which for years was totally closed to the public. It seems that now it can be visited by appointment. The museum is also worth a visit for the exhibition about the development of writing. I found it very interesting; it showed the history of the materials used to write, and the supports on which things were written, as well as what early scribes wrote about.

Termini station takes its name from the Baths of Diocletian, in Italian Le Terme di Diocleziano. Some people suppose that "Termini" is the Italian word for "terminal".

I also saw your post about Colle di [Lu]pino. Since "lupino" is the Italian word for "lupin", a flowering plant whose seeds are sometimes boiled and eaten, I am a bit sceptical that it ever meant "wolf", even though in form it seems to be "little wolf".

TDudette

Continued gorgeous shots and visits with your DD. Thanks to bvlenci as DH and I tried unsuccessfully to find those baths.

annhig

Loving your adventures and the pictures of the wine tastings. Shame that the cycling didn't come off - i think that Covid has had a bad effect on lots of those sorts of businesses.

BVL - thanks for the description of the Baths of Diocletian. I've not been yet but have always meant to go one day. I had a friend, sadly no longer with us, who used to talk about going to a performance of Tosca there, complete with elephants! Could that possibly be true, or has one of us misremembered?

PS - I did a quick google and found this - no mention of elephants though!
https://romeoperatickets.com/opera-r...32&l=2&id=1735

annhig

Loving your adventures and the pictures of the wine tastings. Shame that the cycling didn't come off - i think that Covid has had a bad effect on lots of those sorts of businesses.

BVL - thanks for the description of the Baths of Diocletian. I've not been yet but have always meant to go one day. I had a friend, sadly no longer with us, who used to talk about going to a performance of Tosca there, complete with elephants! Could that possibly be true, or has one of us misremembered?

PS - I did a quick google and found this - no mention of elephants though!
https://romeoperatickets.com/opera-r...32&l=2&id=1735

TDudette

Might be Aida, annhig.

annhig

<<Might be Aida, annhig.>>

Lol Good point TD. But you knew what i meant! Hunting this time for references to Aida, the Baths of Caracalla and elephants I found this in the NYT, which seems to confirm that they were once a feature of productions there.

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/07/a...ng-ground.html And here:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-...104-story.html

So perhaps my friend [who was an inveterate name dropper and tall tale teller] was not that far off the mark after all.

bvlenci

Hi Ann, the opera performances are at the other bath complex in Rome, those of Caracalla. They're a bit out of the center, near the Circus Maximus. They're much better preserved, with some lovely mosaics, and are definitely worth a visit.

The Baths of Diocletian were much larger, the largest bath complex of ancient times. However only pieces of them remain, here and there between modern buildings. The most visible parts surround the Basilica degli Angeli e dei Martiri, which Whitehall described above. Inside the basilica are some of the original columns, and an oculus, similar to the one at the Pantheon, but covered by a modern glass lantern so the rain doesn't enter.

There's also a meridian line in the basilica, which was used for centuries to mark the time of noon. At noon, the bells of the basilica were rung so Romans could set their timepieces. Nowadays, a cannon is fired at noon from the Janiculum Hill. In the right weather conditions, you can hear it in central Rome.

I don't know about the elephants at the Baths of Caracalla. I've heard that when Aïda is performed at the Arena in Verona, elephants are part of the cast, but I don't know if they still do that.