Necrofagi Beneath Piazza Navona

Cola di Rienzo is fast becoming the most celebrated name amongst the ordinary folk of Rome.

When the market traders of the Porta Navona realised that their people were going missing at nights, it was not the cavaliere of the Orsini stationed in their fortress of Castel Sant'Angelo just across the bridge who came to their rescue nor the soldiers of the Colonna in their comfortable palazzo just up the hill. Instead it was the humble notary from the Aventine, all the way on the other side of the city, who sent aid in the form of a small band of soldiers and priests. These brave souls penetrated the ancient underdark below the piazza to discover and extirpate a nest of Necrofagi that had taken up residence below the piazza and were stealing out to feed upon the local population at night.

Not only did these stout fellows slay both the corpse-eaters and their brood-mother, but they also rescued four of the Missing who were awaiting their terrible fates in the "larder" of these vile demons. The entire district gives thanks to Cola di Rienzo, for without his swift intervention who knows how many poor Romans they might have carried off and how swiftly their population might have grown.

Strozza Loses Face over Brothel

Revellers on a Midsummer's Night on the Quirinale were entertained by the sight of three of Giacomo Strozza's henchmen badly beaten and stripped to their shirts, trailing their sorry arses back to their caserma after an unsuccessful visit to a local brothel.

Anyone who knows anything about the Quirinale area knows that Giacomo Strozza has been throwing his weight about the Trevi Rione, putting the arm on businesses there and taking protection money. No-one seemed to be able, or willing, to rein him in, least of all the Colonnas with their grand palazzo just down the hill. Indeed it is rumoured that Strozza is a Colonna bastard and has their tacit support. It appears he set his sights upon La Deliziosa, a decent brothel at the better end of the Rione, most famous for the services of the exotic courtesan, La Bella Scura.

No-one who knows anything about the feisty Donna Giulia, proprietoress of La Deliziosa, would expect her to quail before the threats of a bunch of thugs and chancers like Strozza's gang - and she didn't. She did not waste her time on fruitless appeals to Colonna or any other of the "great" houses, but instead sent across town to the Aventine to seek the aid of Nicola di Rienzo, a humble Notaio, but a man who has a fast-growing reputation as a man who will seek justice for the poor and the oppressed of Rome. He did not hesitate but dispatched a handful of volunteers to help her. Strange to relate it is said that the group included a couple of priests - though what interest they had in the succour of a brothel is not known.

When Strozza's men came to collect, di Rienzo's men were waiting and the thugs were soundly beaten and sent home in humiliating fashion. Strozza has lost a great deal of face and it is said that as a result many of the businesses in the Rione from whom he was collecting have banded together to refuse him.

Treasure Found under the Streets of Rome

The rumour is that part of an alley on the Esquilina hill collapsed, revealing a deep hole in the ground. It is said that the first men brave enough to go down there found a trove of silver coins from the days of the Ancients and some old parchments, that have elicited some interest from scholars.