Oslove: Italian Inspiration

I continue sharing my love for Oslo and its neighborhoods (you can see other posts in these series through the tag “barrios” in my blog). Today I want to share a pretty neighborhood of St. Hanshaugen which seems to be inspired by Italian cities, especially by Rome. I see it in the classical forms of facades, roundness of arches and buildings, in the cascade of stairs and the color palette.

So join me for the summer photowalk through this neighborhood and let me know if it gives you the same reminiscence.

When we were in Rome this spring, we stopped and said in many places: “This reminds me of St. Hanshaugen!” In the end, we were laughing that the Roman city planners came to Oslo to get their inspiration. And now, walking through St. Hanshaugen, I would remind ourselves of this: “The neighborhood that inspired Rome into being” :))

Wikipedia says, that the neighborhood was filled with building blocks in 1880. So it is quiet young, in comparison to Rome. I always wonder if the city planners of St. Hanshaugen travelled to Rome for inspiration. Where, otherwise, did they get this taste for simple classical lines and warm tones, which are not so typical for Norwegian architecture?

We start our walk with the Ilatrappa which means Ila stairs (connecting the neighborhood of Ila with St. Hanshaugen). We, Carles and I, call it the Spanish stairs as it reminds us of the Spanish steps in Rome. Wikipedia acknowledges that this sight is Italy-inspired. The stairs have several animal statues. You can click on any image to view it in the gallery in the bigger size. 

Ila stairs

“Bear scratching itself”

On the top of the stairs the pretty arches lead to the peaceful streets of St. Hanshaugen.

What you find after the arches – green and quiet corners.

If we go up those stairs, we come to Herman Foss’ street (gate in Norwegian) which I love for the beauty of facades, doors and the summer life of balconies.

summer balconies

red and white

bikes and doors

pastel shades

blue balconies

and a blue door

This street, Herman Foss’ gate, has this amazing yellow building with round towers which is now a school. Imagine going to a sun-colored school like this!

After having walked this short but colorful street, we turn around the corner – and come to the St. Hanshaugen park. It is a nice park with a lot of shade, a small pond and more stairs if you want to climb up and get some view.

Around the park there are pretty buildings with sweet balconies. Since the parkways take you up, you can stand at the level of the third floor peeking into the balcony life 🙂

in the park

Ullevålsveien

After I climbed down the narrow path from the park and crossed the street, turning around the corner I suddenly bumped into an Italian guy I had met some years ago. He was working in the restaurant-pizzeria and I made a small stop for a cappuccino and a catch up. Funny enough, when I was selecting photos for this post, I suddenly realized that this meeting fitted perfectly into my Italian story of St. Hanshaugen 🙂 So much Italian magic going on that you start bumping into the old Italian acquaintances :))

a friendly cappuccino

a lonely city bike

Now tell me, would you agree that this Oslo neighborhood resembles of Rome? Do you have areas in your city that strongly remind you of some other places?