That's the title of a book I once read for a class on the Art and Architectural History of Rome. We read lots of books that semester, but that one was my favorite. It described the monuments and the stories behind them (rather than structural technicalities), and so actually getting to be in Rome for 4 days was incredible! All the names were so familiar. The history's really true. The proof is in the ruins. The dead/living city was as vibrant as I'd imagined and hoped.
Mercifully, I will only post about my absolute favorites. Otherwise this could turn into a book.
The first morning, Sarah and I visited the Villa Borghese. The Borghese family was one of the most prominent in Italy, and they had this house built specifically to show off their art collection. It was fantastic! One of the signs mentioned a sculpture that had "emigrated to the Louvre." That doesn't sound too bad, does it?
That evening, we went into Santa Maria Maggiore. The floor was covered in colorful marble tiles and you could feel the different levels beneath your feet. The confession booths were labled Espagnol, Deutsch, Italiano, English, Francais and Polski. The ceiling seemed very flat after being in the Pantheon. A nun walked by carrying an IKEA shopping bag. We decided to go to the evening vespers. It was amazing listening to the Italian and understanding what they were saying.
The next day we went to Vatican City to visit St. Peter's Basilica.
Numbers:
1- statue by Michelangelo
2- times Sarah and I walked through the Sistine Chapel
3- hours waiting in line to enter the Vatican Museum
4- hurting feet
5- euros for cheese and bread in the cafeteria
6- hours there
550- steps climbed to the top of the dome (whew!)
The massiveness of the Basilica sinks in slowly. They have marked off on the floor the boundaries of other cathedrals (demonstrating how much larger it is!). It looks like all heaven broke loose inside. Everything is covered in gold or colors or sculpture or puti (those naked babies who fly everywhere). It's stunning.
That night we got gelati at one of the most famous gelaterias called San Crispiano. It was nearly life-changing in that I almost changed my life's goal into being someone who makes gelato. We tried gelato with meringue pieces, zabaglione, honey, and travorso chocolate. Then we went to the Trevi fountain (with the rest of the hoard) to see it the lights.
Our last day in Rome, we went to a street market (where I got a nutcracker, 3 antique postcards and achy feet) and wandered around the ancient Forums. We had the most wonderful pizza-- a chewy, yummy crust covered in bufalo mozzarella, peppers, artichokes, eggplant, and tomatoes. This restaurant must have been truly Italian because we ate at a table between a nun and a fashion designer. And saw paper towels in a bathroom for the first tiome since arriving in Europe.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment