This was a day of activity and wonder. We did our morning walk to Simonetta and Claudio's apartment. After four tries we finally mastered the route. It is a 10 to 15 minute walk through an interesting residential area.
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| The church on the square |
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| The municipal building in the square on the way from our bed and breakfast to Casa Clementi/Arbib in Montesacro |
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| The beautiful open air flower shop along the way |
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| Home of Casa Clementi/Arbib. On the top floor on the far side. The other top floor apartment is the one of Claudio's brother. |
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| A panoramic from Casa Clementi/Arbib |
We took their car to the Villa Borghese, a complex of world class museum and huge city park. The museum is housed in the villa and only allows a limited visitors because of the close quarters. The advance tickets were sold out until Wednesday (we were there on a Saturday). However, Simonetta worked her magic and got in because of four cancellations. The collection is spectacular as is the setting. The sculpture, in my view, is better than the paintings but that is splitting hairs. We enjoyed the splendors of the powerful Borghese family and their collection of world class Renaissance art.
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| Randy strikes a Roman pose in front of Villa Borghese |
We walked through the park, full of Romans enjoying this first nice Saturday of the year. The park is glorious with huge and aged trees. We stopped for a light and late lunch of the Italian version of cheese sandwiches. After this restorative, we walked to the city proper and began our tour. Our main objects were the Caravaggio paintings resident in Roman churches. We also were happy visit some iconic places including the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Piazza Navona. The weather was perfect and Claudio is a literal font of knowledge about all things Roman. Yes, we walked a tremendous amount but what better way to see the Eternal City?
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| Claudio and Simonetta strike a similar pose in their red tops and black jeans walking through Villa Borghese park |
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| Two of the wild parrots in the trees of Villa Borghese park |
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| Randy and Claudio share beers in the park |
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| Lunch in the park |
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| Alice and Simonetta wait for the veggie cheese sandwiches / pizzas (a kind of turnover pizza) in the park |
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| The historic water clock in the park |
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| The Eternal City - Piazza del Popolo seen from the park |
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| The piazza with Saint Peter's in the background |
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| Alice and Claudio love Rome |
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| Top of the entrance to Piazza del Popolo - some of the statues resemble our Auburn War Eagle |
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| Site of the first Caravaggio, the crucifixion of Saint Peter - no pictures allowed inside unfortunately |
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| This was in Santa Maria del Popolo |
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| One of 13 Egyptian obelisks in Rome is found in the Piazza del Popolo (thanks to Claudio for this statistic) |
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| Alice and Randy on the (very crowded) Spanish Steps |
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| It's official - we are returning to Rome - we through coins in Trevi Fountain |
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| A Roman temple turned into municipal building in Rome - what a great lesson for modern architects |
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| In the square nearby a lone piccolo player performs |
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| This building is found is the one listed above |
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| The site of our next ecclesiastic experience |
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| Inside of this Jesuit church with its fake dome because the Jesuits ran out of money (how was that possible?) |
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| A wonder of the ancient age - the Pantheon |
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| The iconic dome of the Pantheon - the largest in the world for many, many centuries |
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| Alice in the Pantheon |
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| A view of the dome from inside |
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| Coming out from the Pantheon |
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| Claudio and Simonetta show that they are true Italians | | |
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| The best of the best - the Calling of Saint Mathew by Caravaggio found in San Luigi dei Francesi (the official church of France, and yes, it is in Rome) |
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| Detail of the young man in the Calling of Saint Matthew |
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| The Inspiration of Saint Matthew |
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| The church interior |
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| Its official name |
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| The next church - the Basilica di San Agostino |
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| The location of Simonetta's favorite Caravaggio |
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| The lovely Madonna dei Pellegrini |
After this excursion we had drinks at the Piazza Navona and took a taxi to the car parked near the Borghese Villa.
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| The sacred and then the profane - a big draft Moretti to rehydrate after the Rome expedition |
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| Claudio and Simonetta rehydrate with coffee and sparkling wine, respectively |
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| The iconic sculpture fountain of the Piazza Navrona |
That evening, it was Simonetta's turn to impress. She had earlier in the day made homemade pasta. These were served up with a very tasty tomato/meat sauce, toasts with butter and anchovies, some of the olives from Sutri, roasted cippolini onions, sauteed artichokes, and lots of wine. We were joined by their handsome younger son, Lorenzo, who is a student of sociology at a Roman university. What a way to end our Roman stay - con famiglia with super food and wine. Can't wait to return!
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You can't go wrong with anchovies and fresh bread (above). Below, earlier in the day Simonetta makes pasta the old fashioned way.
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| Simonetta's wondrous pasta - Alice has promised to try her hand at homemade pasta too. Note that Simonetta uses no pasta machine or roller - this is done the old fashioned (and best) way. |
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| The unusual (to us) sauteed artichokes |
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| Lorenzo rightly eyes the bowl of his mother's pasta |
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| We started with a French Provencal and then moved on to the one from Puglia |
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