Fagins' Travels: Last Days in Rome

We missed having Fig and Pat as part of the household, but we stiffened our figurative upper lip and tried to make the most of our four remaining days in Rome. First we slept a bit late, then back to the Mercato to restock the larder with fruits, salad greens, coffee, bread and milk for the duration. Then off just before lunch time to locate the Caravaggio paintings still hanging in their intended spots in three of Rome's beautiful churches.

The Artists painted their art not to hang in museums, but to tell stories, convey feelings and inspire the flocks who came to church. They anticipated they would be dimly lit by flickering candle-light. So we wanted to see some of them as Romans in the early 1600's saw them. That did not, however, stop anyone from dropping a coin into a box to flood the paintings with 60 seconds of dazzling light.

By the time we left the apartment, caught our bus and walked several blocks toward Chiesa dei Sant' Agostino, we realized how much more we could enjoy the art, the walking, and our lives if we first ate lunch. This is a realization that hits us with regular frequency. Thus, by the time we finished a short bar lunch and found the church it was closed for mid-afternoon rest called "riposo." I had reasoned that leaving a church open is not strenuous work, and that churches in general may serve as a restful comforting place for the faithful to take a mid-day break and perhaps ask for a small favor from their lord, but I was wrong. The doors were closed and locked tight.

This proved to be true for all three churches housing Caravaggios, despite the great distance we covered on foot. Gelato was a small comfort, I was feeling tired. Paul is the more avid art viewer and determined that the first two churches that had barred our entry would re-open in the 45 - 60 minutes it would take us to walk back to them. And so we did, and we were rewarded. Both San Luigi dei Francesci and Chiesa dei Sant' Agostino welcomed us into their vast, cool, beautiful space and rewarded us with Caravaggios's stand-out art. The realism and emotion of the paintings and the beautiful composition of the huge canvases comes through. The faces and bodies convey genuine, down to earth feelings that show the struggles of these characters taken from bible stories. You can go on-line and see the paintings, here we give you a couple of closeups of characters:

Leaving the church, Danice was inspired to order a Prosecco when we stopped for coffee, then we caught the bus home by 6:00PM.

We had a big date at 8:00 that night.... our 10th Wedding Anniversary. We had made reservations at an innovative restaurant in Trastavere recommended by our host, Giuliano, Osteria Fernando. We cleaned up and walked over just in time for a dinner like none we've had before. While they look like mystery food they actually tasted great - oysters with beet stuffed capelli in a fresh ricotta sauce,

That was one delicious oyster

chicken liver balls with grilled baby leeks and cherry/sherry sauce,

and cured egg yoke with salsify puree.

The pink sphere is the egg yoke we think cured in salt - really delicious

Danice had fabulous lamb chops with chicory and anchovy ice cream, yes that's anchovy ice cream, and it was delicious. I had great roasted veal with another reduced sauce of something or other.

Saturday is the only day the beautiful Galleria Colonna is open to the public, so we had planned our re-visit there all week. It is a private art collection displayed in sumptuous rooms in a private palace. (They have a good website for those who are interested in seeing more www.galleriacolonna.it/ ) We had visited before and kidded ourselves that it was our secret place; that is true no longer. There were crowds, but reasonable well behaved crowds, and the rooms were so large that everyone spread out and each canvas could be easily viewed.

The main gallery

Paul likes to take pictures of details of paintings; here are some from the Colonna collection

I like Madonna and Child paintings where they don't look very saintly

A couple of just gorgeous Venuses and Cupids

I particularly like the expression on this Mary, sort of cocky satisfaction - look what I did.

A young docent at Galleria Colonna told us we should also visit two other private collections in palaces, one nearby, the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. So we first had a pleasant outdoor lunch and then located it right on the Corso. It too has a very nice website: http://www.dopart.it/roma/

They don't allow photos until you get to the picture galleries and then for a 4E fee. So you are spared a bunch of pictures of very opulent spaces. You will be glad to know Paul paid the fee. Here is one of the galleries

and here again are...

This inspired Bacon's paintings on Pope Innocent X

Another very sweet Mary

On Sunday we got ourselves to the third Palazzo collection, Galleria Corsini in Trastavere; but contrary to their website, it was closed on Sunday and Monday. We sat on the curb near a lovely botanical garden watching Italians approach to find it was also closed. (Sunday seemed a good day for a public garden to be open.)
Finally we hatched a plan: the compensating activity that would best drown our sorrows, was a good spot for Sunday dinner. I used to read menus and offer opinions about which restaurant to pick from an area of many; but fortunately I have learned to give Paul his head. If I keep my mouth shut and let him walk and sniff around a bit, he will come up with the best possible option every time - and he did. It was Zi' Umberto. All the customers were Italians except for us, families talking with happy children of all ages, men coming with or meeting their woman, and really good home-cooked food. I suggested it was the Sunday after-church crowd, but most of the people just didn't look dressed for church. It was fun watching all the people interact. We were included somewhat in the activity as a waiter spoon fed Paul a last mouthful of his unfinished fagioli and ceci.

Then we walked to Piazza de Popolo - about twice as far as expected - arriving at 4:30 just as Santa Maria del Poppolo was re-opening its doors. There we got to see the final two Caravaggios hanging in Rome's churches. The church's dome is quite nice

And this chapel was really something

All that beautiful marble

Paul actually enjoyed the paintings in another chapel more than the Caravaggios:

Adam and Eve Cycle

We then headed home via a handy Metro station right nearby. There were huge numbers of people crowding into a very small subway platform. Sunday evening and everyone was on the move. When the train came it looked full, but a few people got off. We saw it was very packed at the doors, but there was some open space further in, so we agreed, "lets do it", and once people started to go in we just tried really hard, with little result. As we were about to give up, some people from behind pushed both of our backs rather hard, causing us to push into those inside the car, and a space opened up (think Joe Staley pushing the pile and Frank Gore squirting through for the TD). We moved away from the doors to find standing/breathing room and we made it home quickly. We had heard of professional subway pushers in Tokyo. We suspect these pushers were very effective amateurs.

After dinner at home we headed back via bus to see the Forum lighted at night. It was well worth the effort.

Couldn't resist the moon shot

And this wonderful square by Michaelangelo right behind the Forum

Danice was starting to catch a cold, perhaps from Fig, so we took it easy Monday morning. Danice wrote a bit and Paul uploaded photos for the blog, and we tidied up for the cleaning lady. We had lunch back at Felice as on our arrival day. Then out to the modern museum at Victor Emmanuel for a very nice show on Cezanne and his influence on several of his Italian contemporaries. Then up to the Terrace Cafe in the huge white Marble Victor Emmanuel building for tea, espresso, and great final views of Rome.
Tuesday Danice felt a bit worse, so we stayed home to publish the previous blog. Out to dinner at Bucatino, another pleasant outdoor Testaccio restaurant. The one thing San Francisco can rarely provide is outdoor dinners, so we were soaking them up.

On Wednesday October 23, we packed, tidied up the house and headed for the airport to fly to Athens.
Not missing home yet, but starting to think more about it.

And here are some pictures of sites around town:

Paul just loves sticking his nose in any door to see the entry way and court yard