Do Not Enter...

A couple of weeks ago, while walking around the neighborhood, I came across this intriguing example of property security: A tall stone wall (very tall - I had to climb up on Roland's shoulders to take this photo) surrounded some kind of development. To discourage trespassers, sharp shards of broken glass were cemented, spike side up, into the top of the wall. Barbed wire is one thing, but spikes of glass?? Sheesh! Probably does the trick though...I know I wouldn't want any part of me near the top of this wall...

Vatican City

The Vatican City has been high on my list of places to see here in Italy. I don't consider myself a particularly religious person, but there was something about walking through St. Peter's Square and entering the Basilica that left me feeling impressed and more than a little bit humbled. The size of the Basilica itself was overwhelming - with the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, it can hold 60,000 people. I've never seen so much marble! It seemed to stretch on endlessly in every direction, from floors to walls to the ceiling - I dont think there was a surface of the structure itself not crafted of solid marble. It was very dim inside, and very quiet. There was a service being held at the time we visited,  which we could hear but were not allowed to see. This area was blocked off from the general public - we saw people coming and going steadily, but I assumed they were members of the church, and not tourists. There was a lot to see and a lot to take in...though we were there a couple of hours, I left feeling like I hadn't truly absorbed everything. The amount of ornate detail that went into every square inch of the Basilica was stunning. Photos were allowed inside - unfortunately, because it was very dim, not many came out clearly, but I will share some of those that did:

A view of the front of St. Peter's Basilica from the square

One of the  Pontifical Swiss Guard located around the outside of the building. They stand guard with a "Halberd," which is basically a long wooden pole with a spike on the end. I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of one of these guys...

On our way into the Basilica.

Marble pillars outside the front of the building

This is the view you see upon entering. The service was being held at the other side of this massive room - beyond the altar you can see in this photo.

Golden grills on the floor...I saw several of these inside.

Marble, marble and more marble.

These were located in various places throughout the Basilica...we thought maybe they were confessionals? Except they had no doors. Hmm...

A closer view of the famous St. Peter's Baldachin, build by Bernini in 1633. It was meant to monumentally mark St. Peter's tomb.

An etching in the wall of the names of each Pope from the year 64 A.D. until 2005.

A view of St. Peter's Square at night. It's Christmas tree was still lit.

A view of Rome as we crossed the bridge on our way out of the Vatican City.

The Lake and Castle of Bracciano

We've just returned from an afternoon visiting Bracciano, a beautiful small town northwest of Rome. The hilly town of Bracciano sits on one side of Lake Bracciano, which is one of the largest lakes in Rome. I fell in love with this town as soon as I saw it. It was quiet, of course, as it is a lake-side community in the middle of the winter, but it was full of character and amazing old architecture. Not to mention the lake, which is absolutely beautiful and which I cannot wait to revisit in the summer. The town itself is charming - tiny, narrow, winding cobblestone streets, old fashioned street lamps, and homes almost made me feel like I was walking around on a movie set. This was only further prompted by the fact that, set right in the middle of the town, was a 14th century castle. Before I get started on the castle, though, here are some photos of the town and lake:

A glimpse of the castle at the end of the street

The seemed to be the average size of the walkways around the middle of the town...there are flats/apartments up and down these passageways.

   Steps leading up to some flats

In front of the lake at sunset

Luckily for us, the Odescalchi Castle was open for tours today. The castle allows visitors to tour one of its wings, but only as a guided tour. Even luckier for us, we were the only people signed up for our tour, so the guide gave our tour in English. We learned a good deal of background on the castle; It was built in 1470, and has had a long and colorful history of ownership in its many years. It is currently owned by the Italian princess Maria Pace Odescalchi, who resides there today with her family in its west wing. There were no photographs allowed inside of the castle, though I was dying to sneak some. It was a really strange feeling being inside of a building that had been standing for six centuries; I kept imagining the people who had walked through the same rooms hundreds of years ago, which was both really cool and slightly unsettling. At one point, we visited a room that had been the private quarters of the Pope in 1481, when he lived in the castle for some time to avoid the Plague spreading through Rome. We also got to see the castle's inventory of medieval weaponry - cannons, armour, swords, knives, bow and arrows, and a whole display of axes that had been used to carry out beheadings (creepy!). When we finished visiting the allowed rooms inside of the North wing, we were taken up to the roof of one of the towers to see the view as well as to visit some of the walkways and courtyards. Outside, I was allowed to take photographs. Here are a few:

The walkway to the side door we used to enter the castle

In the doorway

One of the courtyards inside the castle

An old staircase in one of the courtyards

A view of one of the towers from the top of the castle

A view of the lake from the top of the castle

An outdoor walkway

An outdoor view of the West wing - where the princess Maria Pace Odescalchi and her family reside

More to come soon!

Little in Italy

One interesting theme I've noticed here in Rome is the Italians' fondness for all things miniature. Maybe it's me, coming from the "Land of Excess," where everything is oversized and produced in ridiculously large quantities, but I've been amused time and again these past few weeks at how small some every-day items are. Want a coffee? Sure, step into a coffeeshop and order "un caffe." You shall recieve a tiny shot of espresso in an itty bitty cup, with a miniature little spoon to match if you'd like to add sugar. (Note - I am not complaining about this! I have truly grown to love espresso since I've been here. Talk about efficiency...one sip and you're on your way!) If you'd prefer an actual full dized (read: diluted) cup of coffee, interestingly enough, you have to ask for a "caffe americana."

Exhibit B, the most obvious of examples, is of course vehicles. Italians love their little scooters and their tiny cars! I know this is common throughout Europe, but there are a few I've seen here in Rome that I'm certain have taken their design elements from childrens' toy cars. Take this one, for example:

I'm pretty sure that, back in Chicago, there is a toddler who's received this exact model for Christmas and is driving it in his backyard as we speak.

The most interesting example of this phenomenon comes in the form of "birra," or beer. In the past, at home in Chicago, if I wanted to buy some beer, I'd head over to the store and pick up a package in one of the standard quantities: 30, 24, 12, or...if I'm really not feeling very thirsty or sociable, a 6 pack. Here in Rome, we've visited several shops, and I've yet to find beer sold in quantities other than 1 or, if you really feel like letting loose and getting crazy, a 3 pack:

A 3 pack of our new favorite birra

In the grocery store the other day, an ederly woman asked me to help her find on the shelf a "bolognese piccolo," or a small jar of meat sauce for pasta. She either couldn't read, or couldn't see. I grabbed the smallest I could find - a little jar that barely looked big enough to cover a single, child's-sized plate of pasta - and handed it to her. She looked at me for a moment like I was crazy, and repeated "No! No, PICCOLO!" while waving her hands around to indicate something small. After a moment of reminding myself of the Italian standards of large vs. small, I scoured the shelves again and found at the bottom an itty bitty little jar of bolognese sauce - similar in size to a jar of baby food, and handed it over, much to her delight. Lesson learned. I hope the sweet little old lady went home and enjoyed the worlds smallest pasta dinner.

I'll be on the lookout for more good examples of "Little in Italy"...stay tuned. Ciao!

Ostia

Today we visited Ostia, a seaside town Southwest of Rome. It is full of beachside bars, restaurants, and attractions - mostly boarded up for the winter season. I am told Ostia becomes completely mobbed in the summer, but it was very quiet today (however not so quiet that we couldn't track down some gelato!). I look forward to visiting again in warmer weather, when it is in full swing. Here are a few photos from the beach.

P.S. - Note that you can click on any photos in the blog to see them full size.

Ciao!

The beaches in Ostia seemed to be very dirty. I'm interested to see if they get cleaned up when the summer season comes along...

A Walk Around Rome Center

Here are a few photos from today's walk around the historic center of Rome.

Statue of Cesar

Roland and I in front of part of the Forum ruins

Another view of the Forum Ruins

Hiding behind a banana tree...probably searching for bananas?

A view across the Forum ruins

Inside of the Santa Maria di Loretto church

Piazza Navona at dusk

Outside the Colloseum at dark

Around the Neighborhood

Here are a few photos from our neighborhood. I took these today while walking to the train station in Garbatella.

This last photo is of an orange tree. There seem to be orange and lemon trees everywhere in Rome. It drives Roland crazy that all of that fruit is right there, with no one eating it. I think he physically restrains himself each time we walk past one. Anyone who knows him will know this is true!

More photos to come...Ciao!