Friday morning my Baroque friend* and I went to the Galleria Dora Pamphili which was fabulous! The Dora Pamphili families joined to create one super family in the mid-17th century and then got super lucky and one of their members was crowned Pope Innocent X, the Pope that didn't care for Bernini too much. Anyway, the Dora Pamphilis are one of the few aristocratic families still habiting their palazzos in Rome. They opened up some of the rooms, returning them to their baroque splender, for visitors to enter. The audioguide is free with the tickets and it is fabulous. The current prince gives you insite on both the art and his families past with phrases like "my ancestors" and "my families wealth" etc speckled throughout. Its a wonderful mix of baroque picture gallery and the mesh of aristocratic life. When leaving the art gallery we walked through the garage where classical statuary is displayed beside cars and recycling bins. Absolutely fabulous. Thus is the life of the aristocrat in Rome, half of your palace is open to the public and your recycling sits next to classical sculptors.
I spent the evening with a Professor who I will be house/dog-sitting for next week. The dog is a Scottie and he is addorable. I think we shall have wacky Roman Holiday like adventures though the city, perhaps solving crime with matching hats.
This morning my roommate, Baroque Friend and I wandered to the Vatican Museum. We made a reservation so we got to buy pass the ticket lines and what not which was really quite wonderful even if the line was rather small at 11am anyway. The best part was that the Gregory the Profane gallery was finally open! It was fabulous. The galleries were created in this modern, dark, industrial feel that constrasted wonderfully with the white of the classical sculpture, sarcofagi, and inscriptions. Absolutely fabulous. Then we wandered through the Early Christian gallery which was dimished because there was a special exhibit going on right now "St. Paul in the Vatican." My mother would love it. Its full of instances of St. Pauls place in Rome and the Vatican in particular. It has the slab that was over St. Pauls tomb as well as St. Timothy's sarcophagus, drawings from St. Paul outside the walls before and after the fire (dedicated to the St. in the 4th cen. maybe, and in a 18th century I think, currently rebulit), mosaic examples of St. Paul from the original Basillica of St. Peter and a section on the iconography of St. Peter and Paul depicted together.
I must say the best part of the exhibit was the kitchy video at the end of the exhibit. It was in B&W and Italian with English subtitles. It told the story of the conversion of St. Paul, his journey to Rome, and his battle against the Olympians! Only it told this story through carefully chosen statuary one can see in the city. An example: "St Paul decided to battle against the Olympians" [statue of st. Paul then flash to statue of Jupiter Capitoline with a thunderbolt] "it was a fierce battle" [St. Paul statue, Jupiter, St. Paul, Jupiter, the boxer statue, Jupiter WITHOUT THUNDERBOLT!] "Then all could see that the pagan religion was a mask for sin." [Image of a sculpted mask that turns to look into the empty back side.] I cannot explain how good this video was, I think I will spend the rest of my life looking for it. SO GOOD!
The rest of the evening was spent at the apartment vegging, doing laundry. Apparently all it takes for it to rain in Rome is for me to do my laundry. Since we have no dryer in the apartment I have to hang the clothes outside on a line, which is a little difficult when its rainy and overcast. Ah well.
No plans yet for tomorrow. Pictures when I get back to school on Tuesday. Monday is the Festival of St. Peter and St. Paul. Everying in Rome will be closed except for the parties around St. Peters and St. Pauls. Should be fun.
