Fontana del Tritone

The city of Rome recently decided to clean the Fontana del Tritone that was sculpted by Bernini. It was a really big job and I think the outcome is amazing. Look at how clean it is now! It's almost unnaturally clean. There is no more greenish water or darkened marble. 

The difference between the two fountains is drastic and I was so happy that the project was finished before I have to go.

The little bees by the fish are the symbols of the Barberini family (the patrons of the fountain). I went to the Barberini family palace in September where there were also many bees around the facade. You can read about that trip HERE.


(pre-cleaning fountain picture: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2533/4174025157_627d6255fc_o.jpg)

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

Palazzo Doria Phamphilj is a 1,000 room palace in Rome. It's massive! The family collected works by Caravaggio, Velazquez, Vasari, Bruegel and many others.

Even though I wasn't supposed to take pictures without a 3 euro picture pass, I snuck in a few. (Wahaha!)

(http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/53644227.jpg)

The courtyard in the palace is really beautiful! I think it would be awesome to have a courtyard at my house. 

The little fountain in the courtyard. 

This is the Bath of Diana. I'd love a bathroom like this. 

You know, visiting Doria Phamphilj gave me many decorating ideas for my future palace. 

This is the hall of mirrors. 

This is Caravaggio's Mary Magdalene. 

 In the palace, the free audio guides were narrated by an actual Doria Phamphilj family member. He would tell stories about roller skating around the house and walking around in the collections. 

So cool! I would highly recommend this gallery to anyone.  

A Visit to the Library

A few weeks ago I went to L'Archivio di Stato. There is a large library that we were allowed to explore and we got to see ancient books. So cool! 

Some books are in better shape than others. As you can see, this one was damaged badly by water and mites. 

Archivio di Stato courtyard. This large courtyard is hidden on a busy street in Rome. I would never have seen this lovely courtyard if I hadn't taken the trip to this library.

These are a few books that we saw. The red ones held records of the city and were held together with buckles and a tough cover.

Garibaldi's last will and testament! I touched it! 

The hand writing is very shaky because it was written only days before his death. 

The library has 2 levels and a spiral staircase in the back. 

Me in the library

This is the envelope that held Garibaldi's last will and testament

Selfie at the library!

By the end of the tour, the staff of the library showed us the costs of repairing the books. It's very expensive! Specialists can only work on a certain problem and much time goes into the translating and reparations that must be made.

Adopt a book! :)

Olive Picking

I was beginning to miss the pumpkin patch and apple picking days in CT, but then I went olive picking! It wasn't the same of course, but we had a lot of fun.

We all went to work.

I climbed up a tree and stuffed my pockets with olives. 

My aunt Lulu came with us to pick. 

Me with olives.

These are some of the olives we collected. The brownish ones are the best, but the green ones are fine too. 

So many olives ready to be made into oil!

Cat + Kitten = Cutest picture I've taken in Rome. Maybe cutest picture I have ever taken. 

Some sheep standing in the middle of the road. Poor little things! 

We had to beep them out of our way. 

Everyone picked olives! It was really fun and we even got to see how olive oil is made. There are two ways - one is old fashioned while the other is much more modern and has plenty of machinery. I like the old style more.

The olives are first cleaned and ground up into a paste. Then they are placed on a sort of circular plate and stacked upon each other like a sandwich. Then they are squeezed for their oil.

Voila - the simplified version of how to make olive oil.

Rome's Jewish Ghetto and Around

Hi! These days, the sun isn't out for very long. The days are shorter, a little colder, and it's just very dark after I get out of school. It gives me the opportunity to take some night photographs.

Teatro Marcello next to the Jewish Ghetto. I went out after school and it was already very dark. 

"Il Signore calls in many ways, but surely not with a telephone."

This sign is outside a church near The Ghetto. 

 Fontana Monumentale delle Tartarughe has tiny turtles at the top! They are being put into the fountain by the bronze men. So cute!

The Jewish Ghetto in Rome is lined with shops and restaurants.

This clay model sits outside a very popular bakery. The store is very small, yet there are sometimes lines outside the store for some biscotti and other treats. 

I have never seen so many signs for Kosher food in my life. 

Kosher-Roman food anyone? 

It gets so dark in the afternoon and evening! The view from this bridge was very picturesque. 

Villa Farnesina and a Walk Through Trastevere

Hello! This weekend I visited many museums including Villa Farnesina. The Villa is situated by the Tiber and has beautiful frescoed ceilings walls. 

Above is Raphael's Galatea. This fresco is particularly famous because although the scene is chaotic, Raphael creates a balance of movement and harmony in the composition of his figures. 

So... it's pretty. 

Here is a picture of a ceiling that Raphael also frescoed. Can you imagine having your entire house covered in paintings? It would be very beautiful, but I think it would be really hard to decorate. 

I thought it was interesting that Raphael painted empty niches. 

He imitated marble, and then didn't fill the space. Why?

This is a cool fireplace by Sodoma.

Here, the niche has a painted marble lady.

Posing outside the villa.

We went to Trastevere for lunch and then walked around.

Kitty on a motorcycle. Meoom...Meoom

Santa Maria in Trastevere

Another cat!

There are so many birds in Rome right now! Thousands, millions of birds flying around. All those black specks in the picture above are birds. It's crazy and I've seen people carry newspapers and bags above their heads to avoid being dropped on.