Siena

A few weeks ago I took a trip to Siena. It was a very cute town and I loved the winding streets with very few cars. Although it's a small place, Siena holds much to see including famous frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, a lovely Cathedral, and a large market. 

The flying bench with Lulu! 

This is Donatello's "Feast of Herod". He did the relief in bronze and you can see the depth he created for a continuous narrative.

This market was active during our stay. It's set in the same pattern as the medieval market.

Piggies!

Alpacas!

The view of the market from the top of a tower.

Climbing up the tower! 

The cathedral of Siena is huge!

This is the cathedral from ground level. 

The floors were covered in intricate designs. Sadly, only a few scenes can be seen in one visit because much of the floor is covered by carpeting for protection. 

These heads are high up on the walls of the cathedral. Kind of creepy 

The library of the cathedral is covered in frescoes and ceiling decoration. 

Fist-bump knocker

Siena was a beautiful place to visit for a weekend and I only wish I could have stayed longer. 

The Pope

Hello! Although this may come as a surprise, I have seen the Pope three times during my semester here. The first time was a brief (maybe 5 second) viewing. I waited about an hour and a half outside a convent where he was seeing some nuns. He drove out and waved to all of us. Short and sweet. 

The second viewing was at the Vatican on a Wednesday. He was giving an early morning mass. Before he gave his speech, he drove around the Vatican square waving to everyone. He was moving pretty quickly and the driver made some quick turns so I hope he didn't get dizzy. 

This is a bit of the crowd outside the convent. Everyone was excited.

I'm sorry for the quality of this picture, but it all happened so quickly. One minute I was waiting and the next I was waving and trying to take a photo. 

This was at the vatican when we were waiting to see the Pope.

Papal policeman. The Swiss police serve as bodyguards to the Pope and must fit many specifications. For example, they must be between 19-30 years old and must be above a certain height. It is said that the bright uniforms were designed by Michelangelo. 

That's the Pope!

Even though it was a cold day, hundreds of people came out to see and hear the Pope. 

Sadly, I have no photos of our third encounter because it all happened very quickly. I was walking in Piazza Venezia and there was some commotion while crossing the street. The motorcycles and cars sped past us, but I spotted the Pope waving. 

I still have about a month in Rome, so I'll be sure to keep my eyes open. 

Luisa 

Castel Sant' Angelo

Castel Sant' Angelo was built as a tomb for Hadrian (Roman emperor from 117-138). It was later used as a Papal citadel, a medieval prison, and an army base. 

This bridge is crowded with vendors, tourists, and segways. 

These walls would have been covered in marble, but the marble was stolen in medieval times. The castle must have been quite the sight when it was covered head to toe in marble.  

The view of the bridge is quite pretty. It's fun to watch people on the bridge buy from vendors and take pictures. 

These are the Papal treasure boxes. The pope at the time had six locks placed on the large one. Each lock was made by a different locksmith. So cool!

This statue at the top of the building is Archangel Michael. Gregory the Great was said to have received a vision of this angel while he marched through Rome (AD 590). 

Bird!

I think this ancient Roman statue kind of looks like Voldemort. Do you see it? 

CANNONBALL! 

Castel Sant' Angelo was awesome! Even though the plan of the museum is a bit confusing, it's definitely worth the trip. So many things to see!  

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.