American Academy of Rome

This afternoon we visited the beautiful American Academy of Rome.  It is a place where scholars and brilliant people go to do research in many fields. http://www.aarome.org/

The inner courtyard

There are many programs but only between 60 to 100 people are at the academy at any given time.  It is many buildings in one section of the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome on a hill that leads to Via Garibaldi with an unbelievable view of Rome.  It is not too far from my hotel.

As we walked in to the right 

Today, we were given a tour by a Japanese woman.  We toured the main palazzo (building) were they have many rooms for classes and research.  All meals are served in the palazzo.

Walking through the main building on our tour there is a cafe' in the building with a very nice bar.

There are two gardeners that take care of all of the gardens.

A Berkley professor began the gardens and brought a chef from California to cook for the community.  They also buy organic food from farmers.  All meals are eaten at the Academy.  They have 7 different types of basil.  I didn't even know there were 7 different types.   They have many fruit trees like the plum tree to the right.  

In the backyard there is a beautiful grass area and another little villa that is the music conservatory.  The American Academy of Rome hosts many concerts for the Roman community.  There are always music scholars here.  On the little hill where the tree is in front of the villa is where Galileo tested his telescope 400 years ago.  The American University recently has a celebration here honoring Galileo.

On our way to the villa donated in 1911 by the final owner, a Philadelphia woman, to the Academy.  The grounds of this villa are absolutely beautiful.

I SALDI!

Piazza Venezia

Vittorio Emanuele II 

In Italy every year the Italians and everyone else wait for the Saldi!  Saldi means sales.  It is a time when everything is marked down and some stores start at 20 or 30% and others start at 50%.  It is a lot of fun to go shopping.  The sales started Saturday, July 2.  Last night I went to Via del Corso shopping and was mainly browsing the stores.  There is a new Sephora shop that opened recently.  I wanted to go into Fendi but there was some famous Asian person in there with her children so they weren't letting anyone in.  I have no idea who she was and I couldn't even tell you her name even though I asked twice (ume - maybe or that's what is sounded like.)  Via del Corso sits between the Pantheon and the Fontana di Trevi as well as the Spanish Steps.  For us Americans the Saldi are not saldi because the exchange rate is so bad.  So if I see something that I really need then I will buy it.  I don't need another pair of shoes or sandals because I brought 6 pairs with me.  I was mainly shopping to get Julia something.  I still haven't bought her anything.  It was hard to walk the streets since there were so many people.  So the SALDI have started in Italy.

July 2-3, 2011 Roma

Saturday, July 2, 2011 - I went to the Vatican for most of the day.  The bus #916 takes me directly to the Vatican.  Today you have to go through a security check to get into the Vatican. I spent about 4 hours there.  I was able to get in a line and worm my way into a mass at the main altar where the Pope usually says mass.  A priest from Naples, Italy said the mass there with 5 other priests. I got some really great pictures of the Vatican while I was attending mass.  

The Swiss guards are the official guards of Vatican City.  I watched them for a long time.  As the men in the foreground approached the guard in from took his sword and slatted it forward as you an see in the picture and the other guard saluted them.  Then the guard with the sword brought his sword back upright.  

TGIF - e' venerdi`!

Some new pictures with descriptions.

Our group less a few of us ...
The three directors are in the middle (two with beards L. Luigi and R. Roberto) and directly behind them is Cesarina.
We are outside the Campidoglio museum entrance.

Title:  The Roman Foot (SPQR)
Ok - I had to take a picture of the Roman foot.
Upon entering the museum courtyard there were these giant size statues.
SPQR - is all of Rome.  It it is from Roman times and stands for
SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and People of Rome", see translation), referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official emblem of the modern day comune (municipality) of Rome.