Well, we returned to the Port of Naples and had to say goodbye to Laurie McQuarrie (Nanya) and our amazing trip around the Mediterranean by boat. It was really nice being a group of four after months of being just three. But, we put Laurie in a cab to the airport and returned to being three pilgrims on the Grand Tour. We waved goodbye and headed into the Naples Subway and started the journey that by nightfall would land us in a new apartment somewhere in Rome!
After another easy and restful train ride, we made it to our new home and found that yet again Sarah had managed to arrange a perfect home. We are living in an apartment right in the heart of the city in a building over an alleyway restaurant, just around the corner from the Trevi Fountain, and with the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II (the “Wedding Cake”) visible from our livingroom windows! Being tired from travel we headed downstairs to check out the restaurant. Only half jokingly the waiter asked us what kind of pizza Tommy wanted, but were met with Tommy asking for the special of the day which was octopus, clams, mussels, and lobster on pasta. They instantly changed their attitude toward us and we never ate dinner anywhere else the rest of our time in Rome. Tommy became a rock-star who was greeted with yells of “hey neighbor” every day as we left, and each night they mockingly would steal his food (which remained very sophisticated each night), make faces, and joke around with him.
I should confess that our time in Rome is not tied to training teachers or giving a concerts, but for collecting materials and making connections for the music and art history classes we teach back home. And of course for visiting religious sites that are both personally and professionally important to us. So for this reason we are just going to spend our days living in Rome being more tourist-like, and our evenings enjoying having a beautiful apartment in a perfect neighborhood with instant bartender and waiter friends. In many ways, we do the same thing wherever we live: 1) Find a neighborhood we want to live in; 2) Make friends with the locals working in the closest bar/restaurant; 3) Spend our free time with our new friends!
Trevi Fountain was our first stop on the night we arrived given that Tommy knew it from the movies! Even late at night it was crowded, but at least we arrived before the new fee is enacted. We did have to deal with security, but that was OK with us. Earlier in the week a group of troublemakers jumped in and caused enough trouble to end up in jail, so the police were naturally on higher alert than normal.
The Pantheon was also on my list, but Sarah and Tommy actually knew little about it. Personally, I could not wait to look up at that little hole in the ceiling that I had first studied from an actual SLIDE back in 1993! Sarah and Tommy both were surprised at how meaningful it ended up being for them. I was excited to learn that the painter Raphael is buried there and his stone vault is visible (not sure if that ever came up in class). In addition, the musician Arcangelo Corelli is buried in the same alcove alongside Raphael.
The Pantheon began as Roman temple dedicated by Hadrian around AD 126. In 609 it was gifted to the Pope and began its new role as a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs and today is officially identified as Basilica Santa Maria ad Martyres. I mention this not because I want this to be a history blog, but to share yet another story of a politician’s mixing religion and self-grandeur (sound familiar…). You see, in addition to Raphael and Corelli, the building is also the resting place of two monarchs. The most important being Victor Emmanuel II the first king of a unified Italy and a truly important person to the Italian people. Victor Emmanuel did have some issues and was excommunicated, then had it reversed by the Pope to receive Last Rites. He is very much like our George Washington, but the issue I have is that the alcove of the Pantheon that was dedicated to the HOLY SPIRIT was removed and rebuilt so he could honor himself with a giant monument and tomb that exceeds that of even the site dedicated to Mary or Jesus.
Of course while here we spent time at the Colosseum! This is the third of the four “Christmas Monuments” we are seeing on this trip. For those of you who have come over to see our eight Christmas trees, you know the small tree in the dining room is our travel tree and it is surrounded by four brass monuments: The Empire State Building; Elizabeth Clock Tower (Big Ben); Roman Colosseum; and the Eiffel Tower. On this, our Grand Tour, we are visiting all four of these and next month when we head to Paris again, we will climb the Eiffel Tower and complete the set!
Finally, the Spanish Steps! It might be cliche and over-crowded, but we had to visit. And since it is also the setting for some many movies, it was one we all recognize. The day we went was not as crowded as some and Tommy and I climbed to top and took some cools pics. Sadly Sarah has injured her foot so climbing stairs for a cliche pic was nothing she cared to do!
We all love Rome, but there is also that little country inside! And as church musicians and art/music history teachers, that little country has had a BIG impact on our lives! So next post is all VATICAN!
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