Category: Italy

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Hiking in the Dolomites

My in-laws have been showing me photos of the Dolomites (a particularly beautiful part of the Italian Alps) for years, insisting that I need to go. They all went every summer from 1994 until 1999, spending half of their summer vacation in the mountains, and the other half at their beach house in Marche.

The Dolomites (or le Dolomiti) are in Northern Italy, pushed up against the Austrian boarder. They run from the regions of Trentino/Alto Adige to Veneto. For our trip, we based ourselves on the Northern edge of the Dolimites, in a suburb of Dobbiaco called Valle Silversto (Valley of Sylvester). We stayed in Residence Rogger, where we had our own adorable mini apartment with everything made of pine.

This area has strong ties to Austria, to the point where everything is written first in German and second in Italian and the locals speak German more than Italian. Dobbiaco is always accompanied by “Toblach”, Alto Adige by “Sudtirol”, and every street sign is written both ways.

Our first day we arrived around 11 AM from Emanuele and Silvia’s in Veneto. Everyone told us to take it easy at first, as your body adjusts. However Daniele’s idea of taking it easy is not the same as most people’s, so we took the hardest hike of our whole trip. We started with a nice walk around Lake Dobbiaco (Lago Dobbiaco) then went up Trail 14, which is a steep path made of loose gravel that slides underneath you at every step. Going up was exhausting and going down I fell multiple times. This hike took just over 5 hours. We then checked into our little apartment and Daniele made dinner early, as we had skipped lunch. After dinner we went into Dobbiaco center, to look around and get some bread and yogurt, but everything closes at 6:30 or 7 in this little town.


Our second day we had another hard hike. We stayed in Valley Sylvester, driving about two minutes before parking near the restaurant we would go to the next day. At first we passed houses that are small farms or small-scale working lumber yards. Then we were in the forest, which was nice and shady. For the last part, we arrived above the tree line and were in the sun. They were working on the drainage for this part of the trail, so it was mounds of freshly turned over dirt for a decent part of it. I forgot to change my shoes before leaving the house, so I got to enjoy all that dirt right between my toes. At the top, we arrived at a Lodge (Rifugio in Italian, Hutte in German). We each had a beer overlooking the view of the valley below before heading back down. We were only another “hour” away from the Austrian boarder, and I wanted to go. We didn’t because the hiking times are as the Alpini (the Italian equivalent of the US Marines) take them, more on the Alpini shortly. It started to lightly rain before we made it back to the car, but we were home in time to shower and get to the store before everything closed again.

The Alpini were originally the Italian Army Corp from the Alps. They were founded in 1872 to defend the French and Austrian boarders and are the oldest mountain infantry in the world. They are recognizable by their feathered caps. And fun fact, their motto is “Di Qui Non Si Passa!” which basically translates as “You Shall Not Pass!”



Our third day I took over planning and picked a less steep itinerary, meaning we were actually able to go farther. We started by circling Lake Braies (Lago di Braies), then heading down an easy path to a “Malga” or mountain cow farm. Most of the trails lead to either a Malga/Farm or a Rifugio/Lodge. However, many farms serve food and many lodges have a couple cows, so the distinction is just what they choose to call themselves. This Malga has lots of cute cows that came up to you looking to be pet. Later, one even started to follow us home! From here we walked along the river until we arrived at a lovely valley full of wild flowers that was not on the map. At this point, we continued to the next Malga. This next part of the trail was pretty intense and steep, but it was lovely at the top. We could have continued another piece to arrive at a mountain-top lake, but it was getting late in the day and we had a long way back, so we skipped it. At the last Malga, we made friends with another Italian family, who were waiting for the father, who had continued to the Lake alone. We chatted over lunch then walked back together.






This was our first night going out for dinner. Daniele found a delicious restaurant that was more or less someone’s house. We each had a soup, and then he had polenta with goulash probably made from a cow walking around their property that morning and I had handmade pasta with local wild mushrooms. It was really delicious, and we wanted to go back, but when we called again their were booked up for the rest of our trip.

Our fourth day we split up. I took it easy and Daniele took one of the harder trails that I would never be able to do. In Val di Landro, he went from Lake Dobbiaco to Lake Mitteralplsee to Forcella del Lago (lake mountain pass). Up steep climbs and over lots of snow. In the afternoon we went to the town of San Candido, the last city in Italy before Austria.

Our fifth day we went to the most iconic part of the Dolomites, the Three Peaks AKA “Tre Cime” AKA “Drei Zinnen”. There is a trail you can take from the bottom of the mountain, but we paid to park part way up at the first lodge, Rifugio Auronzo. From this lodge we took Trail 101 or what Daniele calls “the highway of the Dolimiti” because it is an easy trail around a famous site so it is full of people. But whether it was for foggy weather or just early in the season, we barely saw anyone until later in the day. We walked about halfway around the Three Peaks without being able to see much of them or anything in the heavy fog. We passed a small church then the next lodge, Rifugio Lavaredo. From here we planned on taking Trail 104 around an attached mountain, but got lost in the fog and ended up on the World War I Historical Trail. I liked this accidental trail because we were walking on interesting rocky terrain, rather than the normal gravel or dirt paths. We also went over the walls of the front line, saw some dug-into-the-mountain shelters, passed a few micro-lakes, and walked over lots of snow. However, this openness meant no real trail to follow and we had no idea where we were nor where the trail was for a good time. The fog didn’t help, either. We accidentally climbed a whole different mountain, but it was a nice trail, so no loss. On our way back to the main 101 Trail, we could see where the trail we originally wanted split off, and how difficult it would have been to see even in better conditions. All of the other trails here have been very well marked. Back on the Trail 101, we circled around to the other side of the Three Peaks, which as it got later, would peak out of the fog for breaf moments. The trail became crowded now, also the trail was cut from snow taller than either of us. We had lunch at the Lodge at the end of this trail, Rifugio Locatelli, then took Trail 105 to complete a full circle around the Three Peaks. This trail went all the way down into the valley, and then back up the other side. On our way down it started to rain, but we didn’t get washed away. Even after we climbed all the way back up out of the valley, there was still a while to go to get back to our starting point. Along the way, we stopped at the malga/farm there and had some hot chocolate.




For our sixth day I wanted to go to the Austrian-Italian boarder and see both countries at the same time. I was starting to feel warn out, so I didn’t want a very, very long hike and the closest trail starting point from the boarder (where we could get the car) is in Austria. So, we drove over the nonexistent border and two towns into Austria. It worked out well, since gas is taxed less and therefore much cheaper there, that paid for the trouble. We couldn’t use phone data there and we don’t speak German, but we eventually found the little farm up the windy road where we could park. The path had a nice incline, but this day we finally took the poles from the car. Everyday previously we had told ourselves that it was just a short easy hike and we didn’t need them, only to find ourselves slipping on snow or down gravel later. We walked along the cows including little family groups complete with baby calves until we got to the crossroads near the top of the mountain. From here we could go left to a lodge, or right and walk along the boarder. I picked right saying if we have time we’ll stop at the lodge on the way back. We could soon see Italy on our left, with its larger mountains beyond the town of Sesto in the valley below. The boarder had small rectangular white marble stones every so often with an “I” on the Italian side, an “O” on the Austrian side, and that the boarder was established in 1920 along the other sides of the stones. We took the path up to the top of Mt. Elmo, where there was the best view of both valleys and mountains on both our left (Italian) and right (Austrian) sides. It started to rain then, also it was very cold and windy at the top of the mountain. It was time for lunch, or at least a snack, but there was nowhere sheltered to stop nearby. We had passed a small outpost building just on the other side of the crossroads. We’ve seen several of them this week, always the same wood-cabin structure, with a locked single-room (presumably) interior, and a covered porch featuring a bench and often a table perfect for a place to eat. So we hurried there and had lunch, while the sky rained itself out. The way down was a breeze using the poles. I was even able to go faster than Daniele and I really regret not using them everyday. I could walk with that much more speed and confidence knowing I had a grip on the ground if I slipped. We each used one. I had two when we hiked the Grand Canon, and I felt pretty neutral on how helpful they were then, maybe if you had more practice and good rhythm using them. In the Grand Canyon the terrain was mostly uneven so it was difficult to keep any rhythm in your step and coordinated with your arms. We walked around the Austrian town at the base of the access road for a few minutes before heading back to Italy. There was not really anything to see there.





That night we had dinner at a restaurant in the house where composer Gustav Mahler once lived and composed some of his largest works from 1908 and 1910. It was good, but the other place was better.

Our last full day we decided to just do some local sight seeing. We dressed in regular clothes and drove to San Candido where we wanted to start with the Bagni di San Candido. These baths were the place to be for Central European nobility of the 19th century to spend their “summer thermal spa holidays” (that’s actually how the official map describes it). The baths feature several different springs each with its own list of maladies it can sure. This was supposed to be about 20-minutes off the road, but ended up being closer to 1.5-hours of mixed paths in light to heavy rain without our hiking paraphernalia. We finally arrived at the baths. There were several fountains where we sampled the healing waters. Each fountain sourced from a different spring, with its own minerals and powers indicated on the fountain. The building there looks like it was once quite impressive, but now has more bits of caved in roof than bits still holding and whole sections of the walls have fallen down. You could still see interesting balconies, and widow adornments, and the general structure. It is an interesting mix of Venice/Byzantine styles and those of Austrian/Bavarian origin, something I could say of the whole area actually, but especially prevalent in an ornate structure like this one. From the Baths, there were signs pointing to San Candido in 50-minutes the way we came or 30-minutes a different way (times being always as the Alpini walk). I insisted we try the 30-minute way, as surly there had to be a better access to such an attraction than the road we had taken. We did it in 45-minutes, including a 10-minute break under a bridge hoping the pouring rain would lighten up, it didn’t. We are always faster going down than up, but not double, so this way was shorter. We wanted to get lunch in central San Candido, but almost every place stopped serving lunch at 2 PM. A clear indication of their Austrian influence, as in Rome you can’t eat lunch before 1 PM and in no part of Italy are you expected to finish a meal in less than an hour. We found a place with a limited after-2 menu where I had some spatzle (translated into Italian as gnocchi; it was spatzle) and Daniele had some fresh fettuccine with deer meat. The town was mostly shut down for Sunday, but I found a store open that sold local things and got some souvenirs to remember our trip. We were a bit wet and tied by then, so we headed home to pack up and get ready for the early start on the road home tomorrow.


So a full week hiking the mountains, and not just any mountains, the Italian Dolomiti. It was a beautiful, fun, and very physically active vacation. I now have calves so muscular that if I pull up a pant leg, it just stays there. I hadn’t realized how nice and cool it was up in the mountains until we got back to Rome. My in-laws actually headed up there right after we got back. They took good care of our little kitty Stella while we were gone. She and I were both very happy to see each other.

Pictures of these beautiful places are here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/+KaitlynHanrahanIsidori/albums/6038295577701410033

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Visiting Emanuele and Silvia in Veneto

Back at the end of October, Daniele’s brother Emanuele moved to Veneto to be with his girlfriend Silvia. She is originally from there and the two of them had been alternating weekend visits for quite some time. They found their own apartment in June and we’ve been meaning to visit them. We came up with the idea a while ago to combine a summer vacation to the Dolomites (post coming soon) with a stop on the way to see them in Veneto for a weekend.

Veneto is another region of Italy, like Tuscany or Lazio, which is most famous for Venice and Prosecco. I’d been to Venice several times but never to any other part of Veneto. I knew Silvia lived a bit out of the way because I knew her parents had an independent house; in the cities and suburbs nearly everyone lives in apartments. Both their new apartment and Silvia’s parent’s house are in the province (“provincia”) of Treviso.

Daniele and I left Rome very early Saturday morning; most would still consider it Friday night. I slept on the way and we arrived at Emanuele and Silvia’s in time for breakfast. They did a great job planning our visit. We started with a quick stop in the small town of Conegliano Veneto. The town is very historical looking, with frescos and arches on the outsides of the buildings. There is a castle here, too. We visited the courtyard, but inside was closed. A wedding was just about to start there.


After Conegliano Veneto, we went to Grotte del Cajeron in Breda di Fregona. This was my first grotto. We took a hiking path in a loop that went into caves, over rope bridges, and over a river.

Our next stop was Lago di Santa Croce in the city of Farra d’Alpago. This is the only place we went to that was outside the province of Treviso. Silvia had made us a caprese rice salad with lactose-free mozzarella (shockingly good) that we ate picnic style by the lake. We were wearing bathing suits, but it was too chilly to sunbath, so we faked it wrapped up in sweaters.

At this point we headed back “home”, stopping on the way to have an “aperitivo” with Silvia’s aunt, uncle, and cousins. We had some cake, chips, and home-made prosecco. Then we regrouped at Emanuele and Silvia’s before dinner. Dinner was “Pasqualina” a special pizza invented by the restaurant owner that he even patented. It is basically a very thin and crispy pizza crust, with toppings, then another thin crispy crust layer on top. Making it almost a sandwich. I had the eggplant parmigiano, and it was delicious!

After dinner we went to Abbazia di Follina, an old and pretty church, then to Castello di Castelbrando. This castle is open to the public and occupied by an hotel, bar, restaurant, spa, gelateria, and a few stores. It had been abandoned before a group of business owners in the area restored it. It is one of my favorite castles I’ve been to thanks to the open access, the views, and how well maintained and accurate to the original structure it all is.



On our second day we had lunch at the “Osteria senza Oste” or the restaurant with no host. This famous places is hidden on a hill mostly occupied by grapes. It is a small shack with meats, cheeses, some pizza, breads, and drinks inside; all made locally. You take what you want and pay what you want, though there are suggested prices on the goods. There are tables outside and some knives and cutting boards to use and wash yourself afterwords. Many supplement with some of their own food. It was full there, with us getting last free table. The person who runs it just brings by the food in the morning. They must be making money because they’ve been doing it for about 10 years.

After lunch we went into the city center of Treviso. The city features a river going through it and lots of covered walkways and cute shops.

For our last night we had dinner with Silvia’s parents. They set up a large spread with lots of vegetables all from their own garden. It was delicious and Silvia’s mom sent us off with a big bag of tomatoes, peaches, cookies, and horse meat to bring to the mountains.

All the photos from this weekend:
https://plus.google.com/photos/+KaitlynHanrahanIsidori/albums/6031461047786159921

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Melissa’s Visit to Rome


Melissa and I at the Colosseum

A few days ago my college friend Melissa said she was thinking about visiting Rome for the weekend. She was in the middle of a business stay in Stockholm and wanted to use a weekend to visit another city. The timing was perfect because Daniele and I had had a trip to his cousin’s in Umbria planned for this weekend, which we had to cancel last minute when Daniele’s work shifts changed. So, with our plans canceled we were exceptionally free. Also, Rome was holding an event Saturday, the “Night of the Museums” (actually it was held all through out Europe this night). Many of the city and national museums would be open until 2AM and only cost 1 Euro. Also, other places, like government buildings and embassies that are normally closed to the public were open this night, though many by appointment only, and we were too late to make any appointments.

Melissa flew in Saturday evening and we met her at Termini. We had a quick dinner of Arancine (fried rice and cheese deliciousness) and then Gelato before heading out to see the sights. We ate near Lepanto, just off Cola di Rienzo, the street that connects Piazza del Popolo to the Vatican. We walked Cola di Rienzo to Piazza Popolo, then Via del Corso (Rome’s “main” street) end-to-end from Piazza Popolo to Piazza Venezia. Piazza Venezia is where the Altare della Patria stands. From here we bore right to Capitoline Hill (in Italian Campidoglio), home of the Capitoline Museum and Rome’s City Hall.

Our goal was to enter the City Hall. The volunteers on top of the hill told us there was one line for everything: City Hall, Capitoline Museum, the ruins underneath, and a concert going as well. In the end it turned out that the City Hall was not actually open, like the website said, but we enjoyed the museum, both its collections and the two late-Renaissance palaces that they reside in: Palazzo dei Conservatori, and Palazzo Nuovo. We also, for the first time, got to see the tunnels underneath, which connect the two palaces and show off the Ancient Roman structures under ground level.


The original bronze statue of Romulus and Remus suckling their wolf mother.

After we finished Capitoline, we reversed our path heading back up Via del Corso. It was getting late at this point, but we still had some time before the last places closed. We swung by the Trevi Fountain, since it is so pretty at night, before turning off past the Pantheon (closed by this hour, but we saw it from outside, at least) to Piazza Navona. Piazza Navona is possibly the most beautiful piazza in Rome. Its ovular shape is dominated by three Bernini fountains and closed in by beautiful Renaissance facades. Back in the day, before the fountains were built, the Romans would flood this piazza and stage naval battles here.

Piazza Navona is also the home of the Brazilian Embassy and near the Italian Senate building, two other places that we were thinking about trying to enter tonight. They are both normally closed to the public. However, we were getting tired at this point and both had long lines out front that threatened to not finish before the last entrance. So we walked past the illuminated windows, peeking inside, before heading back to the car at Lepanto, this time taking a route along the river.

Melissa was flying out at the crack of dawn on Monday– to enjoy a long layover / day-trip in Zurich, which I will admit I’m jealous of. I’ve never seen Zurich outside of the airport. That only gave us Sunday to see all the must-see spots in Rome.

We started our day with the classic “cappuccino e cornetto” breakfast just outside our apartment while making our attack plan for the day. We walked to the Colosseum from our house, which is maybe a 25 minute walk, or the same time by Metro, since you have to change lines. By walking we got to pass under the Aurelian Walls before stopping at San Giovanni basilica (the “duomo” of Rome, as the Vatican is a sovereign nation in its own right). San Giovanni is very pretty and features lots of marble statues both inside and out. From here it is about another 10 minute walk to the Colosseum.


Inside San Giovanni Cathedral

At the Colosseum we were greeted by the normal large crowds mixed in with a “Race for the Cure” crowd, which at least meant the streets were closed so we could all fit. We walked past and went first to the Roman Forum, which uses the same ticket as the Colosseum but almost always has shorter lines to buy them. Here we were presently surprised to get in for free! My last AirBnb guests had left us their Roma Pass, which I figured was used up or expired, but it got us into both the Forum and Colosseum free of charge. We walked around the Forum, which was the center of life and commerce in Ancient Roman times. We also crossed over to the “Palatine Hill”, where I’d never visited before. Like the Capitoline from the night before, this was one of the original Seven Hills of Rome. This one was actually were Romulus and Remus made their home. The Palatine area felt like just an extension of the Roman Forum, only a bit more open and park-like. We took the “Colosseum” exit from the Forum, then grabbed some ice cream (it was really hot) before heading into the Colosseum itself.


The Roman Forum


Palatine Hill


The Colosseum

Once we finished with the Colosseum, we took the Metro from there to Ottaviano, the stop nearest the Vatican. We knew we couldn’t fit in the Vatican Museum on such a short trip, but St. Peter’s is a must see. We purposely came here in the afternoon, when most of the pilgrims who came for the Sunday Blessing in the morning would have moved on to other sites. And, in fact, the line was reasonable and moved fast. We decided to spring the 5 Euros to go to the top (5 to climb all 500+ stairs, 7 to take the elevator part way then take the last 300+ stairs). I had only done this once before, with my mom and Aunt Linda, back when I first visited Rome in 2006, but I remembered that the stairs get pretty narrow. In the beginning, the stairs are wide and we could even walk side-by-side. They become single-file before you arrive at an open area that is above the basilica, but not the dome yet. You then enter the dome, and walk around the inside edge of it, looking down at the HUGE church underneath. When you start climbing from this point you are actually climbing between the inside and outside walls of the dome. So the walls of the stairway are slanted, but only slightly at first, though I could see it giving anyone with vertigo or claustrophobia a bit of trouble. Then it gets a bit more narrow, and you need your hands on the walls, because there is not enough space to walk standing straight. It keeps getting more and more narrow and more and more slanted until you get to the spiral stairway that is the last section. This last part is so narrow I could not have stretched my elbows out (and I’m not particularly long-limbed). There is not even space for a central column for the spiral staircase, there is just a rope than hangs down. But finally, you come out at the very top of the dome, and have the most beautiful view of Rome, out even to the mountains beyond it.


Looking up into the main dome of St. Peter’s Basilica


The view from the very top of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica

At this point it was 6PM, and the Basilica closes at 7PM. So we made our rounds inside, before walking though the piazza, and straight out the opening, in the direction of the river and Castle St. Angelo. We enjoyed the view here, of the river, the fortress, the bridge of angels, and the basilica in the distance for a few minutes before Daniele met us here. He drove us up to Gianicolo Hill where we got another nice view of Rome, now colored by the sunset.


St. Angelo Bridge

We then went to one of my favorite restaurants, MoMo, which seems fancy but has great prices and all of their food is so good. For dessert we decided on a change of venue, and picked up some canonni to-go, which we ate on the Spanish Steps. We took a quick walk up Via Condotti before heading home, tired, but having successfully captured Rome as best as I think possible in just over one day!


Sunset from Gianicolo Hill

All of the pictures from our tourist weekend are here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/+KaitlynHanrahanIsidori/albums/6015594620817086977

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Open House Roma


The courtyard and Italian style gardens inside the Academie Nationale de France, housed in Villa Medici

This weekend Rome had an event, “Open House Roma”, where lots of palaces, churches, and state buildings were open to the public, for free, and with guided tours. Depending on the place, there was one tour, tours every hour, reservations only, or walk-ins allowed. We found out about the even via a poster on our local piazza, then proceeded to forget about it for a few weeks. When we finally remembered and found the website to reserve spots, everything cool was booked solid. Luckily, Italians are pretty flaky as a general rule and enough people did not show up for their free reservations that we had no problem getting in anyway.

We spent the whole day Saturday on foot, walking from our house near Re di Roma, to the Colosseum, to Piazza Venezia, to Villa Borgese, and reverse. So I spent Sunday siting on my butt at my computer to compensate. I had tentatively thought about heading out again and trying to get into the Senate, but it will be open again.


Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano


Roman Forum

The city was really packed. I imagine it is a combination of Spring being a beautiful time of year for a European vacation and that it was the weekend, when more Italian and European visitors make a short trip to Rome. The Pope was also greeting a large group of school children today. And, finally, there was a protest in the afternoon. We did not see the protest (or maybe a parade?) itself and I have been unable to fine any news saying what it was. There are a lot of protests in Rome, so that’s not too surprising. We did pass the after effects: waves of openly smoking young people and drug dealers in a frequency that would have made me double-take even in Golden Gate Park, followed by streets blocked off and littered with trash and broken beer bottles, then finally hordes of police vehicles and geared-up officers who were taping off sections of streets as we got closer to home, were presumably the demonstration was headed but had not yet arrived.


Crowds outside the Colosseum

Our first Open House Roma stop was the French Academy in Rome, or “Académie de France à Rome” as the French call it, or “Accademia di Francia a Roma” as the Italians call it located in Villa Medici (Medici like the family who ruled Florence during the Renaissance). They say this villa is located “inside” Villa Borgese, but it would be more accurate to think of the Borgese and Medici as being neighbors. The Villa is on Pincio Hill, not one of the seven-hills of Rome, because it was outside the sacred wall of Ancient Rome (this was their “country estate”) but it is inside the Aurelian walls (built between 270 and 273 A.D and considered today the boundary of the historical center). While there was a Villa here in Ancient Roman times, what stands today was really built up in the Renaissance. From the Villa Medici website:

Ferdinando de’ Medici (1549-1609), cardinal at the age of 13, collector and sponsor, purchased it in 1576 and asked the Florentine architect Ammannati to build a palace worth the prestige of the Medici family. Devoted to Antiquity, like many of his contemporaries, Ferdinando conceived his Villa representing a museum. He added a gallery where he presented his collection of antique masterpieces. He inserted in the facade a series of antique bas-reliefs. Even the garden was designed in the same spirit of staging, like the botanic gardens of Pisa and Florence designed by his father several years before. Numerous rare species were gathered there, amongst antique statues. Further south, ruins of the Temple of Fortune were overlaid by a belvedere from where one’s sight could embrace the major part of the city and surrounding countryside.

[…]In 1587 Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici was called to Florence to replace Francois the First on the throne of Tuscany. He left the decoration of the Villa partly unfinished. The most precious statues and the comprehensive set of the collections were moved to Florence. The Lorraines, heirs of the Great Duchy of Tuscany sold the Villa in 1803.


The internal facade of the Academie Nationale de France, housed in Villa Medici. Note the Etruscan tombs incorperated into the design

The buyer in 1803 was Napoleon, who turned the Villa into the art academy which it still functions as today under the governance of the office of culture of France. Artists can apply to stay in this peaceful villa in the center of Rome, but silently surrounded by it’s vast 17+ acre gardens, to study their craft and Italian techniques. Originally only students of Art and Architecture could apply, today everything from Music to Culinary Arts are welcome.


A view of the Italian style gardens from the Cardinal’s chambers of the Academie Nationale de France, housed in Villa Medici

Our tour of the Villa started inside, with Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici’s personal apartments– still featuring their ornate furnishings and murals. We then came to the garden where we took in the internal facade. Etruscan tombs are attached to the facade for added decoration; they are actually well incorporated and I would not have realized they were tombs without our guide. This overlooks the classic “Italian Garden” featuring short green shrubs in geometric designs. To the side of this are 16 (four squares of four) perfectly square and equal gardens walled off by tall green shrubs, giving a maze effect. These are being restored to their original Renaissance purposes and some are growing vegetables and grapes. Along the sides of these 16 squares, between them and the Villa wall, are a few outbuildings. One was Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici’s personal studio. It is decorated with a study of all kinds of animals painted on its vaulted ceiling in the main room and a mural featuring different reincarnations of the Villa itself in a smaller room. The windows here were, at the time, a view into the unsettled forest surrounding Rome, now it overlooks the busy street Via del Muro Torto. There is also a staircase leading outside the walls of the Villa, which the Cardinal would have used to meet his secret girlfriends. Another small building is full of Medici busts. As we circle around the 4×4 garden squares, back to the building itself, there is a balcony view over the city, where you can see every major sight in Rome, which would have been very similar (if perhaps a bit less filled in between) in Ferdinando’s time.


View of Rome’s city center from the gardens of the Academie Nationale de France, housed in Villa Medici. Most prominent in the skyline are the Altare della Patria on the left and the dome of the Vatican center-right

More info:
wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Academy_in_Rome
www.villamedici.it
wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Medici

Our second stop on our Open House Roma tour was the Palazzo Venezia. Most tourists stop by Piazza Venezia to see the Altare della Patria (the Alter to Patriotism, some call it “the wedding cake”) which dominates the square. Facing said alter, you could zip off to the left and walk pass the Roman Forum before arriving at the Colosseum, or to the right and arrive at Campidoglio Hill (housing Rome’s City Hall and the Museum Capitolini). Or do an about-face and be looking down Via del Corso, an important landmark in itself having been the location for Rome’s famous Carnival (Mardi Gras) house races and today is a partially-pedestrian street (only buses, taxis, and politicians allowed) housing every brand in Europe. Continue down Via del Corso and you pass some other noble palaces (like Palazzo Doria Pamphilj) and the small streets leading to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps before finishing in Piazza del Popolo. Piazza (and Palazzo) Venezia are about as central as you can get. Even Berlusconi thinks so, he owns a palace just a few yards down from Palazzo Venezia.

You almost wouldn’t notice that there is a little nook to the right of Piazza Venezia which has a different name, Piazza San Marco. Piazza San Marco is, of course, also the name of the main square in Venezia aka Venice. Piazza Venezia and the Altare della Patria are relativity (compared to the age of most landmarks in Rome) new, having been built up from 1911 to 1925.


The Altare della Patria in Piazza Venezia, Rome

It turns out there is history to all of these Venice references in this area, and once again, it comes back to a cardinal. In 1455 Venetian Cardinal Pietro Barbo was put in charge of the church located here, Basilica San Marco. Like most churches, the area in front of it was called piazza same-name, and this is where we get Rome’s Piazza San Marco. Nine years later, he would be named Pope Paul II. He would assign his cardinal-nephew, Marco Barbo, to his old post and enlarge the palace, at this point still called Palazzo San Marco. Several large additions were made. The grandeur was added to by artwork, even murals, which were scavenged from river-side palaces that were being demolished at this time in order to build up the (still in use) embankments. The final palace greatly outshined the basilica it was “supporting”.


Fresco ceiling in Palazzo Venezia that was taken and relocated here from another palazzo, which had to be destroyed to build Rome’s river embankments

In the following years, the palace was used as a summer home for the pope. Then in 1564 the pope (at this point Pius IV Medici) gifted the palace to the Republic of Venice, who in turn, used it as their embassy to Rome. From this point on, the palace became known as the Palace “of” Venice, or Palazzo Venezia.

The palace remained the property of Venice up until Italy unified in 1861. Then in the Treaty of Campo Formio it became the seat of the Austrian Diplomat. In 1910, one of the palace’s gardens was relocated to the other side of the palace to make room for Piazza Venezia (where we started our story). Then in 1916, shortly after completion, the Italian Royalty recovered ownership of the palace and established a museum, which opened in 1921.


View into the courtyard of Palazzo Venezia

The palace took a major turn from 1929 to 1943, when it served as the headquarters for the Italian Fascist government. They say they never turned the lights out, so the people would know their government was always working for them. We got to see Mussolini’s room, which was styled in a somewhat tacky zodiac design painted in a far inferior manor to the Renaissance works housed in the adjacent rooms. His final mistress (there were many, along with two different wives), Clara Petacci, apparently liked astronomy.


Zodiac themed ceiling in the room used by Mussolini and his Astrology-loving mistress, in Palazzo Venezia

After World War II, the palace reopened as a museum once again. Notably, there is an impressive collection of ceramics, ranging from early Asian-inspired designs to later works with a stronger European identity, no longer trying to imitate the original Asian styles. Not to mention the walls filled with paintings and the palace itself.


The marble stairway in Palazzo Venezia

More info:
www.museopalazzovenezia.beniculturali.it

If I had to compare the two, it would be difficult. Villa Medici has impressive gardens and still a beautiful interior. It is difficult to reconcile of such a large private open space sitting in the middle of a busy capital city. Palazzo Venezia is in the very heart of the city and even more grand inside– there is a large marble staircase, and room upon room of Renaissance art. Villa Medici, as the house of the French Academy, has no lack of art either, but it is mostly modern works hung on plain white walls, with a few exceptions. Both have made an effort to restore or maintain the Renaissance styles of their peak. Really, I would be happy to live in either one.

Pictures: https://plus.google.com/photos/+KaitlynHanrahanIsidori/albums/6012308555556852785

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Castello Santa Severa

Yesterday (actually yesterday, not uploading months old posts for once), Daniele and I visited the Castle of Santa Severa. The castle has changed hands many times, and now the town of Santa Severa* owns it and opened it for the week, by appointment, to see about making it into an open tourist attraction.

*Note, Santa Severa is not a town or “commune” in its own right. It is a “frazione” or borough of Santa Marinella, composed of a few grouped together houses. A clear distinction in Italy where every “commune” has certain amenities (the town hall, police station, train and/or bus station, post office, church, and almost certainly a bar, pizzeria, and tabacchi) and always a town center where you find most of these.

In true Italian style, the castle is a mix of structures all build on top of each other. The oldest date from 5th to 4th millennium B.C. — that’s millennium, not a typo. The location leads to people wanting to live there. The castle sits on its own micro-peninsula sticking out into the sea, with sandy beaches to the right, and rocks that were probably placed there to slow erosion to the left. Our guide said that they estimate the land used to stick out another mile, because they have found remnants that far out. It is easy to understand erosion being a concern for any sea-front castle owner.

The history of the castle is not very clear since it dates to prehistoric times. The consensus is that the area was frequented dating back to 5th to 4th millennium B.C. There are excavations dating from the Neolithic Period (7th to 6th millennium B.C.), the Bronze Age (2 millennium B.C.), and the Iron Age (9th to 8th century B.C.).

We know a little more about the Etruscan Period. The Etruscans were a civilization based in Tuscany from 7th to 6th century B.C. that evolved along with and were later conquered by the Ancient Romans. I first learned about them during my Volterra visit in 2010. In Etruscan times, the place was called Pyrgi and served as a commercial port connecting to all of the Mediterranean, especially Greece and Phoenicia. This Etruscan port mostly supported (and vice-versa) the nearby city of Caere, modern day Cerveteri. A very ancient sanctuary with temples to Apollo and a few other deities was also found outside of the residential area, which spread about 25 acres. Some important relics were found here, one of which is three tablets written in both Etruscan and Punic, proving the strong relationship between the Etruscans of Ceveteri and Cartharage.

Romans dominated the area beginning in 3rd century B.C. Pyrgi became a maritime colony and a huge rectangular fortress was built, surrounded by polygonal wall. These were built on top of the Etruscan and prehistoric structures. This fortress continued to be used until 5th to 6th century A.D. (the Late-Ancient Period). It is believed that the structure was transformed to an important villa by this time. Also in the Late-Ancient Period, an early Christian church was build next to the port dedicated to Santa Severa. Santa Severa was a Pygrese martyr in the third century A.D. This early Christian church was only just discovered in excavations in 2007.

Santa Severa continued to develop on top of the older structures. During the Medieval and Renaissance periods, the village occupied only a quarter of the Roman fortress and had become a huge farming estate as well as a stopover port between Rome and Civitivechia (today where most cruse ships come in to visit Rome).

All of this history and building on top of things lead to a piecemeal fortress-style castle, not a palace like Versailles by any means. I kept low expectations of a pretty simple stone structure going in, and I was pleasantly surprised by what we found. There is a very castle-like Keep in the center, with towers and battlements. There are also impressive frescoes in the two “newer” churches and dug out excavations of the oldest church– an early christian structure build on the remains of an Ancient Roman villa, a grain refinery turned graveyard with evidence of grave robbing, and a secret stairway with direct access to the beach. The whole structure reminded me very much of all of the medieval hill towns here in Lazio that we frequently visit. Which makes sense, since ancient castles were basically walled-in towns. The main difference here being that this entire structure, which could be a small town, has been in the ownership of a single body since at least Ancient Roman times.

Now that the castle is in the hands of the town, the idea is to open it to the public. This week was a bit of an experiment along those lines. I’m not sure about the time-line on those goals or if the idea is to just open it up or keep the guided tour structure. There are already some shops in one of the three courtyards before passing the door where our tour began. We were told no one is allowed past that door unaccompanied. And I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed all of the sites within without our guide, who lucky for me spoke very clear Italian. He was one of the archeologists involved in the actual excavation of Castle Santa Severa and was able to point out all of the cool little things that I would have missed without him. You can follow along our tour with my heavily captioned photos.

We rounded off the day with lunch on the beach in front of the castle. We stayed on the rocky side since the sandy part looked a bit damp. The beach here has been open to the public and a popular spot all along. In fact it had been on our list of beaches to try out for quite some time before Daniele heard about the castle opening. After, we finished with a visit to the neighboring town of Santa Marinella before it started to rain and we headed home.

Photos from the day: https://plus.google.com/photos/+KaitlynHanrahanIsidori/albums/6008215300922876865

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Gathering Chestnuts

Daniele’s family gathers chestnuts every fall to enjoy in winter. They go to a forest-like park where they know chestnut trees grow and gather garbage bags worth of them.

This fall Daniele, his father Giulio, and I went to gather them. There has been an infection on the chestnut trees in Italy with a bug from Asia. Some of Giulio’s friends failed to find any chestnuts at all, but Guilio knows all the places and brought us to a place where there were less than past years, but still as many as we could want to gather up off the floor.

I had never gathered chestnuts before, so I didn’t know how it was done. We used a basket to throw them in as we went and several backpacks to transfer our hoard to when the basket gets full. The chestnuts themselves grow in little clusters, that remind me of garlic, the way they are shaped and grouped. The clusters are enclosed in a spiny shell, that is already opened and we toss aside wearing gloves.

The chestnuts covered the ground like a blanket, and the sound or more falling punctuated the quiet forest. But there are rules to which ones you take. Most obviously, you toss any with little holes in them; that means there are worms inside. It is hard to see these little holes and we had to toss many after we got home and could see them better. Once or twice we missed the worm hole and ended up with little toasty grubs alongside our chestnuts. Good news is you would never accidentally eat one of these worms. If he didn’t run out of his roasting nut-house in the oven, you would see him when you broke the nut open to eat.

The second rule is you should go down into the forest farther to gather the bigger nuts. Giulio says the bigger nuts are heavier and end up collecting farther down. Daniele and I were so mesmerized picking up all the chestnuts on our way down, that we never made it as far down as him. And, in fact, Giulio had much nicer, bigger, chestnuts at the end of the day.

What do we do with all of these chestnuts? The classic way to eat them is roasted in the oven after a meal– especially on a cold night. You cut a slit into the heard but meaty chestnut, then put it in the oven at 180 Celsius for maybe 20 minutes. They become a little darker, and soft or a little wilted looking. And then you make conversation while casually ripping them open and popping them in your mouth. You may only drink wine (red, normally) with your chestnuts, because water will swell your stomach. Chestnuts behave a bit like bread or rice in this way. In fact, chestnut flour is very common here in Italy.

We had so many, we looked up other things to do with them. Daniele made a delicious soup with chestnuts and porcini mushrooms. It was too much work to do often though. He had to roast the nuts, peal them, blend them, then make the rest of the soup.

Daniele’s mother says you can’t freeze them and have them still be good, but maybe it could work if you cook them first then freeze them after. We didn’t try it, because we were ready for a break from chestnuts when the end of the “season” arrived. I’m looking forward to next year’s though!

Some pictures from our adventure:
https://plus.google.com/photos/+KaitlynHanrahanIsidori/albums/6013737054044279473

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Terme di Saturnia

Day trip with Daniele to Tuscan hot springs of Cascate del Gorello in Terme di Saturnia in the morning. Followed by visiting towns of Saturnia (Frazione di Manciano), Montemarano, and Tarquina in the afternoon.

Yesterday Daniele and I took a day trip two-hours north to some Tuscan hot springs, the Terme di Saturnia. There are a few spots, both open to the public and private pay-to-enter places to enjoy these Terme. We went to the public Cascate del Gorello (Cascate is Italian for waterfall). These are natural forming pools, similar to Bagni San Filipo, Castiglione d’Orcia also in Tuscany where we stayed in 2011. The alternative is man-built (or more likely Ancient-Roman-built) pools, like the ones in Viterbo. Where as Castiglione d’Orcia was a giant mound of calcium carbonate fit better for sun bathing as the water splashed by the smooth surface, the Cascate del Gorello were many small waterfalls each making a little pool with a whirlpool-like effect.

We headed out early (6 AM) to arrive at the Terme around 8 AM. Daniele had read it gets crowded, especially in the Summer. This is March, but it was also a Saturday. Personally, I think March is the perfect time to go. In the dead of winter I couldn’t stand getting out, and in the hot summer, I don’t think I would want to go in. There were only a few (~4) people already there, one other couple and some people alone who looked like “regulars”.

We struggled for a little leaving our bag. We knew this moment was coming and had packed as light as possible reading that cars get broken into (like everywhere in Italy). Being there almost first we had a very good parking spot and we could choose anywhere to put our stuff, we put them on a mount of dirt I could see from almost anywhere in the waterfalls. An older couple that arrived as we were struggling with this, walked past us and put their stuff on the one hook. Clearly regulars. As more and more people arrived and everyone left their stuff more or less near ours and it felt safer.

The waterfalls couldn’t have been formed better. The river flows down in a more forceful waterfall at the top, then into dozens of small and medium sized pools. The ones farther down are calmer and later on there were families with children down there. In the middle the water flowing into each pool from the one above makes it like a jacuzzi, and most people lean up against the back of that wall so the water runs over their shoulders. At the top there are a few spots where you can sit and let the more powerful waterfall pound away and your back. I sat here at the end, it was amazing.

We stayed at the Terme from a bit after 8 AM until a bit after noon. On the road down we had stopped to take a picture of the waterfalls from above at a view point and noticed there was a little picnic / rest area there. So we returned there to have the lunch we packed. You can see it is much more crowded now.

After lunch we went to check out the little town of Saturnia. These were Terme di Saturnia after all. Saturnia is pretty small, in fact it is not a city in its own right, it is sort of a suburb of another city. Italians call this a Frazione. Saturnia is a frazione of Manciano, where we did not visit. Daniele spent a large amount of the time there complaining how the people of Tuscany turn everything into a tourist sight, and how even a little town like this with nothing to see has 15 “brown signs”.


View of private terme from center of Saturnia (Frazione di Manciano).

Next we went to the nearby city of Montemarano. Montemarano is really, really pretty. All the buildings here have the stone exposed, with cement holding them together, opposed to the more popular today stucco / cement siding. It was very charming. Thinking more about our water adventures (and the possibility of a car break in) than our afternoon walking around little Tuscan towns I didn’t have my good camera, just my waterproof point-and-shoot. Since I use this camera less often, I didn’t realize the battery was about to go dead, which it did shortly after we arrived here.

As sort of a random idea we made a quick stop on the way home in the city of Tarquina. This is just on the Lazio side of the boarder near Civitavecchia (where cruse ships come into Rome). Tarquina was the head city of the 12 that encompassed the Etruscan civilization (an important power in Italy overlapping and then consumed by early Ancient Romans). I got to know my Etruscan history staying in Volterra a little while back. The city is larger than the other two we visited today, but still charming. It had spread out beyond the walls of the historical center quite a bit, though we didn’t explore that much. What was really amazing is that you could see the Mediterranean from this ancient hill town. Many old cities are on the sea, but this one didn’t feel like a beach town, it felt like a hill town. We didn’t have time to see the beach there, but I would like to go back. This is only an hour away and there is a UNESCO World Heritage site there we didn’t get to see either.

We got home around 6 PM. Which gave us time to shower, unpack our things, clean up a bit, and heat up the frozen pizza I had specifically bought for tonight (don’t judge, this is a once in a blue moon, also it’s artichoke and ricotta in puff pastry, and it’s delicious!). We were both exhausted (and delightfully tanned) from our four-hours simmering in the Terme.

The rest of the photos from this day trip:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111221349198606775660/albums/5859007497821517137

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Coronation Pope Francesco

It was pretty big news here in Rome, and everywhere, last month when Benedict XVI put in notice. It happened really fast, he announced on 11 February that his last day would be 28 February. I was mostly excited that I would be here in Rome for the Conclave. Unfortunately, conclave takes place over a period of time and you never know when the cardinals are going to come to consensus and send out that white smoke. They happened to decide very quickly, conclave started 12 March and they decided 13 March. I missed it. I watched on TV like everyone else, as they announced Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina Pope Francis, or Papa Francesco (after St. Francis of Assisi).

I was able to plan on being in the Vatican for the coronation of Papa Francesco. They call it a coronation from when the Pope was the ruler of the “Stato Pontificio” comprised of modern Lazio, Umbria, Marche, and southern-eastern Emilia-Romania. The new pope would hold a mass, which is special because the pope almost never does the mass, he just does the blessing.

We filled into St. Peter’s Square, passing through security. The square was crowded, but we were able to enter. There were walk ways fenced off separating large areas for the crowds. The round piazza is a bit bowl shaped, presumably for water drainage, however it is not the best design for a stadium-type event.

Before things kicked off, Papa Francesco took a few laps around the crowds on an open top vehicle of some sort. Everyone was going nuts trying to rush to the fence where he was. The only time I saw him get down was near what I referred to as “Campo Argentina”, there were supposedly some disabled people or children there.

The first part of the mass/ceremony took place inside of St Peter’s Cathedral. It was pretty short and we had big screens to view it. The procession leaving the cathedral to the altar set up just outside was rather impressive. There are a lot of cardinals. They all had on their matching robes and were just generally impressive.

The mass was pretty normal. As mentioned, there was an altar set up just outside the doors to the Cathedral. There was an amazing choir to the left, along with the other clergy. The diplomats were seated to the right. Pope Frank gave a great speech on how we are not just Christians, but humans and doing good in the world. This was also the mass of San Giuseppe (Italian Father’s Day), many people had books that they were following along with the mass and songs. I didn’t get one until the mass was over.

I admit I was a bit lost in the mass, as it was in Latin/Italian opposed to my more comfortable English/Latin mass, though I probably understood better than most of the crowd (minus the Italians). Where as the every Wednesday Vatican blessing is repeated in several languages, very few parts were done in multiple languages.

At one point soft yellow and blue (the colors of Argentina) umbrellas seemed to almost be floating down where I knew the fenced off corridors to be. This was shortly after the “peace be with you” bit which was surprisingly fun as no two people I shook hands with said the same thing back to me. Right around then there was also a lot of shuffling in front of me and I took the opportunity to get closer. Then I saw there was a yellow and blue umbrella just in front of us, and beneath it a priest giving communion… duh. Though not that big a ‘duh’ because they normally don’t give communion out in the square. In fact, Daniele says he’s never heard of it.

Obviously at this point the mass was almost over, but I had a really great spot now! I hung around for a little hoping that Papa Francesco might make another round and we could spend more quality time together. But as that looked less likely I asked the Swiss Guard in front of me if anything else was planed, and it was not, so I headed out.

Pictures from the mass:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111221349198606775660/albums/5857941830730346881

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Rome at the Holidays

This year I came back to Rome right after Christmas. This allowed me to spend New Years with my sweetie and to see the holiday decorations in Rome that I normally miss. They strictly take them down after Epiphany. They put trees up in most of the big piazzas but their big thing are the Nativity scenes.

We started with an old special Nativity that was made by the garbageman. It is called the “Presepe dei Netturbini”. It is actually open all year long, so coming this time of year when there is a line to get in may not have been the best idea. It is made to look like Jerusalem and incorporates pieces of rock from all over the world.

Next we went to Saint Peter’s Square (the Vatican) where they had both a beautiful tree and nativity. Different countries in Europe alternate donating the tree to the Vatican. This year the tree came from Southern Italy. It was lit during a ceremony on December 14th. After the holidays the wood is donated to several groups that manufacture toys for children in need.

The nativity at Saint Peter’s Square this year was modeled after Basilicata in Southern Italy, from where it was made and donated. It was very impressive. It had just been revealed Christmas Eve.

The city of Rome also decorated most of its streets with lights. Including a ribbon of lights down Via Del Corso and lamps down the high-end shopping street Via Condotti. Different shops alternate sponsoring the lamps on Condotti, this year they were from Mercedes who also put up a tree at the head of the street where it intersects Via del Corso. Fendi, who have their giant store at the location also have a tree there made of baguette bags. Most of the little side streets in the historical center are decorated as well.


Ribbon of lights down Via Del Corso


Mercedes lamps down the high-end shopping street Via Condotti. That’s the Spanish Steps at the end.


Mercedes tree at Via Condotti and Via del Corso


Fendi tree at Via Condotti and Via del Corso

Piazza del Spagna (Spanish Steps) was probably the most impressive. The church at the top was all lit up and there was a giant tree with a nativity below. Approaching it by way of the sparkling Via Condotti made it all the more magical.

Nativity under the tree at Piazza del Spagna

We didn’t think there was anything at Piazza del Popolo, but walking through there on our way home we found another tree!

We came back for another round on Saturday, January 5. We still hadn’t seen all the big piazzas and that night they would be having Epiphany celebrations in Piazza Navona, so I could check that out, too.

We started with Campidoglio Hill. They had a tree and a small detailed nativity behind glass. They were also setting up another life-size nativity that would be revealed the next day as part of the Epiphany celebrations along with a concert I gathered. But we weren’t free Sunday to come back.

We went next to the Colosseum. I just can’t get used to turning a corner and seeing the Colosseum no matter how long I’m here.

From there we headed to Piazza Navona where it was full of people. Full. Navona is possibly the largest piazza in Rome. It is the ovular one with the three fountains, the middle one is themed after the four great known (at the time) rivers. It is the one they used to flood and stage naval battles in– a big piazza. Along the sides there were vendors selling donut-like sweets and cotton candy, as well as toys and La Befana dolls.

A side note on the history and Italian traditions of Epiphany. While in the United States the Christmas Season is unofficially observed from Thanksgiving to Christmas day, in Italy on the other hand it is very officially observed from Christmas Eve night through Epiphany (January 6). These “Twelve Days of Christmas” are a celebration of the period from Christ’s birth through the visit of the Magi / Three Kings / Three Wise Men. While you may have a Christmas party with coworkers or friends before this 12 day period, generally Christmas and its decorations and hoopla don’t ooze too much out of it. This period is almost immediately followed by the start of Carnevale celebrations, which we in the US are completely lacking or think of as a single Tuesday. Perhaps that’s why we like to make Christmas a month long.

Italian Epiphany traditions are largely aimed at children, and having grown up in the US I can’t describe them first hand. What I have gathered is there is a type of witch named La Befana who is neither good nor bad. She enters children’s homes from the chimney and leaves them candy or small toys in their stockings; bad children get coal.

A few days later we happened to be in Saint Peter’s Cathedral and we saw they had a Nativity set up inside besides the one set up out in the piazza. It was so crowded and the photo can’t do it justice, it was the most beautiful we saw.

The complete album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111221349198606775660/albums/5836296191021293377

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Rome Summer 2012

I’m just finishing another round in Rome. This trip was a bit shorter because I have to return to NJ for my Italian citizenship appointment, which I’ve had for a year and could not be moved. After that I’ll be state-side until 2013.

I wanted to give a recap of the trip. I was here July 24 through September 17, so only a month and a half really.

We went to the beach any day off we had. Last year we went to Ostia more, which is “Rome’s beach”. It’s a bit crowded there, but they have a great gelateria! This year we mostly went to Fregene, which is a bit north, so easier for us. It’s considered a bit more high class, for whatever reason. I liked it because I like walking around the area and looking at the beautiful villas. However there are less shops, so we pack our own lunch to come here.

We also made it into the center pretty often. Went to happy hours, markets, or just walked around taking pictures. Along the river in the summer temporary bars, restaurants, and markets set up. They are open late at night and light up the whole river. Daniele has been going a bit crazy buying happy hours and dinners on online coupon sites.


Rome’s “Isola Tiberina” all lit up for summer

There is always a lot going on in summer. We were able to organize Daniele’s friends Gerlano and Valentina as well as family for dinners and different things. We went to Magic Land, a medieval kingdom themed park. And we had a nice BBQ picnic for Ferragosto, a holiday the 15th of August.


Gerlando and Daniele at the BBQ

The big thing we did was take two back to back mini-vacations to Umbria. First to stay with cousins, second just for a weekend away. I wrote about those already is separate posts.

All in all a pretty good summer and a good trip, even though it had to be so short.

Next up is a two-week stop back home in NJ. I have that citizenship appointment, my birthday, a bunch of wedding stuff to do (including bridesmaid dress shopping), and a few family parties. Then I’m off to San Francisco for October!

The full photo album from this trip:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111221349198606775660/20120724Roma#