As some know, we have a collection of museum coffee mugs. This week, while we were in London, we added new mugs to remember our visits to The National Gallery and Tate Modern.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
New Museum Mugs
As some know, we have a collection of museum coffee mugs. This week, while we were in London, we added new mugs to remember our visits to The National Gallery and Tate Modern.
Churches Seen in London
London has many churches, although only a fraction of the number of churches one can find in Rome.
This is Christ Church, in the neighborhood of Brent, down the street from where we stayed and across the street from the bus stop where we waited for our trips into central London.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square. The current building was designed by James Gibbs and built in 1721. I have had many musical recordings by the orchestra of this church.
This church image is part of a mural in the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station.
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This is the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, known to the world as Westminster Abbey. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial for British monarchs. (We all remember Princess Dianna's funeral that was held here in 1997.
St. Paul’s Cathedral was designed by the court architect Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
And last but not least, this is the gate to Lambeth Palace on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Parliament. Lambeth Palace has been the historic London residence of Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13th century. Today it is the London home and offices of Rowan Williams, the current Archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Anglican Communion.
This is Christ Church, in the neighborhood of Brent, down the street from where we stayed and across the street from the bus stop where we waited for our trips into central London.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square. The current building was designed by James Gibbs and built in 1721. I have had many musical recordings by the orchestra of this church.
This church image is part of a mural in the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station..
This is the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, known to the world as Westminster Abbey. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial for British monarchs. (We all remember Princess Dianna's funeral that was held here in 1997.
St. Paul’s Cathedral was designed by the court architect Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
And last but not least, this is the gate to Lambeth Palace on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Parliament. Lambeth Palace has been the historic London residence of Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13th century. Today it is the London home and offices of Rowan Williams, the current Archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Anglican Communion.
Remembrance Sunday - Veteran's Day
Today is Remembrance Sunday... the Sunday closest to November 11th, which in the United States is Veteran's Day. It is a time that commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on November 11th to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. (World War I was formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
We just returned from London where we witnessed preparations for today. Paper poppies were being worn by many people and on Friday we saw the preparations for the unveiling of a new military statue in Trafalgar Square.
We also saw this protest against war being staged in the park next to Westminster Cathedral and the British Parliament Building.
Today in Rome there was a large exhibition of the Italian military in the Circus Maximus. It included displays from all branches of the country's armed services. The ruins of homes of Roman emperors on the Palatine Hill are in the background.
The use of a poppy for Remembrance Day is from the Canadian poem "In Flanders Fields." Poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I and their red color is an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of war.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)
We just returned from London where we witnessed preparations for today. Paper poppies were being worn by many people and on Friday we saw the preparations for the unveiling of a new military statue in Trafalgar Square.
We also saw this protest against war being staged in the park next to Westminster Cathedral and the British Parliament Building.
Today in Rome there was a large exhibition of the Italian military in the Circus Maximus. It included displays from all branches of the country's armed services. The ruins of homes of Roman emperors on the Palatine Hill are in the background.
The use of a poppy for Remembrance Day is from the Canadian poem "In Flanders Fields." Poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I and their red color is an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of war.
This is a field of poppies in Puglia.
In the background are olive trees, symbols of peace!
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Artichokes - Carciofi
This week I noticed at a neighborhood vegetable stand that there were two types of artichokes for sale. Atichokes from Sardenia were 90 cents and ones from Puglia were €1. I asked the shopkeeper about her artichokes and she explained that the “Roman artichokes” are only available in the spring. (That is when the green market near our house has them for sale at about one-fourth of the price.)
I discovered that artichokes were know in Rome before the time of the Caesars and were an expensive specialty. They became popular in Naples in the 15th Century and, from there, spread to Florence and Venice. Catherine de Medici introduced the artichoke to the French Court in 1633 when she married King Henry IV. By the end of that century, it was widely cultivated in Italy, Spain, and France. (Artichokes were introduced by the Spanish to California during the 1700s.)
There are two varieties of artichoke. The one I was familiar with before moving to Rome was conical shaped. We just eat the heart and the tips of the leaves. The Italian varieties of artichokes are globed shaped. Here we eat the entire artichoke. (In Rome you can order fried artichokes, which are delicious!)
I discovered that artichokes were know in Rome before the time of the Caesars and were an expensive specialty. They became popular in Naples in the 15th Century and, from there, spread to Florence and Venice. Catherine de Medici introduced the artichoke to the French Court in 1633 when she married King Henry IV. By the end of that century, it was widely cultivated in Italy, Spain, and France. (Artichokes were introduced by the Spanish to California during the 1700s.)
There are two varieties of artichoke. The one I was familiar with before moving to Rome was conical shaped. We just eat the heart and the tips of the leaves. The Italian varieties of artichokes are globed shaped. Here we eat the entire artichoke. (In Rome you can order fried artichokes, which are delicious!)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween
It's Halloween in Rome!
This is my third Halloween in Rome, and each year it has become more popular among school aged kids. This year there were many more Halloween items for sale in the neighborhood stores.
At Ambrit Rome International School we had a pumpkin carving contest. The Italian pumpkins have very hard shells, so some entries were creatively painted instead of carved.
My class decorated several dozen pumpkin shaped cookies for a bake sale to raise money for an orphanage in Haiti. (I think the kids bought back more than half of the cookies that they had decorated!)
All but two of my students wore costumes to school.
Calcata: a town that used to be the home of Catholicism's "strangest relic"
A recently published book by David Farley, An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town, was a birthday present in September and the motivation to take an October weekend trip to Calcata, about 45 km north of Rome. We did not arrive in the town until after dark, and had to walk in to the medieval strong hold after parking our car about .5 km away. We were greeted by a lively village just settling in for dinner. We found ourselves in the Grotta dei Germogli, a mosaic filled cave serving delicious food in an atmosphere filled with friends and folk music.
After dinner we enjoyed some time in the pizza listening to music (and dancing) until about midnight. We were able to get a very comfortable room for the night from Marijcke van der Maden, a Dutch puppet-maker, who came to Calcata in the early ’80s. We had cappuccino with her on Sunday morning and met some of the other "locals."
Before lunch we explored the narrow winding cobblestone streets. Calcata is actually a heavily fortified village, sitting atop of rock column. The only entrance into the town is by foot, and after entering the gate you ascend a winding passageway to the small piazza and town center. People say that it is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Italy.
The town was condemned by the goverment in the 1930s because it was deemed to be unsafe because of what could happen in future earthquakes danger, After many delays the inhabitants were moved in the 1960's to a new town about 1 km up the adjoining hill. In the late 1960's and 1970's bohemians (from Italy and around the world) started to inhabit the empty medieval structures and the town was reborn as an artists haven with restaurants and art galleries. (The new inhabitants even convinced the government that the assessment of earthquake danger was wrong.)
Today there are about 75 inhabitants in Calcata and it is a popular weekend destination for young Romans. There were probably 200 visitors wandering around the town on Sunday.
David Farley wrote about searching for the Church's strangest relic. The story goes that after the Sack of Rome in 1527, a German soldier, running away from Rome, ended up in Calcata with a relic he had stolen from San Giovanni Laterano. It was nothing less than the Santo Prepucio, the foreskin of Jesus. But, the Holy Foreskin mysteriously disappeared 4 centuries later in 1983. (Marijcke told us that she had seen the reliquiry in processions when she first moved to Calcata and she suspects that the Vatican took it.)
Today there are about 75 inhabitants in Calcata and it is a popular weekend destination for young Romans. There were probably 200 visitors wandering around the town on Sunday.
David Farley wrote about searching for the Church's strangest relic. The story goes that after the Sack of Rome in 1527, a German soldier, running away from Rome, ended up in Calcata with a relic he had stolen from San Giovanni Laterano. It was nothing less than the Santo Prepucio, the foreskin of Jesus. But, the Holy Foreskin mysteriously disappeared 4 centuries later in 1983. (Marijcke told us that she had seen the reliquiry in processions when she first moved to Calcata and she suspects that the Vatican took it.)
Churches of Calcata
The town of Calcata has three churches. The Church of Santissimo Nome di Gesù, dating from the 14th century and restored in 1793 is on the piazza in the old town. Paolo Portugese designed a new church for Calcata Nuova that was dedicated this year to St. Cyprian and Pope St. Cornelius. In between these two churches is a small chapel dedicated to Santa Maria della Cava.
Interior with a reproduction of a painting of Christ by Antonella da Messina in the space formerly occupied by the reliquiry of the Santo Prepucio.
Floral offerings (real and plastic) before the image of the Madonna behind the altar.
Patrons of Calcata
St. Cyprian of Carthage and Pope St. Cornelius were contemporaries and allies, and they share a feast day, September 16. They also share the job of being the patrons of Calcata. Pope St. Cornelius died in exile at the port of Rome in September, 253. Because he suffered so much as pope, he is considered a martyr. St. Cyprian died five years later during the persecution of Valerian. He was beheaded at Carthage on September 14, 258.
Chiesa Santissimo Nome di Gesù
Interior with a reproduction of a painting of Christ by Antonella da Messina in the space formerly occupied by the reliquiry of the Santo Prepucio.Chiesa Santa Maria della Cave
Floral offerings (real and plastic) before the image of the Madonna behind the altar.Chiesa SS. Cornelia e Cipriano
Patrons of Calcata
St. Cyprian of Carthage and Pope St. Cornelius were contemporaries and allies, and they share a feast day, September 16. They also share the job of being the patrons of Calcata. Pope St. Cornelius died in exile at the port of Rome in September, 253. Because he suffered so much as pope, he is considered a martyr. St. Cyprian died five years later during the persecution of Valerian. He was beheaded at Carthage on September 14, 258.
These are the statues of the saints in the old church.
These are the statues in the new church.
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