Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

The last time I was in the Vatican Museums was 1971, until last Thursday. During 1970-71 I was living in Rome and enrolled at the Rome Center of Loyola University of Chicago as a 3rd year university student. Last week there was a grand reunion representing all classes who have attended the Rome Center and this occasion opened the door for an "after hours" private tour. 150 of us visited parts of the Museum and the Sistine Chapel.

Apollo Belvedere

Marble copy of a lost bronze original

made between 350 and 500 BC

This was one of the artworks looted from Rome by Napoleon and formed part of the collection of the Louvre. After the fall of Napoleon, the Apollo was repatriated to the Vatican.

The Belvedere Torso

Traditionally identified as Hercules from the 1st century BC

Legend has it that Pope Julius II requested that Michelangelo Buonarotti complete the statue fragment with arms, legs and a face. He respectfully declined, stating that it was too beautiful to be altered, and instead used it as the inspiration for the majority of the figures in the Sistine Chapel.

A nearly empty Sistine Chapel

Mother's Day

Today is la festa della mamma (Mother's Day) in Italy and other parts of the world. In honor of Dorothy, my mother, and Joany, the mother of Emily and Peter, I share this image of a Madonna and Child painted on the side of a building in Garbatella, the Roman neighborhood where I live.

Garbatella on a Sunday Afternoon

This afternoon I went a couple blocks from our home to get a picture of some graffiti that greets people upon entering Garbatella on one of the roads from the Basilica of San Paolo Outside the Walls.

I was on my way to view some temporary murals installed on the sides of buildings here in Garbatella.

The works are part of OUTDOOR, an open air urban art exhibition.

This is the first Italian exhibition of street art on occupied public buildings. It continues until June 15, 2010.

Sunday Market

Sunday is a day that markets are usually closed in Rome. However, there is a market on Vis San Theodoro near the Circus Maximus that is only open on Saturdays and Sundays.

This market features produce and products

from Lazio, the Regione of Rome.

I brought home some potatoes, salad, and strawberrys.

May 1: Italian Labor Day

Saturday was Italy's Labor Day. The markets and stores were closed and workers enjoyed the sunny day at parks and the sea. Not too far from our home, in the piazza in front of the Basilica of San Giovanni Laterano, there was an all day (and night) concert.

For May Day picnics a traditional food is fava beans and pecorino cheese. Romans will just set out the fava beans in their pods with a hunk of pecorino cheese. Each person opens the pods for themselves and eats the raw beans with a piece of cheese, probably washed down with some white wine.

Last night we went to a restaurant on the Janiculum Hill and I had their pasta of the day: Schiaffoni with fava beans, pecorino cheese and pancetta. It was delicious!

Schiaffoni comes from the word "schiaffeggiare," which means "to slap." Because of its bulky size, the noodle tends to slap the sauce around on the plate, giving it the name schiaffoni.

Swimming at the Vatican...almost

A few months ago I started swimming in the pool of the Pontifical Oratorio San Paolo. It is connected to the Patriarcal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and is an extraterritorial zone of the Holy See. That means it is technically not Italy, but part of Vatican City, under the jurisdiction of the pope. The facility was built during the pontificate of Paul VI. (Rumor has it that Swiss Guards swim in the pool on Sunday afternoons.)

This is my swim suit. As you can see, it is "Italian Style," with not much more fabric than my swim cap!

Happy Birthday Rome - student celebration

Today Grade 5 joined with Grade 1 for a birthday party to celebrate the founding of the city of Rome. (Both grades just completed a unit of inquiry based on Ancient Rome.) We made paper laurel crowns for party hats, and "reclined" on the floor to enjoy typical Roman treats of bread, apples and grapes.

First graders made an altar dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, the three gods who had their temple on the Capitoline Hill above the ancient Forum. On top of the altar were gifts to the gods, celebrating the founding of Rome on April 21, 753 BC.

Today was also the 11th birthday of Edda in my class. Her dad brought a cake to school for Edda to share with her classmates. The baker wrote on the top that it was for Rome and Edda!