Advent Calendar: Roman Door 3

Door to the Collegio Romano. This school was built by the Jesuits in the late 16th Century. This was the first of hundreds of Jesuit schools and universities around the world, including Loyola Marymount, my alma mater, Fordham University in New York City, and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. When the Italian state annexed Rome in 1870, it took over the school. It is now a city high school.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together;for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
From Handel's Messiah: Part I

Chorus

Advent Calendar: Roman Door 2

Bronze Doors of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. These 3rd Century AD doors were installed in this basilica during the mid-17th Century renovations carried out by Francesco Borromini. He took them from the ancient Senate Building (called the Curia) in the Roman Forum. There are now copies of these doors on the Senate Building.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight and the rough places plain.
From Handel's Messiah: Part I

Tenor Air

Advent Calendar: Roman Door 1

Last year I enjoyed posting a daily Advent Calendar of Roman windows. This year I will continue with an Advent Calendar of Roman doors. I remember enjoying Advent Calendars as a child and I shared them over the years with my own kids, Emily and Peter. Each day in December we looked forward to opening a little door and revealing a picture, and sometimes a verse, relating to Christmas. I hope you will enjoy these doors of Rome. 

This is the door to our apartment building on Piazza Oderico da Pordenone. Vincenzo is bringing in a fig tree for our balcony. Soon we will be bringing in a Christmas Tree!

Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make straight in the desert a
highway for our God.
From Handel's Messiah: Part I

Recitative

Lunedì Letterario

Rome

(Pallas Guide)
By Mauro Lucentini
(and his wife Paola, and sons Eric and Jack)
2006

This 700+ page guide, originally published in German and Italian, has replaced Georgina Masson's Companion Guide to Rome as my "Birdwalking Bible." Lucentini has organized the book (and the exploration of Rome) into a series of eleven "themed" walks, with numerous detours, as well as information about over a dozen places outside the walls. Each walk has two sections: one to read at home before you go, and the other to read on the spot. This allows the reader to absorb background information before going to visit someplace, and then to be presented with the relevant facts about each site on the spot without being overwhelmed with information that would be needed to explain it thoroughly.

During December I am using this book as my primary resource for obtaining information about the doors of Rome that I am sharing on this year's Advent Calendar.

Only in Italy: Parliament and Survivor

The April elections in Italy brought many changes to government, one of which was the defeat of parliament menber Vladimir Luxuria, the first transgender person to serve in the Italian parliament. This week, the actress-politician, who once famously traded her sequined costumes for more sober ensembles in which to conduct the nation's business, was voted the winner of Italy's "L'Isola dei Famosi" ("Celebrity Island"), a survival-themed reality program. As the winner she got €100,000, half of which she is donating to UNICEF.

The reality show, imported from the U.S. program "Survivor," took place on the beaches of Honduras over the course of six weeks and completed broadcasting last week on the government owned TV station Rai 2.

Happy Thanksgiving

This morning before I started work, I took time to reflect and give thanks for the many blessings I have received. I am most grateful for my family, and I am thankful for special friends in the USA. Here in Rome I am grateful for Vincenzo, the friends and great work colleagues. I am also thankful for a fulfilling teaching career and our church community of Caravita.

Today was a work day. Just before lunch I read a story about Thanksgiving to my class. Then we joined the other students in grades 1 through 5 for a lunch of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and an apple tart.

This is a picture of my class in the atrium of our school

with a Thanksgiving table setting featuring a roast turkey in a dress!

(It was a hen, not a tom.)

The cafeteria people worked hard to serve a warm meal

to nearly 500 people in three sittings.

Here are some of my students enjoying their lunch.

Bioparco

Today I took my class to visit Bioparco in the Villa Borghese. 

Rome's zoo was originally established in 1911, but after WWII it went into decline. The original zoo was organized to be a collection of exotic animals for the entertainment of visitors. In 1998 the zoo was reorganized as Bioparco, and today it's mission is conservation, research and education.