Birds were important to the ancient Romans and anyone who lives in modern Rome for a bit of time will figure out why–they’re everywhere. In antiquity, a kind of priests called augurs observed the flight patterns of birds. On the basis of what they saw, they divined the will of the gods.
We can’t claim that we’re in possession of the same gifts as ancient augurs but we’ve been watching the birds lately anyway. The starlings of late autumn have moved on, perhaps in search of a drier climate, as Rome has had 17 days of rain in January thus far.
But those noisy, messy, and stunningly beautiful starlings have been replaced by an influx of giant seagulls that spend their time swooping across the river and perching outside the innumerable fish markets in the city. We love to see them in Rome’s dense urban environment, sitting on cars outside this pescheria or that one, hoping the proprieter will throw them a clam or a calamari. Their wishes are often granted.
On this photo Friday, Susan Sanders documents the seagulls that are regular patrons of the Pescheria di Danilo on Via Natale del Grande. On Tuesdays and Fridays, when the fish is the freshest, they perch atop nearby cars hoping that Danilo will toss a savory seafood snack in their direction.
For more photos by Susan Sanders, see her blog: Rome with a View.
We’re feeling sweet this week. After the Lolli-Popes of yesterday, today we ponder a more serious kind of candy–chocolate.
Last weekend, our trusty photographer Susan Sanders headed to Florence and had a great time making her way through the artisan chocolate fair in Piazza Santa Croce, snapping photos and snapping up samples.
More than 30 chocolate artists were present, displaying thousands of chocolate bars of every shape and size alongside chocolate gears, chocolate weights, chocolate coffee pots, chocolate tools, and chocolate fountains.
The event is a yearly one and the piazza was packed with tourists and Florentines looking to get their chocolate fix as the smell of cocoa wafted through the air. Sweet teeth and taste buds were exhilarated by chocolate of every flavor – almond, pepperoncino, lavendar, walnut, pistaccio, and rum, just to name a few.
A few days ago, for the first time this January, the sun broke through the clouds and some of us here at the eCool Compound scurried outside for a stroll through the city.
Our walk, of course, made us hungry, and we felt in the mood for something a bit over the top, so we ducked into Gelateria Della Palma for a scoop or two of their baroque ice cream. Why did we choose Della Palma, when San Crispino is now just around the corner on Piazza della Maddelena? No idea. Della Palma certainly doesn’t hold up in comparison to the much-acclaimed “best gelato” in Rome.
Our spell of questionable gelato judgment led to a wonderful discovery, however. As we were licking our cones and marveling at the candy selection in Della Palma, we came across the ultimate souvenir and/or gift for the folks back home: the Lolli-Pope! As seen above, they come in both John Paul II and the Benedict XIV varieties. And, there are various sizes as well, ranging in price from 3,50 euro to 5,50 euro. You’ll want to stock up on these.
Several fountains in the center Naples were dyed red last night as a protest against civilian deaths in Palestine during the Israeli offensive.
A far-right Italian activist group calling itself “Cubi” seems to be responsible. As a means of taking credit for the action, they left leaflets encased in plastic floating in the fountain. The leaflets read, “7 December 2008 – 18 January 2009, Operation Cast Lead, 1,203 dead, 5,300 wounded. The world sat by and watched on the edge of the precipice.”
Reminds us a bit of the Trevi Fountain stunt of some years ago.
Certain members of the eCool team were delighted last week to discover that royalty has moved into Rome’s Monteverde Vecchio neighborhood. There, Lex and Sten, two of Rome’s best street artists, have embellished (and improved) the facade of the Teatro Vascello.
On the side of the theater facing Via Giacinto Carini, Lex and Sten have applied giant stickers of a most regal king and queen. We don’t know if theirs was a renegade project or if the owners of Teatro Vascello had the wisdom to commission the works, but either way, we’re diggin’ it.
For more stupendous street art by Lex and Sten, click here.
Many readers will know that our intrepid photographer, Susan Sanders, recently made a trip to the United States. There, risking arrest and/or harassment by over-eager security guards in Macy’s, she snapped some photos of Baroque artist Gianlorenzo Bernini’s latest project.
Bernini, it seems, has risen from his grave in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore and is testing his mettle in the fashion industry. He’s shortened his given name, now going by the hipper and easier-on-the-English-speaker appellation, Giani Bernini (the first name is pronounced “Johnny”), and he’s designing handbags.
Frankly, we don’t think that much of his pocketbooks — a few hundred years in the grave seems to have dulled his sense of style. The purses lack the panache that characterizes his seventeenth-century sculptures, and, he’s taken a page from Chanel in creating a logo of interlocking “Gs.” No wonder they’re 40% off!
For more photos by Susan Sanders, visit her blog: Rome With A View.
We all know that Italians love their mothers, right? Nonetheless, we’re especially impressed with the shout-out that someone named Mici recently gave to their mamma.
Spray-painted on the sampietrini or cobblestones of a Trastevere street are the words, “Mamma, Grazie di Esistere,” which translate to “Mamma, Thanks for being there” or “Thanks for existing.”
Based on the angle at which the words are set, we’re betting that a very happy mamma lives high up in a nearby building and gazes on the love note from her grateful offspring every time she glances out the window.
Last week, the Comune di Roma treated residents and visitors alike to a series of special museum events and exhibits, among which was a full-color illumination of the front of the Ara Pacis or Altar of Peace.
As part of an actor-led tour that dramatically recounted the stories of Romulus and Aeneas in order to expalin their presence on the front of the Ara Pacis, lights were used to superimpose dazzling colors onto white marble facade of the altar. The goal was that of giving visitors an idea of the monument’s appearance at the time of its dedication in 9 BC.
Though the altar is all-white now, scholars generally agree that monuments like it — as well as sculptures — were once brightly colored. Thus, vivid blues, greens, yellows, and reds characterized the illumination.
Vatican Museums Director, Antonio Paolucci, who co-organized the project, said that the projected colors were chosen based on traces paint recovered from the monument in the 1930s, such as red ochre and gold leaf.
The Ara Pacis or Altar of Peace was in celebration of the advent of peace under the reign of Rome’s first emperor, Augustus.
Though the color projections were a temporary holiday event, organizers say they hope to make the demonstration a permanent part of Ara Pacis Museum in December 2009.
Bargain-hunting Romans spend months looking forward to the slashing of prices that happens each January and July. Thanks to the global economic crisis, this year the January sales started earlier than ever, but store owners are still complaining that their aisles are empty and that consumers have cut their spending drastically.
So where is everyone shopping? On this Photo Friday, Susan Sanders shows us that the Romans are taking it the streets. Sidewalk markets abound in the Eternal City and sometimes one finds the most extraordinary things on sale. Like lingerie, which, often, for inexplicable reasons, is sold at the same market stall that sells hair extensions. Go figure. Or cashmere sweaters. Or, on the very best of shopping days, fur coats, as seen in Susan’s photos above and below.
We don’t know how many lucky ladies plucked a fur coat from that rack on Viale Trastevere, but there were certainly plenty from which to choose.
For more photos by Susan, visit her blog: Rome With A View.
