2009 May archive at eternallycool.net

Archive for May, 2009

May

Pentecost at the Pantheon

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Architecture and Myth/Legend/Religion

The Roses begin to fall in the Pantheon in Rome

As peals of church bells rang out across the Eternal City this morning, Romans and visitors alike began making their way to the Pantheon for the celebration of the Pentecost Mass and the performance of a beautiful ritual that’s been going on for 1400 years in which a shower of red rose petals is dropped through the oculus of the ancient building and falls to the floor.

Pentecost at the Pantheon

The Pantheon, as many eCoolers will know, was build by the Roman Emperor Hadrian between 117-125 AD. It was dedicated to all the Roman gods and its 143 foot wide concrete dome must have put certainly on the must-see list for every ancient tourist to Rome.

More and more roses in the Pantheon in Rome

In the year 609 AD — exactly 1400 years ago — the Pantheon became a Christian church when the Byzantine Emperor Phocas gave it to Pope Boniface IV who rededicated to Santa Maria ad Martyres (St. Mary and all the Martyrs).

Roses in the Pantheon on Pentecost

Thus, for almost a millenium and a half, the building has served as a Christian church with its big moment happening each year on feast of Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Easter, the day on which the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2 in the New Testament.

Pentecost in the Pantheon

At the Pantheon each year, as at all Catholic churches, Pentecost is celebrated with a mass. However, it’s what happens following the mass that is truly spectacular. A team of firemen scale the dome of the Pantheon and sit poised above its oculus (the “eye” or opening at the center of the dome).

Roses in the Pantheon at Pentecost

As the clergy leaves the church, the firemen throw thousands of red rose petals through the oculus and these flutter to the floor, a symbol of the Holy Spirit descending to earth.

Roses at the Pantheon at Pentecost

Those who attend the mass ooh and awe as the flower petals cover the center of the building, then rush in madly to scoop them up, stuff them in pockets, or throw them into the air once again.

As many of you have probably discerned from this lovely photos, our trusty photographer, Susan Sanders, was there this year (as always). Upon her return to the compound, she showered the floor with the petals – it’s not quite the same as seeing them at the Pantheon, but at least we’re smelling sweet here today.

Roses in the Pantheon at Pentecost

May

Photo Saturday: An Apparition of the Virgin

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Art & Design

Virgin Mary Sticker Art by Lex & Sten

Devoted eCoolers already know that we LOVE Lex & Sten as we’ve been covering their art for the past several years. That’s why our trusty photographer, Susan Sanders, was so excited when she heard that Lex & Sten were hard at work at Rialtosantambrogio earlier this week. She stopped into the eCool space to watch the two artists as they gave form to an apparition of the the Virgin Mary just inside the entrance and snapped this shot of the work in progress. It’s a heavenly vision.

For more photos by Susan, visit her blog, Rome With a View.

And, for your weekend enjoyment, we offer you a Lex & Sten virtual retrospective exhibit:

Pope Sergius on the street in Palermo

The King & Queen of Monteverde Vecchio

Dante Hits the Streets

Stuck on You in the Anangnina Metro Station

(S)pray for Us (Sten only)

May

It’s a Car! It’s a Boat!

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Everything Else, On the Street and Outside Rome

Amphicar in Venice

It’s our understanding that a guy named Bernd Weise, a member of the Amphicar Club in Berlin, recently “drove” his 1961 Amphicar car down the Grand Canal in Venice.

A bit of enlightening research clued us in to the fact that this Amphicar is not just a toy produced by some guy in his back yard. It seems that the Amphicars were built in Germany between 1961 and 1968, a period in which 3878 vehicles were produced. The only civilian amphibious passenger that was ever mass produced, they’re rear-engined, they’re fitted out with a 4 cylidner British-built Triumph Herald motor that produces 43 hp, and they’re all convertibles – which, of course, is as it should be. We learned that on the history of the Amphicar site, where there’s much more.

If you want to get your own amphicar, click here.

For more photos, go to La Repubblica, the source of these.

Amphicar in Venice's Grand Canal

May

Forgive and …Repaint

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: On the Street

Perdonami Graffiti in Rome

Someone in Trastevere must have found themselves in hot water with someone they love recently. The situation drove them to the streets, where they sprayed this charming sentiment on a wall in Via dei Salumi.

The large word reads “Perdonami” or “Forgive me,” while little signs sticking up from the top of the balloon surrounding the word read “Ti prego” or “Please” and “Ti amo” or “I love you.”

We noticed it a few days ago and thought it a lovely way to apologize — though we wondered if the apology had been accepted. By yesterday, a response had been scrawled to the lower right in gold spray paint. It reads, “Sono solo pazzo di te,” or “I’m only crazy about you.” (see photo below)

We’re guessing that paradise has been regained.

Perdonami Graffiti in Rome

May

Barcelona Wins the UEFA Championship in Rome

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Sports

Barcelona Fans celebrating the UEFA Championship in Rome

It’s hard to imagine that anyone in the world didn’t hear the noise and the celebration last night when the Barcelona soccer team won the UEFA Championship in Rome. They were the underdog, but they beat Manchester 2-0.

As expected, crazy celebrations ensued. We love the sheer joy depicted in this photo of Barcelona fans in the Trevi Fountain.

For more on the lead up to the UEFA Championship, see our photos of the Colosseum made of Heinekin beer bottles in the Termini train station and an article with information about the champions village that was constructed around the Colosseum.

Photo from Il Messaggero.

May

Yoko Ono: Dream

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Advertising and On the Street

Yoko Ono: Dream. In Rome, Italy

We don’t know who’s responsible for this, but someone is posting very simple signs on the back of Rome’s bus stop. They look official — meaning that they seem to be paid advertisement rather than the work of a street artist. They’re minimalist and white; at the center of each sign, the word “DREAM” is written in bold black letters. The only attribution is a small line at the bottom of the sign that reads “yoko ono 2009.”

Who’s up to this? Is it Yoko Ono herself or someone attributing the idea to her? We just don’t know and our efforts to find out have proved futile thus far. If you know the source, please share it. In the meantime, we’ll continue to enjoy these little bits of streetside inspiration.

May

Pope Sergius on the Street

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Uncategorized

Pope Sergius in Palermo by Sten & Lex

Sten & Lex are by far our favorite Roman street artists. Their work is gorgeous at the same time that it’s brainy. They wrestle with Italy’s long history in the most contemporary of fashions. And so we nearly swooned when the Wooster Collective published the latest from these two: it’s an image from Piazza Magione in Palermo depicting Pope Sergius (reigned 687-701), the first Pope born in Palermo.

May

“I Introduced Liz to Beer and She Introduced Me to Bulgari”

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Fashion and On Show

Jewels from the Bulgari Exhibition in Rome, Italy

“I introduced Liz to beer and she introduced me to Bulgari.” That’s a quote straight from the mouth of Richard Burton, describing his relationship with Liz Taylor and the time they spent together in Rome while making the blockbuster movie, Cleopatra, in the 1960s. The cost of making Cleopatra nearly bankrupted Twentieth-Century Fox; Richard Burton’s wallet must have been lightened substantially too, judging from the display of Elizabeth Taylor’s private collection of jewels that’s part of the Bulgari exhibit at the Palazzo delle Esposizione titled, “Between Eternity and History. 125 Years of Italian Jewels.”

Celebrating the company’s 125th anniversary of activity in Rome and its rise to prominence as one of the leading jewelers of the world, the exhibit brings together nearly 500 objects created betwen 1884 and 2009. The sparkling, glittering necklaces, bracelets, rings, tiaras, watches, cigarette cases, purses, and more are arranged in chronological and thematic sections, beginning with a display of silver artefacts manufactured by the founder of the firm, Sotirio Bulgari, a Greek silversmith who settled in Rome in 1881.

From there, one is treated to a Grand Tour of the Bulgari style, from diamond-set jewels in the Art Deco style to the emergence of the company’s own style in the 1960s to its innovative and daring designs of the 1980s and 1990s to the present day. There are gorgeous and intricately-crafted objects and there are massive gems — a necklace created in 2009 is embellished (if one can use that word) with a 300 carat emerald.

It’s not just the jewels that are lovely. This is one of the most finely mounted exhibits we’ve seen in Rome, with the exception only of the Valentino retrospective at the Ara Pacis Museum. Fashion knows how to put on a pretty face in the Eternal City. Visitors to the Bulgari exhibit make their way through darkened galleries, admiring the gorgeous jewels in illuminated cases, while watching clips from classic films in which divas like Anna Magnani, Ingrid Bergman, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, and Liz Taylor wear Bulgari accessories — often those same objects on display in the room.

Palazzo delle Esposizione is located on Via Nazionale in Rome and the Bulgari exhibit is on display until 13 September. For more information, click here.

May

Photo Friday: Soccer Practice

By idcrome 1 Comment

Categories: Architecture, Photo Friday and Photography

Soccer Practice at the Jubilee Church in Rome

At first glance, you may have a bit of trouble deciding what you’re seeing in the photo above. Read a bit further and look closely and all will become clear.

Photographer Susan Sanders has been out and about lately, traveling from one edge of the city to another on a quest to see and to study all of Rome’s contemporary architecture. Just a few days ago she found herself at the church of Dio Padre Misericordioso, more commonly known as the Jubilee Church for the fact that it was commissioned by the Vatican in honor of the jubilee held in the year 2000 (for a view of the church, see below). Built by American architect Richard Meier, it’s form is defined by three huge cast concrete “sails” that arch toward the heavens. Glass walls between the “sails” allow light itself to be the element that defines the sacred space within.

What you can’t see in the photo below, is that there’s a gap of about 18 inches (or so) between the bottom of the outermost sail and the travertine pavement. That gap is closed by glass, so that as you walk along the exterior of the church on its left side, the outermost sail appears to be floating in the air.

One of the interesting things about the Jubilee church is the fact that it’s located smack-dab in the middle of a suburban neighborhood called Tor Tre Teste. It’s the center of an active parish, complete with a mini soccer (or calcetto) field behind it and neighborhood kids navigating remote-control cars across the smooth limestone pavement. If there’s not a soccer game underway on the calcetto field when you visit, you’re sure to find kids kicking their balls against the side of the church — and its evidence of that most Italian of activities that Susan documents in her photo.

Remember that glass-covered gap between the outermost sail and the pavement? That’s what you see in the photo. Notice those round impressions on the glass? Those are the imprints of soccer balls that have knocked dust off the glass before bouncing back to some neighborhood kid. At first glance, the image appears to be a nicely composed abstraction, but with a bit of study one is reminded that the Romans are utterly adept at the task of integrating that which is iconic and beautiful into their everyday lives.

For more photos by Susan, visit her website: Rome With A View.

Richard Meier's Church of 2000 in Rome

May

Roma Nascosta / Hidden Rome

By idcrome 1 Comment

Categories: Archaeology and Historic Sites

Roma Nascosta

If you’re planning to be in Rome between 25-31 May, you’ll want to start perusing the lengthy list of “unknown” archaeological sites and monuments that are going to be open to the public during that week as part of the Roma Nascosta or Hidden Rome week. Organized by the Comune di Roma and a cultural organization called Zetema, the goal is that of allowing the public to visit inaccessible monuments – particularly those that are underground.

Among the sites that can be seen in this extraordinary week are the Underground Basilica at Porta Maggiore, the Catacombs of Saints Marcellinus & Peter, the Ludus Magnus, Monte Testaccio, the Mithraeum at Palazzo Barberini, and many more.

Whether you’re a life-long Rome resident looking to cross a few of those hard-to-visit sites off your list or a first-time tourist who wants to have an extraordinary experience, this is going to be a great week.

So click on over to the Comune di Roma website and download the program of events (for you non-Italian speakers, it’s called the Depliant Roma Nascosta). There’s also a program of videos and lectures (Le Conferenze) that might be of interest. You’ll need to make reservations for the site visits and numbers are limited, so get started now.