Readers may remember from last week’s Photo Friday that Susan Sanders is roaming the US in search of Rome (and inventions upon the Eterna)  in America.  This week she’s sent us something that made the whole compound burst into giggles – it’s a replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s Sforza Horse (surrounded by a tiny tiny white picket fense) that currently standing in front of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

The horse heralds the opening of a new exhibit at the High titled “Leonardo da Vinci.  Hand of the Genius,” curated by Renaissance scholar Gary Radke.  The exhibition features approximately 50 works, including more than 20 sketches and studies by Leonardo, some of which will be on display for the first time in the United States

But back to that horse.  In 1481-82, the young Leonardo da Vinci was working in Milan when Duke Ludovico Sforza commissioned him to create a colossal equestrian statue of his father, Francesco.  In typical Leonardo-esque fashion, the artist spent nearly two decades studying and sketching horses as well as experimenting with the techniques of bronze casting in preparation for the project.  He created a huge clay model, but before he could cast the bronze, war broke out and French soldiers invading northern Italy requisitioned the precious metal set aside for the project and used it for cannons. The invading soldiers also destroyed the great clay horse.

Nonetheless, Leonardo left behind a myriad of plans and sketches. Some of those will be on view in the High exhibition so that visitors can compare the modern recreation of the Sforza horse outside the museum (it’s some 24 feet tall) to Leonardo’s original vision.

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

Readers may be interested to hear that Eternally Cool’s trusty photographer, Susan Sanders, is out roaming the globe in search of manifestations of Rome in the larger world.    This week she’s been in San Antonio, Texas, where her clever eye and trusty camera locked upon a fine work of art by Franco Mondini-Ruiz.

Called Que Purdy, the work depicts a copy of the Venus de Milo standing on a stack of pancakes, and embellishes the porch of the Museo Alameda (the only branch of the Smithsonian Museum that’s not in Washington DC) on Market Square in downtown San Antonio.

We’re led to wonder if the goddess really ate pancakes. We’re thinking carefully about whether maple syrup or strawberries would be the appropriate accompaniment.  And is that a short stack or a tall one?

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

A Walk in the Park. Photograph by Susan Sanders

Hey eCoolers! We’re back.  Sorry about the silence.  It’s been a busy few weeks here in the Compound and haven’t had time to devote our full attention to all that’s hip and happening in Rome.  But we’re resolved to remedy that situation, starting today, with a Photo Saturday image by photographer Susan Sanders.

Seems that Susan took a stroll through the Villa Doria Pamphili in recent weeks and found inspiration in the fragments of ancient statues that embellish the park.  Here at the eCool Compound, we were particular charmed by these ancient feet, which appear to be striding languidly through the lush villa.

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

Now that it’s September, things are starting to pick up here in Rome (and, we’re sincerely hoping that a HUGE amount of extra e-cool things start happening soon as events in Rome have been pretty slowly lately).  The Romans are starting to trickle back into the city; restaurants and shops are raising their shutters; and the buses are starting to run with a bit more frequency.

In these last days of summer, Susan Sanders has been out roaming the deserted streets of the city.  Just about a week ago, she joined a crowd of tourists and Romans on Via del Corso to watch the break dancers who spin that street.  She got some great photos and we share those with you today.

For more images of the Eternal City by Susan, visit her fabulous photo blog, Rome With A View.

For the past two summers, those Romans unable to spend August on the seashore have gotten a bit of relief from the heat at a pool erected on the Caelian Hill.  Just off Via dei San Gregorio and overlooking the Palatine, the pool is part of a larger installation called All’Ombra del Colosseo that includes a disco, bars, a restaurant, and an area dedicated to poker.

We’ll admit to blowing off our work and taking the eCool team to the pool now and then.   It’s lovely.  There are lounge chairs and a wait staff that  bring drinks right to you as you toast yourself in the sun.  The water is cool and clean.  Occasionally, a cool(ish) breeze wafts off the Caelian or the Palatine.  In a city that gets incredibly hot and is short on affordable places to swim (hotels in Rome specialize in gouging the wallets of non-guests who want to take a dip), the pool “at the Colosseum” provides a much  needed respite.

Susan Sanders recently spent some time lounging at the pool and returned to the Compound with this lovely photo.  Shot early in the morning, before the pool and surrounding areas were inundated with bambini and their nonne, the photo showcase the bright white bar chairs (heavily populated in the evenings) and lovely stand of umbrella pines that rises on the Palatine.

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

When it’s hot in Rome (and it’s currently HOT in Rome), gelato becomes a staple of the diet.  The newspapers publish articles letting the public know that gelato IS a nutritious food and it seems that every man, woman, child, and nun on the street is licking at a cone or digging a spoon into a cup.

Depending on your attitude, stopping for a gelato in Rome can be a simple thing or it can become very complicated.  There’s an endless number of gelato stores–some are good and others are much better.  If all you’re looking for is a cooling feeling in your mouth and your throat, than any place will do.

Here at the Compound things are more complicated.  We’re not willing to settle for just any gelato as we find some to be pretty terrible.  We won’t name names here, but our advice is to stay away from any chain with neon signs bright enough to light up a piazza.

For some years, our eCool team  was unable to choose a favorite gelateria.  Some of us joined the Obama girls in arguing for the old-fashioned Giolitti–shown in Susan Sanders‘ wonderful photo above–while others of us were able to ignore the snobbishness of the infinitely praised San Crispino long enough to enjoy their frozen delights.

In the heat of this summer, however, we’ve eaten a lot of gelato and we seem to be coming to a consensus.  The branch of San Crispino nearest the Compound has CLOSED during this sweltering August, so they’ve been crossed off the list.  We always love the old-fashioned charm of Giolitti (as captured in Susan’s photo above) but sometimes it’s just too much to wade through the sea of tourists for a taste of pink grapefruit sorbet.

So what have we been eating?  This summer the entire eCool team has become entirely enamored with Gelateria Corona at Largo Arenula 27 (there’s another branch nearby at via dell’Ara Coeli) which the Gambero Rosso guide calls one of the best 12 gelato stops in Rome.  It’s a tiny place.  The flavors change daily.  Don’t miss the mint, the vanilla, the infinite rotation of innovative chocolates, and in this heat, it’s hard to do better than the lemon and basil granita.  We’re off to get some now.

Buon Ferragosto a tutti!  Today, August 15th, is Ferragosto, one of Italy’s biggest holidays.  Stores are closed and Italians have headed to the beach in order to avoid the swelter of summer in the city.  Ferragosto is more than that, however.  It’s a religious holiday too.  If you’re not up on this celebration, you can read all about it by clicking over to our 2007 entry about the day.

Here in the Compound we’re celebrating in various ways, not least of which is the posting of this fine Roman street photo by Susan Sanders.   Shot near Piazza Trilussa in Trastevere, the image documents the layers of street art applied to walls in this area known for late-night partying and hipster fun.  Someone, it seems, has been appropriating from Warhol, sticking up his Marilyn (and his banana) on the city streets though with some modifications–are those bullet holes between her eyes?

For other fab photos by Susan, click on over to her Rome With A View website.

In Rome, things move a bit more slowly in August.  It’s hot; almost everyone is out of town; stores and restaurants are closed; only a fraction of the usual buses and taxis are on the street.  In short, there’s just no reason to hurry.

The lazy slowness of August is exactly and precisely the reason that we’re a bit late with our Photo Friday post this week–though our tardiness makes Susan Sanders’ shot no less humorous.   She snapped this photo of a Bernabei van in Piazza del Popolo.  Bernabei is one of Rome’s major distributors of alcohol, so we’re betting that the van’s exterior embellishment is meant to encourage those who imbibe to consider their actions carefully while under the influence.

The icons on the van suggest that such activities as littering, painting on walls, sleeping in piazzas, and talking loudly should be avoided.  We agree.  We’d also go so far as to suggest that one’s spelling should always be checked–even in cases of extreme inebriation.

For more photos by Susan, visit her awesome blog: Rome With A View

Regular eCool readers knows that photographer Susan Sanders loves to shoot Rome.  She likes to re-think the classic tourist view as much as she enjoys photographing the tourists themselves as they stand in awe of Rome’s majestic monuments.

Lately, however, Susan’s started shooting portraits of the people that interest her.  She’s been showing up at the Compound with wonderful images of men and women who are part of the fabric of everyday life.  We thought we’d show you some of those photographs today and so we’re showcasing a pair of images taken on a recent trip to Sperlonga. The charming subjects are a pair of fruttivendoli with a wonderful shop in the old town.  They sell the most amazing fruits and vegetables–no trip to Sperlonga would be complete without the purchase of a bag full of locally-grown tomatoes to nibble on the beach.

Their smiles tell us that they were happy to pose for Susan’s photo, which captures the congenial grace with which they greet their patrons.

For more photographs by Susan, visit her blog: Rome With A View.

It’s been sweltering hot in Rome for days (though forecasts say that the weekend will be better as temps will drop and there will be some rain) and as we mop the sweat from our brows, our minds wander and our imaginations summon up pictures of Italy’s idyllic seaside locales.  Let’s just say that we’re not managing to accomplish much in the eCool Compound right now – it’s just too hot to stay focused on the many tasks at hand.

Though not many of us eCoolers see a beach vacation coming our way anytime soon, we’d pretty much kill to be laying on a lounge chair, licking an ice cream, rubbing sunscreen on our skin, ducking our heads under the salty water, and enjoying the gentle seaside breeze.  Thus, the eCool team begged photographer Susan Sanders to provide us with a few photos that would illustrate our desires and she produced these fabulous snaps showing the wares of a float salesman as he makes his way up the beach at Sperlonga, a lovely little resort about halfway between Rome and Naples.

We love the bright colors of the plastic rafts and baby pools and we love the diligence with which the younger customers examine the wares.  For more images of Sperlonga by Susan, click on these links:  the whitewashed city center (oh to be sipping a prosecco in that piazza right now), more beach scenes (be warned – if you look at these you WILL leave your desk and head to nearest beach or pool immediately), and the ancient villa of the Roman Emperor Tiberius.

And you can always see more photos by Susan on her Rome With A View website.  While you’re at it, click over to Facebook and become a fan of Rome With a View.  That way you’ll get an update every time Susan publishes a new photo on her website (many of which never make it to the eCool blog.)