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Feb

La Dolce Vita

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Shopping

La-Dolce-Vita

It’s hard to imagine that any lover of Rome wouldn’t want one of these SWEET La Dolce Vita banners to hang in their home or office. We’re gonna get about 10 for the eCool Compound. At $10 a pop, they fit right into our decorating budget!

They’re made by Angela Deane, who, having pursued a career as a fashion designer and an artist has transformed herself into a banner mogul. Her company, Banter Banners, has a sizable catalog of wall words that will embellish your everyday existence.

So, click on over. And if they’re out of La Dolce Vita banners, it’s because we got there first!

Feb

The Pope’s Cologne

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Everything Else and Shopping

Pope's-Cologne

Those of you whose Papal aspirations provoked the purchase of Vatican: The Board Game after we featured it here on eCool yesterday, will want to prepare for your ascension to the throne by dabbing a bit of the Pope’s Cologne on your wrists before entering the conclave.

Made by Excelsis Fine Fragrances in San Rafael, California, The Pope’s Cologine is said to be a classic Old World fragrance made from the private formula of Pope Pius IX (1792-1878).

Excelsis claims to have obtained Pope Pius’s formula from the descendants of General Charles Charette, the Pope’s lifelong friend and the commander of the Swiss Guard under his rule. Meticulously following this formula and using the same essential oils that were included in the Pope’s own cologne, they’ve produced a scent with notes of violet and citrus, which, as they say, is “the same scent that [the Pope] and those around him enjoyed so long ago.

Click here to learn more and to order your own bottle.

Feb

So You Think You Wanna Be Pope?

By idcrome 1 Comment

Categories: Everything Else and Shopping

Vatican-Board-Game

Awesome eCooler Janel wrote recently to let us know about a must-have board game for every Romeaholic. Called Vatican: The Board Game, this is sure to be a hit with everyone who dreams of saying mass under Bernini’s Baldacchino or saving the world with prayers that go directly to the ear of God.

Players assume the identity of Cardinals who vie to become Pope and in doing so must face challenges and controversies such as stem cell research, theological censorship, Latin liturgical texts, beatification politics and visions of long-dead saints.

Praying won’t win you a copy of this exciting game, however. You’ll have to click over to Amazon.com and buy it for yourself. And you can learn more about the board game on this website.

May the best man (or, in this case, woman) win!

Jan

Nero on the Streets of Modern Rome?

By idcrome 1 Comment

Categories: On the Street, Past & Present and Shopping

Nero

We do so like to see antiquity reveal itself in modernity–it’s one of the things that makes Rome such an intriguing city. And, we know, that many eCoolers enjoy the same.

So, we thought you’d be keen to hear about a debate set off by Vittorio Sgarbi, Italian art critic, politician, cultural commentator and TV personality and by Maurizio Costanzo, Italian television host and journalist. Costanzo has suggested that a street in Rome be named for the Roman Emperor Nero and Sgarbi has taken up his cause. While their are streets named for many other emperors already, Nero’s notoriety, earned in part (and only in part) for the charge that he burned the city to increase his own landholdings, has prevented his eponymous entry into the plan of modern Rome. Sgarbi argues that “a negative legend has kept one of Rome’s great politicians from having his own street.”

The newspaper La Repubblica has decided to give modern Romans (and you) a voice in the debate. They’re currently running a survey as to whether or not the name Nero should be emblazoned on a street sign. So click here to register your own vote in the Via Nerone debate.

And, if you find yourself coming down on the side of Nero in this conversation, you may want to advertise your sentiments with a “Come On Baby Light My Fire” shirt that sports the design shown above. You can pick one up at the iDC City Shop.

Jan

Sing for Your Supper

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Food & Wine and Shopping

Pasta-Timer

Happy New Year from all of us at the eCool Compound! Buon Anno! We hope that 2009 was good to all you eCoolers and that 2010 promises even better things.

After all the holiday celebrations (and it’s not over yet in Rome – Epiphany, 6 January, is still to come – we thought we’d kick off the New Year by letting you know about an enticing product that’s bound to improve your cooking skills, giving you operatic alerts that let you know exactly when it’s time to drain the pasta.

If al dente has always been a challenge, you’ll want to to get one of these Al Dente pasta timers immediately. Simply drop the little red mafia man in the pot of pasta water and he sings to let you know how much time has passed. After 7 minutes, he’ll do 30 seconds of the “Triumphal March” from Aida; at 9 minutes, the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from Nabucco; and at 11 minutes, “La Donna é mobile” from Rigoletto. (A non-replaceable battery is safely sealed inside.)

We’re told that Rachel Ray has been pushing this product on her show on HGTV and it seems that supplies are running short as the Soultions store that sells the operatic pasta timers is currently sold out. But we’re hoping they’ll restock as we can’t think of a better way to sing for our suppers!

Dec

Save Your Money, Honey

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Shopping

Venus-De-Milo-Bank

Web surfing is practically our profession here at the eCool Compound and sometimes we come across something that’s so fabulous that it makes our jaws drop! That’s what happened today when we hit the Urban Outfitters website in search of a witty stocking stuffer for the upcoming holidays.

We didn’t find the perfect thing to stick in the hearth-hung sock, but we did find a gift that’s perfect for any lover of classical antiquities, particularly given the current economic crisis. Behold, the Venus de Milo bank! This glossy plastic goddess will help you hang on to your change–which is not exactly what you’d expect from this deity as she’s certainly not known for helping you to hang on to other any of your other assets.

This holiday season, we’re buying one of these sweethearts for everyone we know! Get your own at Urban Outfitters.

Nov

We Who Are About to Wiggle…

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Shopping

Bobble-Head-Gladiators

Over and over, we hear visitors to Rome complaining that there’s just nothing to buy in the Eterna that you can’t find elsewhere in the world as well. We’re mostly in agreement: increasing globalization means that the Italian standards, whether Barilla pasta, Fendi bags, or balsamic vinegar, are almost as widely available in the US, Canada, Japan, or Sweden as they are in Italy themselves.

So what to bring family and friends from Rome? You can make pilgrimages to tiny alimentari and to farms in out-of-the-way places hoping to find some divine food product produced only regionally and not distributed by way of cargo ships and 747s (such a task is not so difficult as it sounds). But, should you be looking for something else – an object that’s funny and playful and as likely to appeal to a kid as to a grown-up foodie – then we think we’ve found a fabulous solution!

There’s a little store on the last block of Via dei Serpenti, just before the street intersects with Via Cavour, where you can pick up a couple of bobble-headed gladiators and a bobbing Roman Emperor that will make almost anyone giggle. Various inhabitants of the eCool Compound have reason to walk by the store regularly and these swaying and nodding figures crack us up every time. We ourselves haven’t purchased yet, but we warned that we’re going to start hoarding these babies soon. Even better is the fact that they’re on sale: 1 goes for 15 euro while you can get 2 for 25 euro.

Oct

Keep the Rome Fires Burning

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Everything Else and Shopping

ColumnCandle

Oh! Are we ever digging these classical column candles! Gotta order some now so we can do our own Great Fire of 64 thing here in the Compound.

These are made by Goody Grams and sold by MollaSpace. We’re told that “Even after usage, the candle will only burn 1/3 of the top, creating an original piece as wax will melt over to drip down the column base.”

Come on baby, light our fire! Scheduled to ship in late November, these will make the perfect holiday gift for the Neronian in your life.

Feb

A She-Wolf on the Hand is Worth Two in a Cave

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Art & Design, Fashion and Shopping

SPQR & She-Wolf Rings by Tre Tigri

A few weeks ago, we were hanging about the Ara Pacis Museum, admiring that lovely Altar of Peace created for the Roman Emperor Augustus in the first century BC. Upon leaving, we browsed our way through the museum store and came upon a couple of Rome-inspired rings that set our hearts a’pounding.

The SPQR and She-Wolf rings are just a couple of the brilliant Rome-inspired products designed by Luca Lunghini and Monica Kobiakov, founders of Tre Tigri design, a new creative lab based in the Eternal City. Visit the Tre Tigri website to see other products, including flocked iron-on transfers that depict pasta shapes and iconic Roman street sights like the Fiat 500 and the nasoni (or little drinking fountains scattered throughout the city).

To our mind, these little plastic rings are the perfect souvenir for anyone visiting Rome, but they also make a fabulous little gift for anyone who has an undying love of the Eterna. You can pick yours up at any of the following museums and bookstores:

Musei Capitolini
Ara Pacis
Museo Carlo Bilotti
MACRO
Museo di Roma in Trastevere
Mercati di Traiano
Museo della Civiltà Romana
Libreria Fahrenheit 451 (Campo dè Fiori)
Libreria Odradek
Libreria RGB 46 (Testaccio)
Libreria Gocce d’Inchiostro (Trastevere)

She-Wolf & SPQR Blog

Jan

Lolli-pope, Lolli-pope, Oh Lolli Lolli-Pope

By idcrome 0 Comments

Categories: Everything Else and Shopping

Lolli-Popes in Rome, Italy

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.

Lolli-Popes at Della Palma in Rome