Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The Latest

My relative dearth of postings over the past week or so might make it seem like I haven't been doing much.  Au contraire!  There has been lots going on.

I am approaching the home stretch now, and the past two weeks in Roma have been lots of fun.  With no trips since Anna and Danny left, I have had time to catch up with friends at a more leisurely pace.  I have spent several evenings seeing friends that I had not seen in a bit, going to a party or two, and getting to neighborhoods that I had not yet seen.  In addition to my ex-pat friends here, I've also gotten to spend some quality time with my handful of Italian friends -- and these may be the events that I appreciate the most.

I've also recently gone to a few churches and museums that I had on my "to see" list, but that do not allow photos.  (I really hate that, btw.)  Yesterday was the Palazzo e Galleria Doria Pamphilij -- a private palazzo and art gallery that houses an amazing Velazquez portrait of Pope Innocent X, a couple of early Caravaggios, and loads of other atmospheric paintings.  It is not simply the art that make this venue so splendid; the palace itself is awesome too.

Speaking of Caravaggio, I'm also trying to finish a scintillating biography of my brother Ira's favorite artist.  Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane is a fantastic book.  (Fear not -- I'll post my review as soon as I finish.)  And given that so many of Caravaggio's greatest works are in churches and museums right here in Roma, reading the book while here allows you to go see the works right as you read about the real-life events that were going on in Caravaggio's life when he painted them.  I went today to the Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi (the Church for Rome's French community since 1589) to scope out 3 Caravaggio masterpieces, and I went last week to the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Popolo (just a few minutes from my pad) to take in 2 others.

All of the food, art, vino, and friends are helping me to recover from the soul-crushing defeat suffered by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night (Rome time).  Could America's Team possibly find more painful ways to lose?

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