Lovely Rome
  • Home
  • Blog
  • All Tours
    • Ancient Rome
    • Monumental Rome
    • Christian Rome
    • Museums
    • Outside Rome
  • Vatican
  • Rome Then and Now
  • Tips for Tourists
  • Contact
    • Blog

Federica's BLOG

The garden of delights: Villa Medici

6/19/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Villa Medici, Academy of France, gardens, credit to Jean-Pierre Dalbéra through Flickr.com
If you need some calm and peace from the chaotic life of Rome, here you can find it. Villa Medici is a 1500s villa built by the Medici family of Florence and then purchased by Napoleon for a piece of cake, to become the Academy of France in 1803, still hosting the artists who won the Grand Prix de Rome. They have the privilege to live in the Villa and study, paint, and sculpt their works inspired by the beauty of Rome and by this piece of heaven.
The gardens, which are unarguably the most beautiful part of the Villa, have been recently chosen as one of the locations of the Great Beauty, the film by Paolo Sorrentino, which won the 2014 academy award for the best foreign movie, as well as for a recent costly and upper-class wedding party.
The Villa is at the top of the Spanish Steps, just a few feet away from the most famous sight of Rome, and it occupies a grand estate which goes from the Pincio hill to the ancient Aurelian walls and offers an astonishing view over the city of Rome.
In ancient times, the Romans had already discovered the delights of this place as the ruins of the old Villa belonging to Lucullo and then to Messalina, the unfaithful wife of emperor Claudius prove.

The part of the garden that I prefer is towards the edge, on the walls, where in 1576 Ferdinando I de' Medici transformed one of the guard towers into a love nest. Here even if he was a cardinal, he could meet his lovers far from indiscreet eyes.
The prince, which had refined tastes, transformed his bachelor pad into an elaborated painted garden populated by a multitude of birds work of Jacopo Zucchi, a pupil of Giorgio Vasari, recently rediscovered under a more recent layer of plaster. In it, you can see the first representation of a turkey, a native of the Americas.
Picture
Studiolo of Ferdinando de Medici, Villa Medici, credit to Jean-Pierre Dalbéra through Flickr.com
Ferdinando, made cardinal when he was 14, later abandoned the ecclesiastical life, for which he didn't have a real vocation, to succeed as Grand Duke of Tuscany his brother Francesco who conveniently died, followed by his wife, after dinner with Ferdinando.
Tips: you can reach the Villa with the subway line A reaching the Spagna stop. English-speaking tours are usually at 12, but try to arrive in advance because they run out quickly of places available.
Enjoy a drink in the quiet café of Villa Medici and the modern art exhibition held in the basement. The Académie de France has a very intense cultural life and organizes exhibitions and film festivals.
If you reach the next-door Villa Borghese, you can rent a bicycle and explore the central park of Rome or rent a boat on the central Lake.
A good lunch can be tasted on via Veneto at Eataly Hamburgheria, which offers hamburgers and tasty salads.
You will find the best tiramisù at Pompi in via della Croce at the foot of the Spanish steps.
Small place for tasty pizza at Grano, frutta e farina in via della Croce.

For any further information, contact me on http://www.mylovelyrome.com/contact.html
0 Comments

Testaccio, the Gourmet District

5/1/2022

0 Comments

 
Recently I took a Japanese friend to Testaccio, the southwest district of Rome, set along the Tiber river near the subway station Pyramid, and there we tasted some of the most amazing cheeses and hams in Rome at Volpetti, the historical gourmet shop on via Marmorata, the main street of the quarter.

It is strange how things rapidly change here because Testaccio was once the working-class residential area of Rome, and now it is becoming a sort of ‘Village' attracting gourmet lovers from all around the world.
This transformation was helped by the recent restyling of the fruit and vegetable market and to Eataly, a 3-storey high tech building packed, as we say, 'con ogni ben di Dio' by every goodness of God of Italian food and wine. In between, many modern restaurants and ice cream shops have opened for the joy of the most discriminating tastes, enriching the already generous offer of this quarter.

Picture
Volpetti at Testaccio, credit to jhlab through Flickr.com
Restyling of the fruit and vegetable market, since time immemorial heart and engine of the district, and by Eataly, a brand new 3 storey high building packed, as we say, 'con ogni ben di Dio’, by every goodness of God, of Italian food and wine.

​In the past centuries, thanking the presence of the capital slaughterhouse ‘mattatoio’, the area was slowly filling with simple restaurants offering the poor cuts of the animals’ frattaglie’ and the perfect refrigerated wine kept in the cellars of the artificial mountain of ‘testae’ from which the area takes the name.

Picture
Pyramid of Caius Cestius, credit to Antonella through Flickr.com
For the happiness of beauty searchers, the area is also rich in historical attractions like the nearby ancient Caius Cestius Pyramid, the acatholic cemetery, where Keats and Shelley are buried, the Capitoline Museums in Centrale Montemartini, and the already mentioned Modern Art wing of the Macro Rome, a museum of contemporary art set in the old cattle market of Rome. Moreover, Testaccio is lately attracting many street artists like Blu, which embellish the side of condominiums, bridges, and abandoned buildings with their giant murals. Monte di Testaccio, or as the Romans fondly call it Monte de Cocci, was created in ancient times by broken vases called ‘testae,’ arrived at the river harbor full of wine and oil: the mountain was created by ancient trash.
Moreover, as proof of this new life, Testaccio is attracting many street artists like Blu, which embellish the side of condominiums, bridges, and abandoned buildings with their giant murals.
Tips: Enjoy the icecream at Gelateria Romana via Ostiense 48; triangular sandwiches stuffed with hot roman specialties at Trapizzino in via Giovanni Branca 88; or if you prefer a solid tradition, enjoy the pastries at Andreotti via Ostiense 54; if you are fond of pizza, try Doppio Zero on via Ostiense 68 which is also able to offer you hot dishes if you had enough of carbos.
Rest under the century pines of the noncatholic cemetery oasis of peace and calm.
For any further information, contact me at http://www.mylovelyrome.com
​
Picture
Murals on an abandoner military office in via del Porto Fluviale, credit mauriziosacco through Flickr.com
0 Comments

Villa D'Este: Home Away From Rome

4/17/2022

0 Comments

 
March and it is already spring here in Rome. Therefore people are willing to be in the greenery of parks and gardens. This reminds me of my loveliest clients, Brian and Marina, and their 3 kids, who asked me to take them to a nice place outside Rome. Here is where I took them: Villa D'Este.
I think they considered this place one of the highlights of their trip to Italy, and their kids loved it.

Villa D'Este was created by one of a kind man, the Cardinal Ippolito D'Este, son of that famous Lucretia Borgia, daughter of the naughty Spanish Pope Alexander VI Borgia. The cardinal tried to become pope 5 times in his life, without success. In 1550 he became governor of Tivoli, a town just 45 miles from Rome, and he moved into a convent connected with the church of St. Maria Maggiore. The new residence was inadequate for his high rank, so he sent his architect Pirro Ligorio to study the place.
The result, after 20 years, was the Villa D'Este, a palace decorated by the best artists of that time: Livio Agresti, Cesare Nebbia, Girolamo Muziano, and the wonderful Italian garden with 51 fountains, 398 gushes, 64 waterfalls.
Picture
Neptune Fountain in Villa D'este, credit to Richard Mortel through Flickr.com
​The cardinal created 3 branches from the town's aqueduct to feed his fountains, which use the Aniene river water. A hydraulic machine of 500 liters of water per second still works after centuries.
The most amazing fountains are the Fountain of the Organ, which produced music thanking a subterranean hydraulic system that was recently restored. The Fountain of Ovato with a waterfall under which I used to walk when I was a child.
Picture
The 100 fountains in Villa D'este, credit to Riccardo Cuppini through Flickr.com
Picture
Ovato Fountain in Villa D'este, credit to Neo_II, through Flickr.com
The one hundred fountains which show strange faces of animals. To end with the scenographical Fountain of Neptune the most photographed fountain of the villa, viewed from the great fishing ponds used once to provide the Cardinal with fresh fish.

The interior of the villa is also a paradise for the art lovers and the decorations and grotesque were painted to delight the eye of the visitor.
The masters involved in the frescoes are the same that can be admired in the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Museums. Every inch of the interiors is decorated with grotesque, and in every corner, the family symbol of the cardinal, the lilies, and the eagle can be found as well as the symbol of the grandfather of the cardinal, the bull  Borgia.


Practical information: You need to be determined to arrive
in Tivoli by public transportation as the train doesn't run too often here. You will need to walk a while to reach the villa from the station.
Picture
Interior decoration representing River Gods, in Villa D'este, credit to jnshaumeyer through Flickr.com
If you take the bus, like I did many times, you need to be patient because you will find a crowded fauna of commuters. The villa is worth this labor of Hercules, though.

With the bus: Reach Ponte Mammolo with the B line of the subway. Here you find the beginning of the buses. They go via a highway or via Tiburtina street. It is only known by God if you will see less traffic on one or the other way.
The 'hidden ticket area' to purchase your 'Cotral' bus ticket is below the bus station, near the bar, just at the subway station. Grab your return tickets and wait for the 'Caron' bus. Trying to find an available seat will be a challenge. I would recommend moving after 10.
I did it several times, and I was alone, so I'm sure you can make it!
If you wish to visit Hadrian Villa, buses leave from the gardens at the city entrance near piazza Garibaldi. If you have to choose, I would always go for the Villa D'Este, but this is a very personal choice.

If you need any further information, contact me through http://www.mylovelyrome.com
Picture
View from the top of the Neptune fountain towards the fishing ponds, Villa D'Este, credit to Neo_II through Flickr.com
0 Comments

Villa Farnesina: The Luxury Retreat of a Bank-man

4/17/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
The wedding of Psiche and Love, by Raphael, in Villa Farnesina, credit Nicolas Vollmer, by Flickr.com
If you are searching for a beautiful museum to visit on Monday morning, when all the others are closed to the public, I recommend Villa Farnesina.

The villa was built in 1506-1520 by Agostino Chigi, a wealthy bank man from Siena who financed many popes. Being so close to the Papacy, he could choose the most important painter of its time, Raphael, to decorate his new residence, as he was working in the Vatican Papal Apartments,  Raphael's Rooms.

The result were the stories of Love and Psyche and the amazing Galatea.

The choice of these mythological stories is not random, but it depends on the biography of the commissioner, Agostino Chigi. 
Picture
Galatea, by Raphael in Villa Farnesina, credit to mykaul through Flickr.com
Picture
Loggia of Love and Psyche credit to Charlie Dave through Flickr.com
The 'Galatea' is an allegory of the aristocratic Margherita Gonzaga, which didn't accept the advances of Agostino, which was not noble.
Therefore in Raphael's painting, Galatea, symbolizing Margherita, is escaping far from the ugly giant Polyphemus, painted by Sebastiano del Piombo, which depicts Agostino. Anyway, the bankman didn't lose too much time with the spoiled Margherita and found the love of his life in Venice.

In the central loggia overlooking the gardens, the paintings about 'Love and Psyche' represent the love and wedding between the bank-man and a poor young Venetian lady, Francesca. 

Other famous masters worked in the villa, the Venetian Sebastiano del Piombo and the Sienese Baldassare Peruzzi, which was also the architect of the villa, and painted a gorgeous ceiling representing the fortunate day of the birth of Agostino Chigi through astrological figures and Sodoma which decorated Agostino and Francesca's bedroom.
The Villa which at the beginning was named Chigi, was later purchased by the Farnese family and this is why it is still named 'Farnesina'.
Picture
Villa Chigi, called Farnesina, credit to Charlie Dave through Flickr.com
Tips: The villa stands in a beautiful district, Trastevere, on the right bank of the Tiber river. This is a gourmet district where you can find many places to eat or have a gelato. 
There is a baroque collection in front of Villa Farnesina, Palazzo Corsini. Just behind Palazzo Corsini, you can find an oasis of peace and relaxation in the botanical gardens' green.
Consider that Villa Farnesina is open from Monday to Sunday from 9 to 2 pm. It is usually closed on Sunday, except on the second Sunday of the month when it is open from 9 to 5 pm.

If you need any further information, contact me through http://www.mylovelyrome.com
0 Comments

    Author

    Federica D'Orazio

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Testaccio
    Villa D'Este
    Villa Farnesina

Proudly powered by Weebly