Caravaggio and the Palantine

There was a big Caravaggio show at the Scuderie del Quirinale. We had arranged to get timed tickets while still in the U.S. and things went pretty smoothly. Of course there was a long line, but it took about 20 minutes to get to the front door. Once in, the show was magnificent, well designed and of course the paintings were a joy to look at. The walls were painted a deep, dull red, the pictures in black frames and beautifully lit. It was a combination that really worked with Caravaggio's palette. You've seen his paintings a lot, but it's hard to see a lot of his paintings in real life, in this kind of controlled setting. We took about two and a half hours to make it through the show and we both loved it. Later in the day we added the cherry to that experience by visiting the San Luigi dei Francesci, the french church in Rome that has a chapel with three enormous and important Caravaggios, including the sublime "Vocation of Saint Matthew.

We wanted to eat lunch near our hotel so we ended up back at the Piazza Navona and back at Tucci. (I had the name wrong in the previous post; it's Tucci, not Tocci.) It's really a fine restaurant to eat at. It combines good food with the location in front of a prime tourist location. You don't always get that, even in Italy.

After lunch and a quick nap, we took a taxi to the Palantine Hill. Ira wanted to see the museum there, but it was really the whole site that impressed him the most. Luckily, the weather was glorious. We've had a whole week of rain in Rome, the first time we've had to use umbrellas, but yesterday afternoon the sun came out and it shone over the Palantine! This is the hill that everyone wanted to live on in Rome. It has remnants of old mansions inhabited by the likes of Cicero and Livia, but the museum also included evidence and reconstructions of some of the earlier inhabitants in the 7th century BC, when they were living in mud huts and making simple pottery. About 500 years later theses same peoples were building marble palaces, the ruins of which can still inspire us today.

We walked a lot yesterday. All over the Palantine, then across the Forum, then back to our hotel. We did stop for a gelato, of course. Then we rested for a while and then went on to the rooftop bar of our hotel, me for a drink and Ira to sketch the rooftop of the Pantheon. It was so lovely to watch the sunset and see the wide expanse of Rome that we will return tomorrow if the weather is as cooperative. (It seems to rain in the morning and leave the afternoons and evenings free. We'll see if that pattern holds.)

Last night we ate near our hotel again. There are a lot of fine establishments right there! This time we graced Fortunato. Apparently, lots of Roman businessmen from the Senate complex nearby go there to eat. There were still a few men-in-suits tables that night. The meal was terrific. I started with a gnocchi with a radicchio and gorgonzola sauce that was incredibly delicious. Then followed it up with polpetino a vitello (veal meatballs) and a contorni of Roman artichoke. Ira started with the taglioni cacio e pepe, then has calamari fritti. The wine was a nebbiolo and went perfectly with the meal. It was just starting to rain when we got out of the restaurant, but we were only 2 minutes from our hotel!