Rome 2013: September 2013

Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th were slower days. After my day jam of the Forum tour, Michael Graves lecture and the Vatican galleries tour, my eyes and brain needed a slight rest. Thanks to the great Fellow architect Thomas Kelley, I had a perfect mellow day. We began at a lunch at the AAR where I sat with Adele and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame in Berkeley. Alice has been running the food programs here for a long time - not something they advertise. After lunch Tom and I visited fellow Eric Nathan who is a composer, conductor and trumpteter. Eric is from West Chester county, a lonsman, Yale undergrad in trumpet and Cornell phd in composition and composing. He played us a bunch of his pieces including one called Toying which is about wind up toys. His work has been recently performed in Paris and NYC Philharmonic. He is anohter brilliant person, charming and funny.
Then - nirvana. Tom took me to the local market where I could buy fruit, salamis and prochuittos, cheeses, olives, wine, beer, coffee, etc. My little kitchen is now happy and so am I.
I then had a great dinner on the hill at a very fine restaurant steps away from the AAR, and proceeded to go into Trastevery on a Saturday night which is a wall to wall scene of people partying. Crazier than Hong Kong on Holloween.
Sunday, a day of rest. Slept late, and walked to Pallazo della Sapienza. It's beautiful, perfectly proportioned rectangle courtyard, designed by Borromini, has porticoes on three sides and the spectacularly curving church of St. Ivo at its far end. Begun for the Barberini Pope Urban VIII, both the courtyard adn the church incorporate the bee into their design. I think that this is one of the masterpieces of Rome, and is the one place that I have the strongest memories from my time here 30 years ago. St. Ivo is only open to the public on Sunday mornings, and I was lucky to be there w two Fellow, Catie Newell and Tom Mayes. As Catie said later, "it is nice to be able to see great places with your own eyes and through other peoples eyes"
From there is was on to the grand passiagiato. Most churches and galleries are closed on sundays, and the main shopping streets are closed to cars. This lead to seeing some amazing fasion - all like art and sculpture. Finishing at the Spanish Steps and the Bhorghese Gardens (pretty gritty) I taxied it back to the AAR to meet Fellows Tom K and Ryan Baily (a religious studies phd from McGill U. He is studying "The Acts of Saint Cyprian of Antioch" a 3rd century AD magician. Who better to accompany Tom and me to SEE SOME FOOTBALL.
Side notes - 4 weeks ago I was at Deep Creek Maryland. Met a guy named Eric Yonke on a boat. Discovered Eric and his family were planning a trip to Rome. Traded coordinates and Eric said he'd give me a shout when he got to Rome. Eric emails me this past Tuesday saying can he stop up to see the AAR with his 10 (!) family members. They arrive, tour, and in leaving i mention to Eric that i am a huge European Football fan. Eric says, "Oh, a good friend of mine ownes the team and he invited me to the owners box this sunday, but i can't make it. Would you like me to see if he can get you tickets?" This lead to 5 FREE tickets to last nights whooping of ROMA over Bologna 5 - Nil.
Another friend has called to meet up. Michael Iati is the head of facilities at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and I have arranged for he and his wife to come to the AAR for a lecture and dinner this Weds. Then, upon Tom, Ryan and I walking to Trastevere to have dinner before the football match, who should we see up on the hill near the AAR buy Michael Iatia and his wife. I think this Ryan the magician studier has put a spell on me.

The sublime plan of St. Ivo. A Star of David insribed with a circle, with round apses.

Lunch with my friend Harvey from Yale, and ..........Alice Waters from Chez Panisse. She is here for four weeks and is kind of overseeing the kitchen

Tom and I go to see the wonderful composer Eric Nathan. Tom and I predict that we will be hearing from him in the future.

Eric writes his scores by hand......

............and he can hit notes on this keyboard and they go right onto a score sheet on his computer

Tom and I went back to his studio to grab some things before going to the grocery store and I took pictures of some of Tom's drawings. Zoom into them if you can. They are amazing.

Dinner that night around the corner from the AAR

Night walk in Trastevere

Sunday morning - Looking for Tom cause we were supposed to meet up to go to St. Ivo, where you are only allowed in Sunday between 9 and noon

Looking for Tom in the AAR Fellows residence hallways

Not finding Tom, I headed to St. Ivo past Piazza Navona

Past Borromini and Bernini

Bernini taunting Borromini

St. Ivo

Fellows Tom Mayes and Catie Newell are here in the pews when I arrive. Notice that the Priest is Black. A very nice touch.

Triangles and circles

Circles and triangles

at the center below the dome

my favorite photo

No, maybe this one is

The whole structure seems to be stone (limestone or travertine) coated in a skim coat of milk like plaster. You see no joints or relief angles or control joints or seams!