When in Rome -- (Domenica -- il secondo giorno)

Sunday morning in Rome.  After an early breakfast at the hotel, I change rooms.  The new room is more spacious but minus the interesting view.  The room is comfortable, that's all that matters on this busman's holiday.

I'm dressed and ready to start the day.  First activity on this Sunday morning is church.  Not just any church, but an Anglican Church.  Right ... I'm in Rome, and I go to a Church of England service on Sunday morning? 

Well, my friend Dana who, with her husband and 2 sons, left New York for Rome 2 years ago in the financial shakeup, is the guest preacher this morning at All Saints Church on Via del Babuino.  I get myself a cab and am there in minutes.  It's a beautiful church, classic and yet relaxed. 

The Sanctuary of All Saints Church

I let Dana know I'm here and she introduces me to several ex-pats who worship there.  I then take a seat behind her husband and 2 sons and their friends as the service starts.   Dana's sermon is about Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and the differing personalities in Vanya's life and how in our lives we encounter a similar cast of varied characters...and how we can make changes and comfortably do things we never thought we could do.  Made me think of my life journey; how well (or not well) I've assimilated past life changes along the way and how open I might be to changes down the road.

After church, I head towards Piazza del Popolo and sit outside at a cafe and have a cappuccino (it's before noon!) and a light lunch, topped off with gelato.  I'm directly across from the twin churches of Santa Maria Miracoli and Santa Maria Montesanto, which were commissioned by Pope Alexander VII in 1658.  In the center of the Piazza is the Egyptian Obelisk that in 1589, Pope Sixtus V had moved from the Circus Maximus to the center of this square. The obelisk was originally built in 1300 BC and was taken from the Sun Temple in Heliopolis in 10 BC by the Roman Emperor Augustus and erected at the Circus Maximus to commemorate the conquest of Egypt.  

Today the piazza is being readied for some kind of rock concert so it's jumping with activity and swarming with interesting people.  I wonder how Chekhov might have developed the character of some of these people and what words he would have given them!  It's the perfect place to hang out and people-watch. 

The twin Churches and the Egyptian Obelisk

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I have tickets for entry to the Galerie Borghese at 3 pm, so I head over to the Villa Borghese Gardens and do some more Sunday afternoon people-watching.

The Villa Borghese

(I see an impressionist painting lurking here)

I spend several hours in the Gardens and in the Gallery, viewing the treasures of the 16th - 18th centuries including Bernini's "David" and "Apollo and Daphne," Raphael's "The Deposition" (secretly removed from the Baglioni Chapel in Perugia in 1608). Also, the painting, "Sacred and Profane Love" by Titian, Caravaggio's "David with the Head of Goliath," and "The Deposition" by Peter Rubens.

The original sculptures and paintings in the Borghese Gallery date back to Cardinal Scipione's collection, the son of Ortensia Borghese - Paul V's sister - and of Francesco Caffarelli.  Subsequent events over the next three centuries entailing both losses and acquisition have left their mark:  Cardinal Scipione was drawn to any works of ancient, Renaissance, and contemporary art, yet was so ambitious that he promoted the creation of new sculptures and especially marble groups to rival antique works.  In 1807, Camillo Borghese sold Napoleon hundreds and hundreds of statues, busts,  bas-reliefs,  columns, and various vases, which constitute the Borghese Collection in the Louvre.  But by the 1830s these gaps seem to have been filled by new finds from recent excavations and works recuperated from the cellars and various other Borghese residences.

Now, I'm tired and hungry, so I find a cab and, as it whizzes by all sorts of public squares, roundabouts, statues, fountains, and churches, I make my way back to the Esquiline Hill to find a neighborhood trattoria where I can order a plate of uncomplicated Spaghetti Bolognese.  I want to taste native spaghetti with meat sauce.  (I found out that I like our version better--except here the Parmesan is quite fantastic). 

After supper I do some shopping, have another gelato, and then head home to the hotel and relax with my netbook for the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow -- a fountain, gelato, the Vatican, and then Dana's for dinner!