Easter Luncheon in Rome

Today as is the tradition we went to our friends S, R, and S. for lunch. We picked up the professor who lives in Salario on our way and there we met with other guests.

Simonetta always prepares beautiful table settings, here the centre piece is Sicilian, a lamb of God made in Marzipan. The menu as always is pure Roman, we start with a  glass of Proseco, then à table, first we had a slice of cheese bread baked to look like a chef's hat, this is typically Italian Easter bread, served with hard boiled eggs which have been painted bright red or dark green or some other colour. They are placed inside a Fabergé style egg container presented to each guest at table. This is accompanied by some hard cheeses like Parmigiano and Pecorino, a hard goat cheese and green fava beans or broad beans served raw and some salami made specially for Easter served with a nice glass of red wine, in this case it was a wine from the Friuli (Northern Italy).

Professor Alberto Testa and Anita Garibaldi

Afterwards the main course was roast beef and asparagus in season at this time with oven roasted potatoes, served with another red wine from Umbria. Finally crudités of celery, carrots and radishes with a bit of olive oil and salt.

Dessert was fresh strawberries with a bit of lemon juice and sugar and Will's Pastiera with a glass of Proseco. The Pastiera was a huge success, it was Will's first try at making it from an old Neapolitan recipe. Mrs. A. Garibaldi ate 3 pieces, she declared it to be wonderful, with that sort of Official endorsement Will must be an Honorary Italian now.  We also had marrons glacés, a personal favorite with little candied violets.  

il professore and I in conversation after lunch.

Tomorrow is Pasquetta (little easter) so we are having roasted leg of lamb. The fun never stops and more guests at our house this time.

Two stories

Rombo = Turbot
Spigola = sea bass.
Alici = Anchovy
cozze = mussel

These are the fish most commonly found in Italy in restaurants. The alici = anchovy is the other common fish, this is not the salty anchovy found in North America and so disliked, who has not heard the famous whine no anchovy on my pizza. This is a fresh fish bought at the market like any other fresh fish, it is often simply grilled or it is served in a lemon and fresh parsley dressing. The Alici is larger than a sardine same color. As for the Spigola or the Rombo, most often they are grilled or baked and served with roast potatoes with some rosemary, there is also a Sardinian recipe which comes with a sauce made of celery, black olives, fresh tomatoes. As for pasta very often and by far the most popular dish is spaghetti with fresh tomato and mussel = cozze sauce.

Spigola baked with roasted potatoes.

So last night we had a spigola baked and served with roasted potatoes, one spigola is enough for 2 adults. It's a very good fish, rich texture, a little fat, in a word delicious. Very easy to do at home and simply served with a bit of lemon juice. We had a rosé Emira from the Lazio, the province around Rome, Tenuta Tre Cancelli Vineyard.

Today we went to visit the newly renovated Braschi Palace which houses a branch of the Rome Museum. Because this year Italy is celebrating 150 years of Unity as a country, (1861-2011) with the victory of the Italian people and the forces of Garibaldi putting an end of the theocratic government of Pope Pius IX. The Holy See installed a theocratic government from the 4th century to 1860 and put down many revolts by the Italians who wanted a democratic government. Currently there is a special exhibit on the Risorgimento (re-birth). The exhibit shows the many battles, all very bloody opposing the Pope to the Italian people. The Pope called on Spain, France and Austria, 3 Catholic countries to suppress the Italians.

Triumphal return of the Pope to Rome, April 1850, escorted by French troops. Notice the lack of ordinary folk.

(from Wikipedia)
Palazzo Braschi is a large Neoclassical palace in Rome and is located between the Piazza Navona, the Campo de' Fiori, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Piazza di Pasquino. It presently houses the Museo di Roma, the civic museum of Rome.

The famous Bersagliere regiment breaking through Porta Pia 20 September 1860, thus liberating Rome.

It was built by the papal nephew Duke Luigi Braschi Onesti, to designs by Cosimo Morelli. The site was purchased in 1790 by Braschi, supported by funds from Pope Pius VI; Braschi demolished the 16th-century palace that Giuliano da Sangallo the Younger had built for Francesco Orsini in order to erect his own from the ground up. Construction was suspended in February 1798 during the Napoleonic occupation of the city, when the French temporarily took possession of it until 1802 and confiscated the recently-acquired collection of antiquities it contained (though Braschi was reimbursed for them). In 1809, when Rome was declared an Imperial city by Napoleon, Duke Luigi moved into the palace and was declared mayor.

The new King of Italy, Vittorio Emmanuelle II of Savoy, pointing to Rome City Hall, Campidoglio.

On his death in 1816 the palace remained unfinished and the family funds depleted. In 1871 the Braschi Onesti heirs sold the building to the Italian State. During the Italian fascist period, it was used as the political headquarters of Benito Mussolini. After the war, it housed 300 refugee families and many of the interior frescoes were seriously damaged by the fires they lit to keep warm. 

Piazza Navona, looking at the Palazzo of the Embassy of Brazil and the church of St-Agnes in Agony.

Afterwards we had lunch in Piazza Navona, something we never do because the prices are x2 what they would  be in any other restaurants in Rome, you pay for the view, but we did not feel like walking around. It was a very nice warm day today around 16 C not bad for winter in Rome.

Janiculum Hill and Italian Unification

Italy as we know it today is a very young country, we are celebrating in 2011, 150 years of Statehood. The USA is older (1776), Mexico (1810), so are many other countries like Switzerland, one of the oldest in Europe.  In an earlier post I told on this weekend I went to the Belvedere in the Villa Borghese, yesterday I went to the Janiculum hill on the other side of the Tiber river which is opposite the Belvedere on Pincio Hill. The view opposite the river is more spectacular than from the Pincio Hill, you see all of Rome and the various mountains in the background from which comes 80% of all of Rome's drinking water, this is why Rome has the best drinking water in all Europe.

I took the number 44 bus from the Teatro di Marcello on Via dei Cerchi and crossed the river at the Ponte Palatino and up the Janiculum hill. I do not know the area that well, so at one point not being sure were I was I decided to get off near the top at the Basilica of St-Pancras on Via di San Pancrazio. This is a very old basilica and well worth a visit. Little did I know that I while standing in front of this column in the middle of the street, that it is the site of terrible battles in 1848-49 between the French army supporting the Pope against the Italian people and their leader Garibaldi, who were fighting for their independence from Papal Theocratic iron fisted rule.  A little door in the wall next to St Pancras led me into the Doria Pamphilij Garden, the former summer estate of the Princely Doria Pamphilij family. In 1960 they gave this huge estate to the Italian State, it is now a public garden.  

The formal entrance to the Doria Pamphilij Garden, the Arch of the Four Winds.

The garden is so large that a warning sign at the entrance reminds visitors not to get to far into the forested garden because when closing time comes the gates are locked and impossible to scale, meaning that you will be locked in for the night. This garden is not like the Villa Borghese, though both families are ancient and just as wealthy with their load of Popes and Cardinals among them. Innocent X was a Doria Pamphilij Pope and Paul V a Borghese Pope.

The Doria Pamphilij garden is known for its wonderful views of Rome and the surrounding countryside. There are no ruins, no statues, the original Palace was totally destroyed by the French cannon fire in 1849, it was replaced today by a Gate of the Four Winds. The estate witnessed a terrible massacre of Italian fighters at the hands of the Papal and French Army. Garibaldi lost the battle and managed to escape and the Pope ruled Rome for another 21 years through fierce exactions against the population and with the help of the Vatican Secret Police. As I left the garden I walked down past the ruins of the Vascello on Via Garibaldi and came to the Arch celebrating the Papal victory. The Inscription on top says in part that the impious enemies of Christ (aka the Romans and Italians) were defeated.  On a side street is the entrance to the Villa Aurelia also badly damaged by French cannon fire and today the seat of the American Academy in Rome.

Pope's Triumphal Arch over the Italian people

Via Garibaldi, on the left is Villa Aurelia and in front a glimpse of the panorama of Rome.

Continuing down the road already a spectacular view of Rome is visible and there on the right hand side of the road is the Fontanone or big fountain it is the terminal point of the Aqueduct of Emperor Trajan and was restored by Pope Paul V to give water to the people of Trastevere.

The Fontanone, Aqua Paola

The four granite columns of the fountain are from the original front entrance pillars to the original basilica of St-Peter built in the fourth century and demolished in 1450 to make way for the new basilica of St-Peter we know today. The water is spring water and very good to drink. Across the road from it is the Royal Spanish Academy and the Church of St-Peter in Montorio first built by the Benedictines and paid for in part by Saint-Louis King of France and then later on re-built and paid for in whole by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. The Church thus became the National Church of Spain in Rome.

I took quite a few pictures of Rome from this panoramic point, the sun was coming out and despite the clouds I could see clearly some 80 km from the city all the way to mount Terminillo.

View of Rome, left the Belvedere on Pincio Hill, centre the French Academy and right the steeple of Trinita dei Monti.

I then went to visit the Church and discovered a very strange story and  how it became an important point of pilgrimage. It appears that around the 10th century the story started to circulate that St-Peter had been tortured and crucified on the spot where the church stands today.  It is believed that this story first started with the poor translation and obvious mistakes of some monks who were barely able to read and write, let alone translate Latin into the local dialect spoken then in Rome.

The Tempietto of Bramante

The mistake in translation was discovered but at this point the spot was a favorite of pilgrims. Franciscans took over the site and continued with the same old canard and prospered from it. The Spanish Crown needing for political reasons a special Church in Rome with a strong association with one of the Catholic Church first star were all too please to put more financial support behind the enterprise and even commissioned in 1502 Bramante to built the Tempietto (little temple) on the spot believed erroneously to be where St-Peter was crucified.

At this point I was feeling a bit tired and the sun was setting, so I came home by walking down the hill to  Via Trastevere and took the no. 8  tram to Piazza Argentina.  A good visit in an unknown, for me, spot of Rome.

 Piazza Venezia and the Christmas tree