Shades of Green Acres!

Do you remember the TV sitcom show Green Acres with Zsa Zsa Gabor in the 1970's about a wealthy New York lawyer and his Hungarian refugee wife who move to the country side and renovated a house. Well in Rome we have a bit of that after a fashion. The former Playboy playmate Ms Rita Jenrette has done well for herself, she is the ex-wife of ex-congressman John Jenrette now in jail in the USA for criminal activity.

She married last year HSH Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi, Prince of Piombino, of the ancient and noble Boncompagni-Ludovisi family. Their Palace Villa Aurora in Rome was once part of the Villa Ludovisi complex of 36 hectares in the centre of Rome, most of it was sold by the family and demolished in 1880 to make way for Via Veneto, which is the no.1 wealthy tourist trap in Rome, with its hotels, restaurants and prices to send anyone into orbit, a processed cheese sandwich at 40 euros, a cup of tea at 15 euros.

Villa Aurora was built in 1570 and houses art treasures value to close to 800 million euros. The family comes from Piombino and are part of what is called Papal Aristocracy, meaning that the Pope as Sovereign elevated them to Princely status. The family counts 2 popes Gregory XIII and Gregory XV, who gave us the Gregorian Calendar and is considered amongst the richest families in Italy. Their family mausoleum in the celebrated Campo Verano Cemetery in Rome is covered in golden mosaics which shines bright in the late afternoon as the sun illuminates the building, even in death they stand out.

Rita urged the very private prince to open the house to wealthy American tourists. Today, this onetime U.S. congressional wife and businesswoman gives tours herself, recounting the history of the 16th-century house and its collection of masterpieces including ceilings by Caravaggio and Guercino.

Rita certainly saw an opportunity to make a few bucks by opening up Villa Aurora, she apparently wants to bring life back to the house, and give happiness and joy to visitors who would not have had the chance to see the masterpieces. I can just imagine what other Princely families in Rome are thinking. These great houses in Rome are never opened to the public, let alone silly tourists. The Princes guard the exclusivity of their rarefied circles jealously and surround themselves with people who match their social standing, money alone is not good enough.

Near us we have Villa Albani with its large gardens, Prince Torlonia whose family is equally famous, never opens the park or his palace to the public. You can only admire from the tall front gates what lies beyond. Prince Colona only opens a couple of State Rooms in his central Rome Palace 3 hours a week for people to visit and this is done with enough condescension that you feel privileged to be able to admire the wealth of his family.

Well there goes the neighborhood!

planning our August vacation

In August it is the time honored tradition of vacation for all of Italy, everyone and everything will be either gone on vacation and businesses will be either shut or on very reduced hours of operation, this includes banks, grocery stores, city public works, the government, doctors, hospitals, gas stations, mechanics, in other words everything. You have to see it to believe it, the whole country shuts down. We will do like everyone else and go away to the sea side. This year we return to Pesaro in the Marche region on the Adriatic and on our return journey we will stop in Gubbio, Assisi and Perugia in Umbria region.
This year is a special anniversary, it is the 800 anniversary of the founding of the Franciscan Order by St-Francis of Assisi, a very peculiar man who the Pope did not entirely approve of, because of his radical ideas of poverty. I think that the Pope as Sovereign of the World as he styled himself and lived in what is called to this day the Sacred Apostolic Palace, must have felt embarrassed in front of this man who spoke plainly and lived amongst the poor, preaching humility in the service of God.

Just yesterday I was reading the blog Italian notebook and found out that the Chapel of Santo Nicolo in Assisi is undergoing major renovations and the beautiful interior is being completely cleaned, revealing the original colors of the frescoes as they were when Giotto painted them centuries ago. You can visit the Chapel while the work goes on on special appointment and reserve a time to see the artists at work. This is what we did, a special treat to see such work in process, it is called ''Giotto come era'' or Giotto as it was. See also www.assisionline.com

Sunday drive

This Sunday morning, we drove out of Rome going south east, towards the village of Ariccia which is on the other side of the volcanic lake, opposite Castel Gandolfo, the summer Palace of the Pope. Ariccia is not really that far from Rome nowadays, it is considered the far suburbs and is reached by following the Via Appia Nova . Ariccia is built up on the crest of what is left of an ancient volcano. The Chigi Family, wealthy bankers from Siena, built their summer Palace in Ariccia. This was at the time of Pope Alexander VII Chigi (1655-1667), the same pope who built up Rome, one of his most famous project being the Piazza del Popolo in Rome and of course the Bernini colonnade of St-Peter's Basilica and also his mausoleum inside St-Peter's also by Bernini.


The Chigi family is well known in Siena, Rome and in Italy for numerous works of art they commissioned from artists like Rafael, Bernini and others to enhance their name and standing in society. In Rome the Chigi also had several palaces all more magnificent than the other, one is the Palazzo Chigi on the Piazza della Colona, used today as the Office of the Italian Prime Minister. The Chigi Palace in Ariccia was also the setting for the movie The Leopard by Luchino Visconti, which starred Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale. The movie was made from the famous novel Il Gattopardo by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa which chronicles life in Sicily between 1860 and 1910.



The Chigi Family lives on today in Ostia, they have a palace by the sea where Prince Mario Chigi his wife and son Duke Flavio live. The summer Palace in Ariccia was in the family until 1988 when they gave it to the City of Ariccia with specific conditions for its use and including the enormous forested park attached to it. The first born son of the Chigi family has held the important role of Custodian of the Conclave and Marshal of the Holy Roman Church, with the delicate duty of watching over the college of cardinals during the conclave meetings.

Across the Piazza from the Palace, another Cardinal Chigi, the family counts 4 famous Cardinals, built the Church of Santa Maria Assunta al Cielo, as a smaller version of the Pantheon of Rome. The Palace is beautiful to visit, the Chigi family left many artifacts behind and it has a feeling of being lived in. As you move from one room to another, you notice the family paintings and photos, you notice that they are related to other Princely and Royal Families, like that of Bavaria and Russia and in Italy to the Families Della Rovere (see Canadian Embassy), Borghese and Farnese.


Ariccia itself is delighful, the food specialty of the town is roast pork, many restaurants offer it on their menu, wines are the Castelli Romani label, and locally produced honey and cheeses. We went to a very nice Enogastronomia called Spazio Art'e on Piazza Repubblica which is located in front of the Palace of Lucien Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon who lived in Ariccia for a time.

Being on my detox weekend I watched Monsieur have a plate of wonderful roast pork with a balsamic vinegar dressing decorated with a few sliced prunes. I had a nice salad. The view from the restaurant was the valley below. It was very quiet and it does not appear that Ariccia is on the tourist map, a shame really, because it is so nice and peaceful with many beautiful things to see and taste. Most of the traffic turns off to go to Castel Gandolfo to see the Pope who spends his summer away from Rome, taking with him the entire Vatican court.

Do have a look at the site of Ariccia it is well worth it; www.palazzochigiariccia.it

Saturday with the Chef

This Saturday morning I went on a walk with Chef Deb (Deborah Rankine) who is on YouTube and also has a blog, a TV show and gives cooking classes in Canada. She gave me a copy of her book. Her web site is: www.thefridgewhisperer.ca and www.culinarycaravan.com
We met through the Internet, I saw her on YouTube and sent in a comment about one of her recipes. She answered asking me about restaurants in Rome and then told me she was coming to Rome with her family for a visit.

She said she wanted to see a local fresh produce market in Rome where Romans shop for food. I met her at Porta Pia and we went around the corner to the market of Piazza Alessandria. She bought wine and olive oil, cheese and other Italian specialities. I also took her to 2 enotecas and for coffee in our little local bar. We went to Bartocci on Via Alessandria where she saw the staff make fresh gelato. She got quite a tour of the food shops in our area.

Tomorrow she goes to the Amalfi coast with the family. It was fun to meet her and to be able to show her around my neighborhood.

diet & balance

Since I arrived in Italy I have gained weight, how much I am not sure exactly, maybe 3 kg. that is about 6.6 lbs. not a lot but I don't like it. I did a lot of gym work in China, boxing helped me to loose weight quickly. I really enjoyed the boxing exercise and a few years ago I also developed a fondness for Thai kick boxing. Here in Rome it is different, I don't feel like going to a gym and I really need a coach to push and motivate me.
About a week ago a colleague at work mentioned this dietitian in Parioli. I made an appointment and went to see her today.
First the good news, I found out that I do not weigh 85 kg as I thought but 79.4 kg big difference when you think of it. I would like to weigh between 70 to 75 Kg. or 154 to 165 lbs. So I need to loose 10 pounds to reach the top of my ideal weight.

More importantly I have to reduce by body fat mass, this is the dangerous fat around the waist for men which can lead to all kinds of health problems as you grow older. The doctor is German and speaks Italian, I understand Italian but speak to her in English which she understands. Basically she explained that this is not a diet, diets do not work and are a fad which gives the illusion that you are trying to do something. You have to eat and be happy with what you are eating and she is not asking me to change my eating habits either. It is all about balance and amounts of food you eat to satisfy your appetite and drinking 2 liters of water per day.



She explained that I should not eat a large amount of pasta with a rich sauce and then have bread and a rich dessert all at once. I do not do that but I can see that I should not do a Primi (pasta) and as Secundi (meat) at the restaurant. Basically you eat a pasta dish with a sauce but the amount is reasonable, measured, no bread and no rich sweet dessert, instead have a fruit for dessert. If you have a steak eat, 100 gr, no potatoes, instead have a green salad with a spoon of olive oil. So basically I knew all this before and it reminded me of what I had seen in China and in Italy in terms of eating habits. This is why men are thin here.

This weekend I will do sort of a detox diet, only fruits, salad and 2 liters of water per day. Bread is not out, but if I have some it should be dark Rye bread.

I return to see her in 2 weeks for a second evaluation. Here we go, what we will not do for la bella figura.

stereotype Canadian TV style

I was looking on YouTube.com at a series of videos by Chef Deb Rankine who is a Canadian Chef showing what can be done in terms of cooking simple recipes for people who don't have a lot of skills in the kitchen and who may feel intimidated by preparing any type of food not already in a box.

Chef Deb is quite good as a teacher and her recipes are easy for anyone who might want to gather some courage and try preparing a meal that looks good and taste good. However the producer of the show probably thought it would be a good idea to add 2 side kicks for action and fun. The only problem is that they are both stereotypes and diminish all together the value of what Chef Deb is preparing and explaining.

One is the typical caricature of the male, Christian is overweight, middle age, badly dressed, not terribly interested in what is going on and making inane comments. You know that this guy would not be able to boil water even if his life depended on it. In fact you wonder why he is even on the show. Was it to show that men too can cook?

The other is the young career female Kasha, who has to show that she is smarter than the counterpart male and is trying to show off in front of Chef Deb. You know that she cannot cook either, she gushes and makes equally inane comments. When she is told to be careful to avoid cross contamination while preparing poultry, she makes a face. When she puts on latex gloves to prepare the meat the indication is that she might also give bozo next to her a prostate examination.

All this is done to tell the public watching, don't worry folks, cooking does not require a lot of brain power and none of this will be a mental challenge. In other words lets keep this cooking show at the lowest common denominator.

The other thing that is annoying is that the show has to be geared towards families of 4 to 6 people. Why is that?
Is it possible to explain a recipe without having to tell everyone in advance this will serve so many people, is the public that dumb.

It seems that we love on Canadian television to stick to stereotypes. Women cook, men can't, cooking shows are for families and no one else. Single people don't need to cook because they have no responsibilities. Don't challenge the public's intelligence with big words and concepts, keep it real simple.

My question to Chef Deb is who told you that Havarti Cheese is a Mediterranean food? Never heard of Pecorino goat cheese or Mozarella?

HAPPY CANADA DAY, BONNE FETE DU CANADA!

Today is July 1 and we celebrate CANADA, 1534-1867-2010
This video was made by 2 kids from Canada, different and fun.
Enjoy the day!