It was an absolutely beautiful day in Rome. I woke up early and went out into the city. I have decided that I have to get out and do something every day. It is stupid for me to stay inside. Yesterday I bought two travel books on Rome. I have started reading the first book, "The Smiles of Rome: A Literary Companion for Readers and Travelers." The book is full of essays on Rome written by famous writers, everyone from Goethe to Henry James to Sigmund Freud. After the essay, the book has a section for the traveler. It tells you how to get to to the places mentioned in the essay. It's gives you kind of a walking tour after reading the writer's take on Rome. It's fantastic.
The first essay I read was from Goethe's travel diaries. Goethe wrote Faust while he was in Italy. He took drawing lessons in Rome because he thought it was the best way to train himself to pay attention to the outside world. Goethe writes, "Each day brings me some new remarkable object, some new great picture, and a whole city which the imagination will never encompass, however long one things and dreams." I feel the same way he did, except he articulates his feeling much better. He writes about The Roman Forum and climbing to the top of the Palentine. I followed the book' walking tour. I started in Campo di Fiori and walked to the Villa Farnesina in Trastevere. From there I went to the Botanical Gardens and then to the Vatican. What a marvelous day.
I was not aloud to take pictures in the Villa Farnesina, so I grabbed some from the net ... The villa was built at the height of the Renaissance and contains beautiful paintings by Raphael. The villa was built in the 1500s by the richest man in Europe, a banker named Agostino Chigi. It was the meeting place of artists, aristocrats ... You enter the villa through the Loggia of Galatea. There is a fantastic painting by Raphael in this room on the wall next to the entrance door. It is of the nymph, Galatea. (I posted the painting above.) Next you enter the Loggia of Psyche (the villas claim to fame). The room was painted by Raphael. Apparently he was dating La Fornarina during this time, which caused him to procrastinate some. The ceiling paintings depict the story of Cupid and Psyche and are full of erotic undertones. Truly magnificent.
After the Villa Farnesina, I walked to Rome's botanical gardens. This was wonderful because it was such a beautiful sunny day. I would like to go back in the spring. After the gardens, I hopped on a bus to Vatican City. I walked up to San Pietro, but I did not go inside. I'll leave it for another day. I ate some pizza nearby and then it was time to head back to Camilla's. I took a bus to Via del Corso. I found Goethe's residence while he was in Rome at Via del Corso 18. In the Middle Ages, via del corso was a race track for the races during Carnivale, from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia. I had no idea. Goethe's former residence is now a museum dedicated to the writer. It houses the drawings he drew during his time in Rome. I walked to Piazza di San Silvestro and hopped on my bus headed for Camilla's.
Once home it was time to get to work. I helped Ludovica with her homework. Anna is sick and did not go to school. She won't to the swimming pool today either. After the homework, I packed Ludovica's swimming gear and we headed to the pool. I love Ludovica. She is so nice to me and she really tries to speak in English. She helps me too. I tell her that I need her help because I am afraid of getting lost. She like this. It makes her feel important. After the lesson we went home, ate dinner and everyone was put to bed. It was a full day. I am exhausted. I wonder what I will do tomorrow ...
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