Monti with a touch of Picasso

I wonder if a few years from now Anne and I will shake our heads at our shenanigans in Rome.  Seriously, I left the apartment at noon and just returned at 10 p.m. with a grand day behind me, as well as an evening bottle of wine during happy hour, a beer at the Yellow Bar on our way to dinner, and then another glass of wine at dinner.  Wow.  Eat, DRINK, and be merry!  But here one drinks to enjoy the flavor and those who are gathered around. You drink slowly, purposefully savoring the essence of it all.  So those beverages were appreciated over a number of hours. Delightful.

The weather report had predicted rain, but the day was gorgeously cooler--no rain in sight. Before she set off to work,  Anne and I arranged to meet at 6 for happy hour. I went to the local market for more coffee and some apples for us.  Then I packed my bag with water, a jacket, leggings, umbrella, my book, map and itinerary.  All set to discover a neighborhood I’d been curious about--Monti.

I’ve become pretty adept at riding the metro.  It’s easy once you understand the ticket machines inside the metro stations.  You can choose “English” instructions if you want.  In any event, select the number and type of tickets you want (I usually get 3-4 for future rides), insert the cash (bills or coins), and the tickets drop out one at a time along with your change.  Then you walk to the turnstile, insert the ticket, and it goes through the machine and pops up for you to take with you as the small door opens and you walk through.  You can use this ticket on any metro, bus or tram within 100 minutes, if you’re going in the same direction.

Just follow the steps:  1,2,3 and you're set for the metro

So my metro ride from the Piramide stop to Cavour (in the heart of Monti) took only about 15 minutes.  I exited onto narrow alleyways filled with shops, cafes, and workshops (this area had been the working class neighborhood until it began to transform a few years ago).

Streets of Monti.  Tough to see, but two dog are hanging their heads out to take in what's happening below (between the bird cages)

Anne had told me about Santa Maria degli Angeli--a church near Termini.   It was a public bathing complex (built 298-306 A.D.) that Michelangelo transformed into a church beginning in 1560.   What I found most interesting was the meridian line that Pope Clement XI commissioned to be constructed in 1702 by the astronomer, mathematician, and archaeologist Francesco Bianchini.  The pope’s purpose was threefold:  he wanted to check the Gregorian reformation of the calendar for accuracy, predict the exact date of Easter, and (of course) give Rome a meridian line as important as the one Cassini had just built in Bologna.  Such one-up-manship. Anyway, I found the place fascinating and enjoyed listening as the organ was being tuned.

The sun shines through this tiny hole

The light from the hole indicates the date, etc. on this meridian

I’d seen that a Picasso exhibit was being held in a Monti gallery, so I stopped in for a few hours to enjoy the collection focusing on Picasso’s life from 1915-1925 when he traveled to Rome and Naples, taking in several trips to Pompeii, which influenced his art.  He traveled with poet Jean Cocteau and the composer Igor Stravinsky, following Ballet Russe. I never knew about that Picasso designed sets and costumes for several ballets.  The well-chosen pieces of the exhibit were intriguing.

Picasso's son Paul  

Love this energy and enthusiasm  

I think there are days most women must feel like this

This shot is one I took from a film they were showing of Picasso's set design and stage of the ballet Parade

On a corner in Monti.   

My lunch in Monti

Rome's rooftops

Then off to the church San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains).  Michelangelo had been commissioned to design the tomb of the cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, but a series of political and financial issues led to this structure being installed in this church instead.  On the structure, Moses sits in the middle with the Ten Commandments. The horns you see on Moses's head are the result of an incorrect translation of the Old Testament. In the Middle Ages it was thought that the original scripture said that the head of Moses was “horned.” Now we know that the text actually says that his face “radiated.”  Ah...yes.  We know how things can be mis-translated and mis-interpreted, don’t we?  

The church is named for the chains that bound St. Peter.  In the fifth century, these were presented to Pope Leo I, who placed them in this church, together with the chains that had supposedly held St. Peter while he was in the Mamertine prison in Rome. According to a medieval legend, the two chains then miraculously joined together. The chains are now prominently displayed in a golden reliquary near the altar.

Look closely and you'll see Moses's horns

The fused chains

Anne and I did meet at 6 for happy hour with her friend Julia; then on our way to dinner in Testaccio, we ran into colleagues at a bar (and of course joined them for a beer) before enjoying pasta at a fun wine-filled cafe.  It began to sprinkle and by the time we got home, we were refreshed from walking arm-in-arm under the umbrella.  

Julia and Anne after a hard day at work

This place is so crowded on Friday nights that it's hard to walk through it.  So...we stayed and had a beer

Ayca, Anne and me at the Yellow Bar

Yep, a happy place

Anne ordering at the restaurant with a long wine list