Exploring Ancient Marvels in Rome, Italy. Postcards from the Road: May 5, 2024
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Dear Friends:
Ciao from Rome! We took advantage of Domenica al Museo (Sundays at the museum), an initiative promoted by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. Many museums, galleries, and historical sites offer free admission throughout Italy on the first Sunday of each month, so we went to three!
The YouTube video for the day is up on our channel. Zeke worked on it while I (Terri) sent you all this postcard.
It was another gorgeous day, in the low 70s which we enjoyed as we went from Terme di Diocleziano to the Palazzo Massimo, and finally to the Gallerie Nazionali Barberni Corsini,
The Terme di Diocleziano (Baths of Diocletian) were constructed between 298 and 306 AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. They were the largest public baths in ancient Rome. In the 19th century, a section was converted into a museum, is also part of the Museo Nazionale Romano, and has the ‘Michelangelo’ cloister associated with the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. The ruins are extraordinary, and they often have special exhibits that change periodically. The section Terri saw last year was closed to visitors this year. We are assuming they are preparing a new exbibit.
The Palazzo Massimo is one of the museums that make up the Museo Nazionale Romano. It’s essentially across the street from Terme di Diocleziano and contains a magnificent collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, Roman wall paintings, and tile mosaics. It boasts some of the famous Roman wall paintings, or frescoes, from La Villa di Livia a Prima Porta (we are posed in front of one…our son’s favorite). The building is gorgeous, too.
The Gallerie Nazionali Barberini Corsini is a Baroque palace that houses the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica (National Gallery of Ancient Art). It too is exquisite, both in architecture and the art collections. Right now, they are showcasing some art from the Borghese Gallery in a not so unusual collaboration. One side of the Barberni tends to have special exhibits, and right now Day for Night: New American Realism is on display which features “more than 150 works by American artists from the Tony and Elham Salamé collection, presented in collaboration with their Aïshti Foundation.” It was incredible to see the stark differences between the main collection, the Borghese collection on loan (Raphael, Titian, Rubens) and this exhibit. This you’ll have to see in the video.
We had an unremarkable lunch near the Massimo but met a lovely young couple from the DC area that had been in Lisbon and were on their way to Venice, Florence, and Paris. We are going to miss them in each place by a few days. We may or may not have convinced them to consider home exchanges.
So far, we don’t have any good restaurant recommendations for anyone visiting Rome.
Tomorrow we are considering taking the train to the beach. The server at lunch suggested we take advantage of the incredible weather. We are ready for a breather from museums and crowds of people.
We attempt to speak Italian with some success thanks to Google Translate. Context helps. It would also help if the taxi drivers spoke a little slower. Terri catches about every third or fourth word. and pieces together what she can.
Dinner was pizza and salad at the hotel. Not great but convenient.
We are assuming the cats are still alive and our home exchangers, Larry and Joan, are doing fine. We hope to talk to both kids tonight before we go to bed. The time zone differences are a challenge for sure.
Ciao for now!
Terri (and Zeke)
Watch our YouTube video from our very first day in Rome, Italy together.
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