WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS...

The Villa Borghese is about the most perfect museum I know of anywhere. It is set in the largest park in the city—one that has miraculously survived since it was begun in 1605 by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. We had reserved tickets way in advance, and had had a "Brucato Morning" start (EARLY) to be there when it opened. You can see how pleased we were to have made it in time. 

Eventually, a mousey little man opened the door and began explaining in Italian (what else?) to mostly English-speaking tourists that ALL the museum workers in the city (or in the country) had gone on strike. As you can see in the next photo, one lady, from New York, I think, demanded to know what he was going to do about giving her a refund? He shrugged and mumbled in Italian what sounded like "Closed, sorry."

So, the highlight of our trip to Rome suddenly vanished. As "tour guide," the only notes I'd brought were for the Villa and one or two other museums. So, we we quickly changed plans and strolled through the park to Pincio Hill overlooking Piazza del Popolo to see the obelisk that Emperor Hadrian had made to honor his boyfriend Antinous, who had drowned in the Nile at the age of 19 or 20. Hadrian had him declared a god, and the obelisk, which had been moved several times since it was made around 135 AD, probably marked the burial site of Antinous. However, no one knows where that original site actually was.

We then stopped at the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, the Basilica de Sant' Agostino, and the Saint Luigi Church, none of which were on strike and all of which had paintings by Caravaggio.  

I'll pick only one of them to illustrate here, his "Calling of St. Matthew." This picture along with two others about the saint helped establish the his reputation. Like a stage set, it captures the moment when JC (on the right with the faint halo) summons Matthew, who was busy counting taxes for the Romans, to drop everything and follow Him. Matthew, surprised at the unexpected turn of events, seems to ask, “Who me?”

Note the light on his face (divine presence?) and particularly the hand of JC, which is almost a copy of Michelangelo's iconic hand of Adam receiving the spark of life from God. Some of the others at the table are so busy with their worldly job of counting money (or figuring out which are two Euro coins versus 50 cent pieces) that they miss the chance of a long after-lifetime, while the two boys (It's a Caravaggio after all.) are not quite sure what to make of the situation.  

Another building we visited, the Pantheon, was built almost two thousand years ago by Emperor Hadrian and has been in continuous use ever since. It's the best preserved ancient building in the world, and its dome was the model for all those that came after—the Duomo in Florence, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and even the Rotunda in the US Capital.

Some people toss coins in the Trevi Fountain as a wish that someday they'll return to Rome, but Bob and I always visit the Pantheon to pay our respects. Hadrian built the temple to honor all the gods, since he didn't care which ones you worshiped as long as he was one of them. Fortunately, the Pantheon survived the Christian era because it was used as a church, which is what it still is today (mainly for weddings and special occasions).

Hadrian imported the 16 columns in front, each weighing 60 tons, from Egypt (down the Nile, across the Mediterranean on barges, and up the Tiber). He used Roman cement (still a mystery) to build the dome. The result is a building that still produces awe, not just for its age, but also for its elegant simplicity.


After a quiet lunch and a gelato at the shop where Michele and the girls had had cones when they were here, we fought out way through the afternoon crowds to Rome's two famous tourist sites--the Spanish Steps, which were almost obliterated by people sitting on them, and the Trevi Fountain, which was also overwhelmed by tourists.



The concierge at Gary's hotel says the strike may go on for some time, so who knows what will happen to my best laid plans not only for Rome, but also for Florence?