Angelica Library

 Bill and I have often walked by and visited Chiesa Sant'Agostino. It contains a famous Caravaggio. But we never noticed this library next door. One afternoon we were walking by with cosmopolitan storyteller Mariella Bertelli. She was astonished we didn't know about it and walked us straight in.

The Biblioteca Angelica, the Angelica library, has been open to the public since 1609.

It was born when Augustinian bishop, Angelo Racca, placed his large collection of rare books in the hands of the Augustinian friars at this address. The amazing reading room with its towering banks of books was built in 1786 to house the collection, which had grown through many other bequests.

The library focuses on books about the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, Italian literature and theatre from the 15th to 18th centuries and many maps and atlases.

We were utterly enchanted.

 Mariella led me to the back where I inspected the New Books Shelf.  Bembo is a Renaissance scholar, aristocrat and bishop. Bobbio is a political philosopher and historian. I hadn't heard of either one before but I'm now interested in them both.

Two more lunches at Dal Pollarolo

John and I had the pleasure of lunching at Trattoria Dal Pollarolo two more times during our stay in Rome in May. You will find it on the narrow Via di Ripetta just below the Piazza del Popolo.

I ordered chicken with roast potatoes with a side of steamed chicory and John had the meatballs al sugo (in gravy) with mushrooms and an insalate mista (mixed salad).

Don't my roast potatoes look scrumptious?!

 We had a nice chat with proprietor, Alessandro, who asked John to email him some of our food photos to put up on Dal Pollaloro's website.

When we ordered espressi after our meal, Alessandro dropped off two complimentary cherry pastries.

 They were divine! The crunchy pastry has wine mixed into the batter and as you can see the cherry compote filling gleamed. Grazie mille, Alessandro!

On our next visit to the family restaurant John started with a wholesome vegetable minestrone

 while I chose steamed chicory again as my side dish. The Romans love bitter greens in season both in salads and as side dishes.

This time the restaurant was being managed by co-proprietor, Tonino, husband of Alessandro's sister.

 I chose Tonino's recommendation, homemade gnocchi in tomato sauce, for my main dish, and it was delicious -- I ate every bite.

 

  John chose the alternative daily special, a sumptuous pumpkin risotto.

 Looks happy doesn't he.

 When we finished with our usual espressos, Tonino brought us a complimentary strawberry mousse for us to share. Oh, those Italians!

Mercatino di Piazza delle Coppelle

During our month in Rome John and I became regulars once more at our local tiny one-family daily market in the hidden-away Piazza delle Coppelle. They specialize in flowers, salad greens and fresh fruit as well as their own eggs and olive oil.

You can even get local, soft buffalo-milk mozzarella cheese and rough country bread. Perfect for a toasted tomato and mozzarella sandwich. Believe me.

A couple days a week a fish stand of local catch is added to the selection. Shopping at the mercatino is a great way to start your day.

Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace)

On our last day in Rome, John and I visited the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace), a significant Roman monument celebrating Caesar Augustus' victories in Gaul and Spain in 13 BC.

The Carrara marble sides of the altar are covered in friezes including one of a procession of the members of the family of Augustus at the inauguration of the monument.

The altar is now enclosed in a glass and marble rectangular box designed by renown architect, Richard Meier.

 

The natural lighting and gleaming marble of Mr Meier's structure make a perfect container for the altar

which is visible from the roadway running along the Tiber just outside.

Sebastião Salgado; Genesis

When John and I visited the Ara Pacis in Rome we also visited a retrospective of the photography of Brazilian photographer, Sebastião Salgado. on the lower level of the building.

This is John admiring Salgado's over-sized portrait of the chiefs of an Amazonian tribe which was placed at the entrance to the show at the upper floor.

The retrospective was huge and covered Salgado's work around the world in sections featuring his photos of landscapes, ethnic cultures and animal life.

The work is breathtaking and the visitors enthusiastic.

The intimacy of his portraits is simply stunning.

On display is the high-end version of a catalogue of the show with its book stand designed by architect, Tadao Ando.

The selections from his oeuvre are not to be missed,

and happily for Torontonians Genesis is showing at the Royal Ontario Museum until September, 2013. Go see!

Roman Holiday