Rome
The Pantheon as we have never before seen it
The Trevi fountain as you’ve never seen it
Whipped cream and sweet bread, what could be better?
Yay! I have always been a big fan of this concoction!
Pantheon in Rome, Pentecost rose petal shower
This year the event takes place on June 9.
Trevi Fountain news
ROME – Most of the tourists who have tossed coins over their shoulder into Rome’s Trevi Fountain over the past 20 years probably did not know that they were helping the city’s poor. But the Rome city government has said no more.
Beginning April 1, the city said, the coins will no longer be delivered to the Rome diocesan Caritas for funding homeless shelters, soup kitchens and parish-based services to families in difficulty.
Instead, the city plans to use the money to help with the upkeep of monuments and to fund grants to “social projects,” which are yet to be defined. It also will hire workers to sort and count the coins, something that Caritas volunteers did for free.
In 2018, the international collection of coins added up to about 1.5 million euros or about $1.7 million.
Interviewed Jan. 12 by Vatican News, Father Benoni Ambarus, director of Caritas Rome, said, “The first thing I want to say is thank you to the millions of tourists who created a sea of solidarity with their coins.”
The priest was still hoping something would change before the change dried up in April. After all, the city council voted in October 2017 to start keeping the money in city coffers, but after a public outcry, the agreement with Caritas was extended to April 2018 and again to Dec. 31, 2018.
A Roman Christmas tree update
I know this is old news, but it is new news to me. I just read that Netflix paid for Rome’s main Christmas tree in 2018.
Here’s the tree:
Sponsoring this tree was a huge expense: 370,000 Euro (about $400,000.00).
You may have heard about the 2017 Christmas tree that was a big fiasco: it lost all its needles and was a tree skeleton!
I had just never heard of an American company sponsoring a Roman (or any) Christmas tree before! It makes sense, private companies sponsor all kinds of public good works throughout the country.
Bernini, the film
I was fortunate enough to see the newly-released film, Bernini, in the Odeon Theatre in Florence this week. OMG, it is fantastic.
The director of this beautiful guided tour through the Villa Borghese in Rome was directed by Francesco Invernizzi; Anna Coliva, Luigi Ficacci, and Andrea Bacchi are key presenters. Titolo originale: Bernini. Genere Documentario – Italia, 2018.
From the movie release, we are informed: La selezione di oltre 60 capolavori in esposizione alla Villa Borghese di Roma è stata definita dagli esperti di arte come il ritorno a casa di Bernini. A cinque secoli dalla nascita dei maestosi gruppi scultorei dell’artista, attraverso riprese inedite ed esclusive, i protagonisti di questa grande Mostra raccontano ed analizzano i dettagli delle opere giunte dai più prestigiosi musei del mondo per questa straordinaria occasione.
The selection of more than 60 masterworks on exhibition at the Villa Borghese in Rome has been defined by experts as a return to the home of Bernini. Five centuries after his birth, we appreciate the majestic sculptural groups Bernini created, through the unprecedented and exclusive shots. Experts of this great exhibition recount and analyze the infinite details of the sculpture, with Bernini works borrowed from the most prestigious museums in the world for this extraordinary event.
“No artist defined 17th-century Rome more than Gian Lorenzo Bernini did, working under nine popes and leaving an indelible mark on the Eternal City. And there is probably no better place to appreciate his talent and genius than the Borghese Gallery in Rome, the villa — now a museum — built by his first patron, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, where Bernini revealed his talent for capturing tension and drama in stone. But during the remarkable exhibition titled “Bernini,” visiting may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” The New York Times
Autumn in Rome
Audrey Hepburn in Rome, a selection of vintage photos from Fratelli Alinari
TEA-S-000440-0002
The actress Audrey Hepburn walking in the Piazza di Spagna with a bouquet of flowers in her hand.
Mandatory photo credit:
Archivi Alinari, Firenze
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Photographer:
Image date:
1960 – 1970
Place of photography
Rome, piazza di Spagna
Personaggio:
Hepburn Audrey
Collection:
Team/Alinari
TEA-S-000440-0004
A smiling Audrey Hepburn walking on a street in Rome at night.
Mandatory photo credit:
Archivi Alinari, Firenze
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Photographer:
Image date:
1960 – 1970
Place of photography
Rome
Personaggio:
Hepburn Audrey
DIL-S-00096D-0015
Journalists and paparazzi at Ciampino airport for the arrival of Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer
Mandatory photo credit:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Photographer:
Image date:
1960 ca.
Place of photography
Ciampino
Personaggio:
Hepburn Audrey, Ferrer Mel
Collection:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
DIL-S-000278-0027
Audrey Hepburn arriving at Ciampino airport with Mel Ferrer
Mandatory photo credit:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Photographer:
Image date:
1959
Place of photography
Ciampino
Personaggio:
Hepburn Audrey
Collection:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
DIL-S-000278-0035
Audrey Hepburn during a photo shoot at Trinità dei Monti
Mandatory photo credit:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Photographer:
Image date:
1959
Place of photography
Rome, Trinità dei Monti
Collection:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
DIL-S-000278-0042
Audrey Hepburn buying postcards
Mandatory photo credit:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Photographer:
Image date:
1959
Place of photography
Rome
Collection:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
DIL-S-000278-0068
Audrey Hepburn arriving at Leonardo da Vinci airport of Fiumicino, Rome
Mandatory photo credit:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Photographer:
Image date:
1960 ca.
Place of photography
Rome, Fiumicino
Collection:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
DIL-S-000278-0083
Audrey Hepburn meeting journalists upon her arrival to Fiumicino airport
Mandatory photo credit:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
WARNING:
Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives
Photographer:
Image date:
1960 ca.
Place of photography
Rome, Fiumicino
Collection:
Luce Institute/Alinari Archive Management, Florence
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