The Eternal City— timeless yet ever-vibrant—commemorates its mythical founding each April 21st marked by elaborate parades, theatrical performances and historical re-enactments showcasing the rituals of ancient Rome. Better known, when in Rome, as Natale di Roma, these special festivities (a 3-day affair) speak to the city’s multi-millennia legacy as a cradle of Western civilization.
Today’s “Postcards” serves as an homage to the singular city of seven hills once known as Caput Mundi—Latin for “head of the world.”
Few civilizations have left as indelible a mark as that of ancient Rome. The streets of the city are paved with history and myth that still invite to take a journey back in time to a civilization whose scale and ambition seem almost superhuman: the imposing grandeur of the Colosseum; aqueducts that snake like arteries; and roads that extend like a sophisticated nervous system, all emanating from Roma.
Roman architecture is an eternal wonder. The Pantheon, more than any other structure, transcends its materials to make a statement both of grandeur and grace. It speaks to a civilization whose combined practicality and design genius redefined space and defied time.
The Rome of Christendom attests to another great history and awe-inspiring spiritual venture. At its center is St Peter’s Basilica, with its double colonnade and an elliptical piazza in front and bordered by palaces and gardens. It is the largest ecclesiastical structure in the world, the fruit of the combined genius of Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo and Bernini
In the seventeenth century, Rome became the ultimate testament to Catholic majesty and triumph as expressed in all the arts. Baroque architects, artists, and urban planners so magnified and invigorated the classical and ecclesiastical traditions of the city that it became for centuries afterward the acknowledged capital of the European art world—not only a magnet for tourists and artists but also a font of inspiration throughout the Western world.
Today Rome’s particular vibrance derives from how the city’s multi-layered illustrious past and fashionable present so harmoniously coexist in its fascinating and varied neighborhoods that attract young and old the world over.
From the Centro Storico areas such as Campo Marzio to Prati and Monti, and from the Trastevere, now one of Rome’s most beautiful and beloved neighborhoods, to the Testaccio, for diehard foodies, Rome hums with a unique vivacity.
Off the tourist radar is the fantastical Art Nouveau Coppedè District located just north of the city center. Its fountains and villas were designed solely by Gino Coppedè who drew inspiration from ancient Greek, Baroque, Medieval, neoclassical, and Gothic styles—a milestone of eclecticism—well worth an afternoon of exploration.
For the past three decades Natale di Roma has been celebrated by the Gruppo Storico Romano, a historical dramatic society that re-enacts battles, gladiator fights, costumed processions, Roman rituals and displays of ancient theater and dance. The theme of this year’s Natale di Roma festival is Regina Viarum, a reference to the Appian Way—the “queen of roads”— for which Italy is currently seeking UNESCO World Heritage status.
La primavera—can there be a more delightfully pictorial or euphonious word? Derived from two Latin roots: primus meaning “first” and ver meaning “spring” (as a verb “spring” means to well up, leap forth, and to come into existence) and the verb has become a noun that describes the cycle of nature it characterizes. And it sounds as full of life as the season itself.
To celebrate spring’s arrival let’s take a close look at the painting, The Allegory of Spring, by Sandro Botticelli which, like his Birth of Venus, has become a beloved icon of Western art. The work depicts a group of mythological figures in a garden and is an allegory for the fecundity of spring.
Reading the painting from right to left, the biting March wind Zephyrus, depicted as a bluish male creature with aggressively puffed cheeks, kidnaps wood nymph Chloris, the maiden with flowers springing from her mouth. He then “marries” her and transforms her into the deity Flora, represented by the the flower-crowned figure in a delightful floral-patterned frock scattering the flower petals. The elaborate scenery has been shown by botanists to contain over 500 identified plant species and about 190 different flowers. Clustered on the left, the Three Graces in diaphanous sheaths dance in a circle watched over by Mercury, who holds a staff to usher away the clouds and guard the garden—providing a spiritual balance to nature’s fecundity on the right. Somewhat set apart and above the others, but very much at the heart of all the springtime activity, is Venus (looking a bit like a Blessed Virgin Mary), goddess of love and harmony. Above her is Cupid, her son, and behind him the limbs of the fruiting orange grove form an arch gracefully framing Venus, providing a privileged position to serenely preside over the garden and beckon us to join in the celebration of la primavera.
About 140 years later Antonio Vivaldi, composer, conductor, and virtuoso violinist composed his best-known work—a series of 4 violin concertos titled Le Quattro Stagioni, The Four Seasons. The first, “La Primavera”, is the most well-recognized and best loved piece of classical music in the world (with the first bars of “Spring” rivaling the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony).
And Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance, is delightfully abuzz with chirping birds and ablaze with colors this glorious time of year. Florence is also the birthplace of Dante, the world’s greatest poet and author of The Divine Comedy. He chose to write his magnum opus in the vernacular rather than Latin and is celebrated as the Father of the Italian Language and revered as national hero on the order of George Washington. Countless Italian cities have erected statues of him or named streets or piazzas after him. And most recently March 25th (this Monday) has been recognized as Dantedi and a national day of celebration of Dante and his towering legacy.
Happy Dantedi and may these early day of la primavera fill you with hope and joy!
Nestled in Italy’s broad Po valley is the handsome city of Parma, the world’s ham-and-cheese capital, which offers travelers far more than just outstanding gustatory pleasures … there’s far more to Parma than phenomenal ham and cheese!!!
Parma is a city rich with art, culture and a past that reads like a fairy tale. It has beauty, pride and, yes, glorious food!
I fell in love with Parma strolling through its narrow flagstone streets last October. The old part of town is a maze of buildings colored in soft yellows and deep ochres. The Piazza Duomo and the Baptistery are fine examples of 11th- and 12th-Century architecture. Two major artists contributed their talents to this remarkable center of religious life: Benedetto Antelami, to the Baptistery pictured below, and Antonio Allegro, better known as Correggio, to the city’s spectacular Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral.
Soaring above the Duomo’s apse is Correggio’s masterpiece, the Assumption of the Virgin (1526-1530). It would become the catalyst for the dramatically-illusionistic, di sotto in su (from the bottom up) ceiling paintings of the 17th-century Baroque period. The cupola is portrayed as the vault of heaven; the figures appear to protrude into the viewer’s space, an audacious and astounding effect at the time.
In the Benedictine church of San Giovanni Evangelista, directly behind the Duomo, you can view the cupola fresco and pendentives Correggio painted prior to the Assumption; (1520-1522); these led to his now historical Santa Maria Assunta commission.
Correggio was born not far from Parma — in the town of, you guessed it, Correggio. His first major commission (completed in 1519) was for a woman, the Abbess Giovanna Piacenza, to decorate the domed ceiling of her private apartment’s sitting room, now called the Camera di San Paolo. Here Correggio painted between the ribs to simulate a pergola with small pierced windows featuring smiling putti and scenes of the hunt. The fireplace is frescoed with a depiction of the goddess Diana. Photos cannot begin capture the impact and intimacy of this truly enchanting room. Trust me, it is jaw-dropping, plus it has the advantage of being off the radar of most tourists.
The frescoes have spurred a debate as to the significance of the iconography of pagan and hunting scenes in a nunnery! The convent was known for the laxity of its rules and had been embroiled, along with its abbess, in various local land disputes.
A symbol of “Made in Italy” gastronomy renowned all over the world is Parmigiano Reggiano: a cooked, hard parmesan cheese made from partially skimmed cow’s milk and classified under the protected designation of origin (PDO) category. About 3 million whole cheeses are produced every year; you can take a tour and watch it being made (as well as visit a museum dedicated to this Italian culinary icon).
Aged between 12 – 24 months before being sold, whole cheeses are inspected one by one and tested using a special hammer-diapason. The vibrations generated indicate whether or not the cheese is perfectly intact. (A wheel of parmesan weighs about 70 lbs.)
Prosciutto di Parma originated in ancient Roman times when Cato first mentioned the extraordinary flavor of the air-cured ham made around the town of Parma. Prosciutto di Parma can only be produced from pigs born and bred around Parma.The rear haunches of Parma pigs are carefully cured with moist salt so that the ham absorbs only enough to preserve it. The meat becomes tender and the distinctive aroma and flavor of Parma ham emerge.
The Galleria Nazionale di Parma has vast collections paintings and antiquities and was established in Renaissance times by the powerful ruling Farnese family. Here you will find marvelous paintings featuring Northern Italian painters and other Renaissance masters including the breathtaking Leonardo da Vinci is known as La Scapigliata meaning “The Lady with Dishevelled Hair.” The museum complex also includes Teatro Farnese built in 1618 and one of the largest Baroque theatres in Europe. It was conceived for the opera-tournament, in honor of the Medici, which never took place.
And for those of you who want a break from high culture, there is the quirky Il Castello dei Burattini Museo Giordano Ferrari (The Castle of the Puppets, Museum Giordano Ferrari). All the typical characters from Italian puppet theater are represented — princes and princesses, villains, devils, ghosts, monsters, servants, merchants, workers, society folk, priests and policemen. The faces are amazingly expressive and the elaborate costumes are fascinating.
Guiseppe Verdi grew up in the Duchy of Parma and today Parma is also a great city of music. Its annual Verdi Festival was conceived in 2001, the centennial of his death. Each October thousands make the pilgrimage for a multi-week immersion in Verdi’s music and legacy.
Parma’s Teatro Regio di Parma is renowned among the world’s most famous opera houses for the elegance of its neoclassical style and its near perfect acoustics.
In his career-making opera, Nabucco, about Hebrews in Babylonian exile, Verdi gave voice to the sentiment of longing for a land once known and now lost. Its signature aria “Va, pensiero” (“Go, My Thoughts” … on golden wings) would become the unofficial anthem of the Risorgimento, and even Verdi’s name became a rallying cry for unification.
I hope these Postcards have peaked your interest in discovering the many sensory allures this truly captivating city.
Copyright - Postcards from the Boot.