It happened today

1512 A.D.: after 4 years of hard work, Michelangelo finally finishes to paint the 1000 square meters  frescoes of the Cappella Sistina in Rome. The Chapel is located in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope.

Paintings, fountains and Hard Rock...Café !

If you haven't reserved the entrance tickets to the exhibition of Vermeer at Le Scuderie del Quirinale, expect to stand in queue for at least 35 minutes. 

After all, it's not a big deal. Queuing is sometimes interesting, especially when you're surrounded by

Flea and Antique markets on Sunday, 28

Antique market 
Location: Largo della Giustiniana
Opening at 9.00 a.m. until sunset, it showcases various types of objects, such as prints, paintings, modern art, china and silver as well as craftsmanship.

Borghetto Flaminio Flea Market
Location: Piazza della Marina, 32
Five pavilions with more than 200 stands full of curious objects: from bags and belts to vinyl records, from chandeliers to toys, from extravagant bijoux to vintage clothing and telephones. Uptown ladies come here to discard their beautiful wardrobe. 
Explora, the Childrens' Museum, is right next door.
Opening at 10.00 a.m.

COMING SOON

Ennio Morricone in concert
Who doesn't know Ennio Morricone? Composer, orchestrator and conductor, he has scored over 400 films working with many Italian and international directors, such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Pierpaolo Pasolini, Brian de Palma, Oliver Stone, Roman Polanski and Pedro Almodovar, just to name a few.

During his long career, Morricone has received innumerable prizes, that include 1 Grammy Awards, 3 Golden Globes and 5 Oscar nominations.

His most famous film soundtracks include Cinema Paradiso, The Untouchables, Once upon a time in America, The Mission and U-turn.

On November 16 he will perform at the Palalottomatica in Rome. He will also hold concerts in Milan, Bologna, Turin and Florence. To buy tickets, visit www.ticketone.

A weekend in the name of art

Somehow, I am proud of myself for having visited the exhibition "Guttuso 1912-2012". Until last Friday, I was absolutely sure I did not like his paintings, but then I realized, that my judgement dated back to a long time ago. And remembering Thoreau's quote: "Things do not change, we change", I wondered whether my artistic taste had changed meanwhile.  If so, why not approaching Guttuso's art once again? After a few phone calls, I had all set: friends, tickets and a late evening dinner reservation.

COMING SOON

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar at Palazzo Sciarra
Opening on October, 23, the exhibition titled: "Akbar the great. Emperor of India", will feature 150 works, that testimony the splendor of the Moghul court. Paintings, book illustrations, rare carpets, objects and weapons will evoke the historical and social environment under the reign of Akbar, who has been a highly enlightened sovereign of the XVI century.
Palazzo Sciarra will be open from Tuesdays through Sundays, from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Parco dei Mellini

Among the numerous, and most popular, parks of Rome, Parco dei Mellini surely deserves a special mention. Not only because it is the seat of the Astronomical Observatory and Copernican Museum,

but also because it is a natural reserve particularly beautiful. 
The easiest entrance to the park is located where Via Trionfale intersects the so-called Panoramica. On the right hand side of the street, a road, surmounted by an ancient arch, leads both to

Caffé delle Arti at Museum of Modern Art

On September 22, the exhibition "Warhol: headlines" ended at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome. After a great success.

On the left side of the same building, "Caffé delle Arti" is a great location to

COMING SOON

Renato Guttuso at the Complesso del Vittoriano
In occasion of the centenary of Guttuso's birth, the city of Rome celebrates the sicilian artist with a major exhibition opening today, October, 12. The aim of the retrospective, that will feature 100 of his works, is to show the whole creative path of his artistic activity, that was also influenced by artists devoted to different disciplines.

"Guttuso 1912-2012" 
Oct,12 - Feb,10 2013

An extremely elegant way to share a personal success

The other day I bought a magazine, that came with a brochure promoting the 10th anniversary of the famous Louis Ghost chair. In the back cover I read this: 

About art and emotions

If you're going to visit the beautiful exhibition at Palazzo delle Esposizioni, do not miss the movie, that retraces the history of Paris through the shoots of Robert Doisneau.
As I watched it, I wondered whether I love photographs more than videos. And I still have no answer. Because if the first ones immortalize an instant and fix it in a single image, the second ones capture a sequence of movements and record a sound or a voice, which would be otherwise lost.
What I am sure of, instead, is that I have been caught by a poignant sense of time passing, while observing all the photos of "Paris en Liberté".

Free entrance ticket !

Tomorrow night, October 6, is "La Notte dei Musei".

From 8 p.m. until 1 a.m., entrance to the major museums of the capital will be free of charge. 

Both Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Robert Doisneau) and Scuderie del Quirinale (Vermeer) participate to this event!

For more info, check the site: http://en.museiincomuneroma.it/

How beautiful were those days

When I was young, but very young, school started the 1st of October and ended right after mid-June.
We had three full months of vacation. 
It didn't matter, where we would have gone or what we would have done: not going to school was enough to BE on holiday.

To those few, owning a beach house, summer meant moving and changing town and habits for a while. Each year, a renewed adventure, substantially consisting in rediscovering places -and all the changes that had meanwhile occurred- and friends who, year after year, had grown a bit, had new interests and higher goals in life. 
The first get together, after nine months spent away from each other, was tremendously exciting.

Quote of the day

Unfortunately, Stendhal was right. When love is involved, too often what seemed a good match, turns out to be the wrong one.
So, let's give time to every relationship. Because, if the other's good sides are the first to be seen (and shown), the worst ones are always kept hidden, for as long as possible. 
If, despite them, the glance in our eyes does not fade, then, and only then, we can hope to have chances it will work.

A September Saturday

I know, I usually meet my friends on Sunday, but since we all would have been busy on that day, we decided to anticipate our weekly meeting. With some changes...
I CYCLED from the Admiralty to Piazza Campo de' Fiori that, every day (except for Sundays) and since centuries, hosts a famous and beautiful market, which opens from