Farfa

03-13 November 2019

We took the long route from Spoleto back to Rome and saw more countryside of Umbria and Lazio.

Just when we were getting into the groove, our seven-month adventure is over. How do we say goodbye to our generous relatives and the friends we made from south to north? We are coping by starting to talk about where we will go on our next trip here. More of Sicily. Perhaps Brescia. Some relatives highly recommend Puglia and Sardegna.

In Rome we caught up with cousins, including Giuliano at his 90th birthday party! We also walked around central Rome to reconnect with sites we have seen before but walked by briskly. This time, for example, we really scrutinized Bernini’s Fountain of Four Rivers in the Piazza Navona.

We have also been busy weighing our luggage. Not ourselves! We are strategizing about how to fit everything with only one additional bag. Our flight leaves at 6:00 AM, so we will leave Luciana’s at 3:00 AM by taxi driven by one of her former students.

Returned the Rental

First things first. We returned the rental car to the Fiumicino Airport. A bit of an adventure to find a gas station nearby. Lots of extra mileage and extra time just to fill the tank.

2,175 kilometers in 34 days with this rental car

We took the express train from the airport back to Rome.

For lunch we went to the newish Il Mercato Centrale along the side of the train station, which Is bustling with customers. Bruna N. urged us to go.

Mercato Centrale is like the mercato in Florence, but a little smaller, easier to navigate, and more upscale. Good food.

Truffle hotdogs! See what we mean by upscale food?

Wanderings

Bonnie’s Six-Mile Tour

We spent a day walking around sites in central Rome. Just after exiting the Cavour metro stop, Bonnie unexpectedly discovered Via Suburra, in the Monti district, which she often reads about in books on Ancient Rome. At first, she was skeptical that it was the same street, but it fit the description perfectly. It is a narrow, slightly twisting street, at a lower level than the surrounding streets, and leading directly to the forum of Augustus. In ancient times it was busy and known for crime. Now it is central to a lovely gentrifying neighborhood.

Forum of Augustus. Emperors built and enlarged existing forums (in honor of themselves) where public business was conducted daily. Later, some popes did this too. Piazza Navona is an example.

Palazzo Farnese as redesigned by Michangelo

Campo di’ Fiori at the end of the day . . .

After seven months, Bonnie can easily give directions in Italian about which non-dairy chocolate gelato she wants.

Pasquino, a third-century BC statue where people post anonymous complaints (and wishes).

We made it back to Trattoria da Enzo in the southern end of the Trastevere. Gino Primo introduced Robert to this small, genuine Roman place in the early 90s. Back then, you would see mechanics, business people, and a few tourists at lunch. Now, it is mostly American tourists. The good news is that the food is still great and reasonably priced.

If you don’t make reservations Enzo’s, expect a wait.

Punterelle with achovies, olive oil, and lemon

Piazza del Campidoglio

The pope asked Michelangelo to redesign this space. He oriented it toward the Vatican and away from the forum. A statement of who was more powerful.

Museo Capitolini

We can’t remember ever going to this museum, but it is terrific. Don’t know why we missed it before. And the view from the terrace at sunset is fabulous, with huge flocks of swallows circling.

Abbazia di Santa Maria di Farfa

Adriana and Gino Secondo treated us to a visit to this abbey, an hour outside of Rome. The Benedictine abbey was founded in the 5th century and at its height of power between the 8th and 12th centuries. Went through some hard times (invasions) and then a resurgence in the 7th century during a wave of Irish monasticism that spread through Italy. During the 9th century it was one of the most important monasteries in Europe. It was independent of the pope, and under the protection of Charlemagne. But during that time, those pesky Saracens sacked and burned the monastery. Later in the 11th century, it regained power and wealth. Shops and homes built around it sold a variety of wares, often those made by the monks. They still do.

Lots of olive orchards in the area. This one was abandoned, leaving lots of fruit on the trees.

Lots of shops surrounding the abbey, but most were closed on the day we were there. The pasta shop was open, but when Adriana tried to buy fresh pasta, she was informed that on Wednesdays, all their fresh pasta goes to the Vatican.

School group ready for their tour. School field trip groups are everywhere in Italy.

Lunch

Part of our treat was lunch served by the nuns. They are in Brigadine order founded in Ireland. Their mission is education.

Having nuns serve Robert pasta must have triggered some deep admiration from his days at Saint Matthew School.

A rare moment of Gino Secondo drinking water.

Guided Tour

Another part of our day was a guided tour of the abbey and church.

Photo rotated 90 degrees to see the carved faces.

An example of Cosmateque paving. This intricate stonework is derived from the Byzantine style and was popular around Rome in medieval times.

During a restoration, they turned this slab of marble over to discover . . .

Cucina Luciana!

Luciana made passatelli for Robert! Robert assisted. It is made with breadcrumbs, grated cheese, zest of lemon, and grated nutmeg. Cooked in a beef broth that Luciana made. Robert’s mom often made this for the family. At home they called the dish “worms.” You can also serve this without broth, with a simple sugo of mushrooms and truffles, as we had in Frontone.

Dinner at Bruna and Tuillio’s

Bruna (yes another cousin) and Tuillio invited us to a great dinner at their apartment in northwest Rome. Bruna’s mom was a first cousin of Robert’s dad (Berardi side of the family). We met for the first time in May at the beginning of our trip in Rome and again in Isola Fossara in August when we were in Serra. An added treat was seeing their daughter Flaminia and her two boys, Tito and Eduardo, who zoomed around and ate everything in site.

Bonnie was able to evaluate her progress in Italian, because when she met Bruna in May, she was completely unable to understand Bruna’s quiet but rapid-fire Italian. This time Bonnie understood almost everything Bruna said.

Zio Giuliano’s 90th Birthday Celebration

Zio Giuilano is Robert’s father’s first cousin. (So Robert’s first cousin once removed.) Giuliano’s mother was a sister of Robert’s grandfather. His daughter Micaela and her husband Maurizio held a celebration at their home. Guests included Walter’s son and family, Gabriella and Dinesh from Tuscany, Adriana and Gino Secondo, Luciana, and B+B. Micaela is an art historian specializing in tours of the Vatican collection. Maurizio is an architect, and we admired the new stainless steel and teak bathroom he designed for their apartment. Stunning.

Robert joked with Maurizio saying that the only problem with the party was that there was not enough wine! We started with champagne, went on to a white wine from Pesaro, followed by an Amarone (very good!), and a moscato dessert wine that went well with the birthday cake. Also lots to eat.

We asked Giuliano how he got involved in the film industry and he said his brother Walter found him a job. His first experience was on the production side of the famous film Umberto D. He went on to work with De Sica, Fellini, Rossellini, and others. Giuliano became an assistant director on many films and then transitioned to distribution for a large theater chain. He remembers the night that he, his brother, a very young Sophia Loren, and some others were eating dinner after work, when Carlo Ponti walked over to the table to say hello. Giuliano saw Carlo lock eyes on Sophia and knew this was a momentous event.

Robert commented on some of the artwork in the room and learned that the pieces were character sketches from some of the films that Zio Giuliano was involved with, showing Anna Magnani, Juliette Messina, and others. This led to Zio Giuliano showing us this newspaper article written in 2017 about his career in the film world.

**Translation of caption**: ”La Dolce Vita. Above starting on the left, Giuliano Benelli with Federico Fellini and Anita Ekberg. Above with the producer Angelo Rizzoli. To the left Benelli today and in the past during a promotion with a minister of the time. To the right, a toast with the beautiful Anita Ekberg.”

Robert asked Zio Giuliano if he had copies of the Sophia Loren fumetti (graphic romance novels) that his brother Walter directed. Giuliano showed us this book that contains many of the editions, including one below that includes Sophia, Zio Giuliano, and Zio Alfredo (father of Luciana and Adriana). Pretty cool!

Zia Vula

Yes. Another cousin. Vula married Giulio Bartolini. His mother Zaira was one of Robert’s father’s aunts (a sister of Nonno Delfo). She met Giulio in Greece during WWII. She lives in Rome’s Olympic Village constructed in 1960. At the age of 94 and a bit hard of hearing, she lives alone. For the summer months, she joins her son Paolo and his wife Franca at their home on a Greek island close to Athens. When there, she loves to sit on her balcony to look at the beach and the people strolling by.

We had a great conversation with her about her life. She took many classes at the university in Rome with a focus on history and art. She is an optimist at heart and only spoke about the positive things in life. A good role model to say the least. It was a delightful visit.

1962 – Olympic swimming venue with Giulio and Vula’s three sons.

1962 – L-R: Stefano, Paolo, Zio Alfredo, Vula, Adriana, Giulio, Giorgio, Abramo, and Emma

Lunch with Gino Primo e Giulio Secondo!

One last get together with Gino Primo.

(L-R) B+, Giulio Secondo, Marta, Gino Primo, B, and Luciana

Excellence—Roman Food Exhibition

Held in Renzo Piano’s new exhibition hall La Nuvola (The Cloud). We were guests of Sandro and Claudio whom we met when we took their olive oil workshop in Todi. They were exhibiting there for the first time. Located in EUR (Esposizione Universale Roma) built by Mussolini for a world exposition, La Nuvola stands in stark contrast to the facist architecture of the late 1930s.

The exhibition held a variety offerings, including olive oil, wine, gelato, health foods, cured meats, and, of course, chocolate.