The Pamphilj family came to power when Giovanni Battista Pamphilj became Pope Innocent the X in 1644. He appointed his nephew, Camillo Pamphilj as Cardinal Nepote ("nepote" meaning nephew and where the term "nepotism" comes from). But Camillo abandoned the Cardinalship to marry Olimpia Aldrobrandini Borghese who was, in her own right, a very powerful woman. She had married a Borghese at 16 years of age, had a child and then was widowed at 24. Clearly a controversial marriage which forced Camillo and Olimpia into exile. Years later, they made reparations with the family and returned to Rome which is when they took occupancy of this magnificent Palazzo which had been in her (the Aldrobrandini) family. One of their daughters, Anna Pamphilj, married a Genoese aristocrat named Giovanni Andrea III Doria Landi in 1671 and that is how the name Doria Pamphilij came in to being.
Camillo and Olimpia became serious art collectors and the Doria Pamphilj collection today is one of the largest private art collections in Rome. The salons were teeming with paintings -- there was hardly any wall space between them. The Palazzo was used from 1654 until 1871. By the beginning of the 20th century it was in a state of disrepair and needed much restoration. The gallerie was later opened to the public. One of their prized possessions is a Velazquez portrait of Pope Innocent X along with a Bernini bust of the Pope.
After touring the Palazzo, we had a caffe and a panini. It had been raining earlier in the day but now the sun had come out and it was a perfect day for a walk. So I headed up the Corso towards Piazza del Popolo and then through the Villa Borghese and all the way home. I even ran into a classmate of mine and felt like a true Roman, running into friends on the street!
In the evening, after we dropped Charlotte off at swim practice, Josh and I attended a cocktail party hosted by a member of AWAR. The party was in an unbelievably well-restored and magnificent Palazzo in the centro on Via Vecchirelli. We felt like royalty walking through the courtyard and ascending the extra wide marble staircase. The owners told us it took them over 8 months of searching to find this apartment. They were incredibly hospitable and interesting people -- she an artist and he an art dealer. We met many nice people and enjoyed the affair before dashing out to pick Charlotte up. Despite our attempts, the carpooling concept has not taken off in Rome.
When we returned home, we had much to do to prepare for our next day's journey to Venice, yet both Olivia and Avery were still up. Olivia, who had been less than excited all week at the prospect of going to Venice, when given the choice earlier in the evening had decided definitively that she would prefer to stay home with Avery. Somehow, the birthday party he had been invited to, and the promise of baking cookies with Maria, and visiting a farm, was more tangible and appealing to her then venturing off by train to another town where she would certainly be forced to do a lot of walking. But when we arrived at home, she broke down in tears. She was having regrets over her decision. Avery hadn't been nice to her tonight, and since we were out, she realized that she would miss us. I calmed her down and put her to bed. Truthfully, Josh and I (and especially Josh) were disappointed that she chose not to join us. But I thought if she wasn't excited about it -- it would be for the best. Avery, on the other hand, had become relatively sanguine about the idea of staying with Maria -- who speaks only Italian, and Romanian. Finally, Charlotte, who also had much to do before bedtime was in typical form -- of late -- distracting herself from the tasks at hand. A huge row ensued and I'm sure kept Morris (who had gone to sleep in the guest room as the buses were on strike) awake.
So it was quite an evening in all; the joys of parenting. I didn't start packing until 11pm -- not that it was such a tall order.
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