Self-guided tour; wine appreciation

Since Nancy is on vacation, this morning I had a self-guided tour in centro. I rode my bike through the park and over to the remains of the Temple of Hadrian. Eleven 15 meter high corinthian columns still remain standing on a base of volcanic rock (called peperino). The structure now behind the columns was built in the 17th century as a a papal customs house, and today houses the Roman stock exchange. Just around the corner is Piazza Sant'Ignazio in which I found the Jesuit Chiesa Sant' Ignazio di Loyola. The Church, built by Pope Gregory XV in 1626, has the most remarkable, three-dimensional, trompe'l'oeil ceiling fresco by Andrea Pozzo. As I told Josh, I think it's better than the Sistine Chapel. But then again it was also painted more than 170 years later. The Order ran out of funding before the church's dome could be built. Pozzo painted a canvas which is streched across the area where the dome would have been, creating a "synthetic" dome, again using trompe l'oeil. The architectural affects of Pozzo's work are really quite remarkable.

Upon leaving Sant Ignazio, and going around to the back of the church, I found myself on Via Pie di Marmo where I ran in to the Pie di Marmo -- a giant marble foot left over from some massive ancient Roman statue. Onward towards the Pantheon, I stopped at Piazza della Minerva (where you find the Bernini designed obelisk placed on top of the baby elephant) and went inside Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Off all the churches I've visited. This one was the best organized. There was a floor plan just inside with not only the location and description of the art in the church, but with photographs and arrows so you knew exactly what to look for. For instance, the Carafa family chapel frescoed by Filippino Lippi, the Michelangelo sculpture of Christ Bearing the Cross, the Bernini funerary monument for Sister Maria Raggi, the Aldobrandi chapel, etc. A vast amount of art from every period is on display, for free, in Rome's churches. You can pop in and visit again and again. It's fantastic.

Then I rode over to the Cloister of Bramante. The cloister is next to the small church of Santa Maria della Pace which I visited a couple of weeks ago with Nancy's group. But that day, the cloister was closed. The cloister of Bramante is now also a stage for frequent art exhibitions. It's a charming and intimate cloister of perfect proportions.

Josh rode in to town and met me in Piazza Venezia. We were going to visit the Palazzo Venezia but once there realized it was a Museum. We weren't in the mood for paintings, so we went around to the other side to see the Basilica San Marco. Alas, time was up, it was after the noon hour, and the churches were now all closed ... until 4pm. So what did we do instead? First we crossed the street and entered the spectacular courtyard of the Palazzo Doria Pamphilij. I watched the bikes while Josh looked for a book in the bookstore. Then, we went to lunch.

We chose Enoteca Corsi, located on a small cobble-stoned street behind the Pamphilij, known as a place for locals. I must report, I didn't get it. It was one of the least interesting meals we've had in Italy ... but the place was packed. Being an enoteca, one would assume all types of wines would be served by the glass. But, that was not the case either. We had a carafe of house white, which was fine, but what is so "enoteca" about that? Bottles upon bottles of wine, for sale, lined the floor to ceiling shelves all around the dining room, but apparently none are offered by the glass. Anyways, it was an authentic experience. We rode back home to the Parioli after lunch.

I picked the kids up from school. Olivia had a field trip today to Ostia Antica. She said she had remembered a lot from what we'd seen when we all went together last fall. While Olivia was busy chatting about her day, Charlotte didn't say anything. It's becoming increasingly difficult to have a relationship with her.

I organized the dinner for Josh and the kids tonight. I was going to my first Wine Apprecition meeting hosted by two women from AWAR. My friend, Nicole picked me up and we drove together Bibenda Wine Concept in Aventino where the tasting was being held. We were about a dozen women, and we tasted three red wines, and munched on some antipasti. Our co-hosts from AWAR are actually sommeliers. There was a presentation about winemaking and the various regions in Italy and France and what types of grapes are grown in which region. It was not what I expected; it was a very educational and professionally run affair. I just thought we were going to drink and gossip.

First we tasted a Gattinara which is made from the Nebbiolo grape of Piemonte. This is a DOCG wine; only 50 wines in Italy have this denomination. More prevalent is the DOC denomination which is held by about 500 wines. Piemonte's nebbiolo grape is most notably associated with Barolo and Barbaresco wines. The Gattinara was a 2004 and it was good, although rich in tanins which is not my preferred palate.

Next we tried a wine from Lazio (not a region known so much for red wines). I can't even remember the name of the wine we drank because I didn't really like it, but it was made from a Cesanese grape -- a varietal I'd never heard of (apparently for good reason). It's interesting that both of these first two wines had a 13.5% alcohol content. While you couldn't feel it so much with the Gattinara, it hit you like a ton of bricks with the Lazio wine.

Finally, we sampled a French wine (Christine, one of the organizers of this wine appreciation group is French). It was a Pinot Noir from the Borgogne region. Really smooth and soft, it was by far my favorite. I had two glasses. It was fun evening and informative too.