Author: JWF

Italy: Contemporary Architecture in Rome

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MUSEO DELL’ARA PACIS

Museo dell’Ara Pacis

Today we had another tour with guide Liz from yesterday and concentrated on examples of contemporary architecture in Rome.  Rome as a city is not always open to contemporary architecture, and it is even hard for Italian architects like Renzo Piano, to get their projects funded and then built.  Many building projects take years and years as funding is available, then dries up and construction is halted, and then started up again in fits and starts until completion.  

One of the first buildings we viewed this morning was the Museo dell’Ara Pacis designed by American architect Richard Meier.  This white mostly unadorned structure was built around an earlier building that houses the Ara Pacis, a sacred altar built to celebrate the return of Emperor Augustus from Spain and Gaul in 7 BCE.  Meier’s very contemporary building stands out midst more classical architecture and was unpopular with some for this jarring juxtaposition.  It opened in 2006.

Old style architecture near Meier’s museum

AUDITORIUM

We were eager to see Renzo Piano’s work here. The music auditorium (Auditorium Parco Della Musica Ennio Morricone) designed by him opened about 20 years ago.  It’s the largest performance space in Europe (or was) and it includes a cafe, a large bookstore, and three raised auditoriums, each of a different size.  Their exterior shells are black and look insect-like; they have been called scarabs by some.  

The building is of reddish brick using thin bricks as were used in ancient times.  We were able to see some of the interior and walk the exterior promenades while admiring the use of columns, staircases, glass, and open space. 

MAXXI

Of equal interest was Zaha Hadid’s curved and angular building, MAXXI, Museum of Art and Architecture.  Hadid was a noted British-Iraqi female architect born in Baghdad who practiced around the world.  MAXXI is the first Italian public museum of this type incorporating not only gallery space for exhibits, but also a research “hothouse” for dialogue between design, fashion, cinema, art and architecture.  

Its periscope like protrusion from the top front has a screen reflecting neighboring buildings.  Inside are a variety of curved staircases layering and crisscrossing one another.  

The information desk is curved, some public seating is curved couches, and there are also stretches of glass broken up by metal strands. It was all very striking and to me, most appealing.

MUSIC BRIDGE

Lastly, we visited the Music Bridge which was built to someday accommodate trams.  It was designed in 1999 by Armando Travajoli.  Today it was just a quiet pedestrian bridge crossing the Tiber to a sports stadium.  No teenagers were in sight skateboarding in the park underneath. I found its simplicity most attractive.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Italy: Fascist Period Architecture in Rome

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Post office in Testaccio

This morning the Chief Penguin and I had a guided tour of some of the architecture of the Fascist period in Rome, ranging from a post office to train stations to the grand buildings of the EUR area.  This is architecture from Benito Mussolini’s time in power, roughly 1922 to 1942. Our guide, Liz, a transplanted American, married to a Roman, has lived in Rome for 33 years.  An  architect focusing on historic preservation, she was knowledgeable and friendly and easy to engage with questions. 

Interior of 1924 post office

Our first stop was a striking post office building in the Testaccio area from 1924. Designed in the Rationalist style, it looks strikingly modern, especially compared to the nearby ornate, castle-like firehouse built the same year.  

Classic firehouse, 1924

The interior was equally majestic with curves and pendant lights.  What looked strange was the rows of chairs with people waiting to be served.  You take a number (and perhaps a seat), just like in the DMV offices in some U.S. cities!

Waiting for your number

We also checked out an early train station that took folks from Rome to the beach in Lido on the Tyrrhenian Sea. With regular train service, the Lido community greatly expanded in size.  From the outside, this station looks quite simple.   Inside is another matter entirely with some lovely sculptural scenes on the stone.  

Elaborate wall art

Next we visited the voluminous Roma Ostiense train station built in 1938 and designed to commemorate an upcoming visit from Adolf Hitler.  Part of the façade is pushed out to allow a hidden space for a car to arrive (carrying an illustrious visitor) and for the dignitary to exit and immediately enter an elaborate presidential room.  Unfortunately, that room is reserved for special functions only and not open to the public.  

Facade of Roma Ostiense train station

We were able to appreciate the many black and white mosaics on the floor portraying historic events along with bas reliefs on the exterior walls.  Also inside were two large rectangular panels of lovely green marble on each end wall, one with an eagle on it

The metro wasn’t running today, due to a strike, which gave us a few transportation challenges for the second part of the tour.  After some delay, we three did get  a cab to the southern edge of Rome to the EUR district.  Named after the planned 1942 Esposizione Universale di Roma (EUR), which never happened because of the war, it includes a number of monumental buildings designed under Mussolini’s regime to showcase the grandeur of Italy to the world.  

“Square Colosseum”, EUR

Probably the one we found the most stunning was the Palazzo della Civilta Italiana, informally known as the “Square Colosseum,” with its many arches within arches and its sheer size on its long raised base.  Classic sculptures of Romulus and Remus flank either end in addition to two bronze pieces, one a pyramid shape and part of a special exhibit.  

Blue sky shows through the end arches

Since the world exposition didn’t occur, other buildings didn’t get built, and this one never was used for its original purpose.  Somewhat ironically, I’d say, today it is the headquarters of Fendi, the Italian fashion designers. Usually, the public can enter this building, but not today!

I think she meant business!

This tour was a fascinating way to spend the morning, and we both learned a lot and enjoyed it!

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Italy: Rome 1st Day

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ARRIVING

I always find the first day hard and long after flying the Atlantic. Our flight over was bumpy much of the way and true sleep eluded me.  The baggage claim was packed with people, but coming through passport control was somewhat simpler than in the past.  It was an hour from landing until we were in the car for the hour ride to our hotel.  Rome was sunny and bright, and the light on the yellow fall leaves breathtaking.  

Romans eat all day long

As expected, the room wasn’t ready, so we did the walk and wander routine around our neighborhood from the Spanish Steps to the Piazza del Popolo until it was an acceptable time for lunch.  Just before 12:30, early by Italian standards, but perfect for tourists.  The Chief Penguin tucked into a plate of fettuccine with porcini while I opted for the comfort of a risotto made with smoked provolone and Prosecco.  We ate at a leisurely pace, enjoying the outdoor scene around Alla Rampa in Piazza Mignanelli and timed our return to the hotel for when the room was ready.

AFTERNOON & EVENING

The Chief Penguin took a long walk to his favorite piazzas while I dozed a bit for an hour before we set out again.  Rome is packed with people, and I mean packed!  We were here four years ago at this same time and it wasn’t nearly as crowded.  But then, we know at least five couples who were to be in Italy at some point this month.  

Soft evening light

The evening light on the city’s amber, rose, tan, and cream buildings was soft and beautiful.  Dinner was at another restaurant café with outside seating, this one called Angie’s.  It is more casual than Alla Rampa with a less extensive menu.  We shared a mozzarella and prosciutto pizza, grilled vegetables (red peppers, zucchini and eggplant), and an apple tart along with some white wine. We retired early to be ready for another day in this city of narrow streets and intimate piazzas. 

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Tidy Tidbits: Book of the Week

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FAMILY TIME

Last week, the Chief Penguin and I spent several days in North Carolina.  The primary reason was to attend my niece’s wedding in Durham.  This was also a rare opportunity for a family gathering. Two young nieces participated as flower girls and loved their flower wands!  My three siblings and spouses were there as well as many of the next generation.  We don’t all get together often so it was special.  

Four siblings & a great niece

The only disappointment was the lack of our son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters. Their flight from New York was cancelled, one of the casualties of Ophelia’s torrential rains and flooding.  They were sorely missed!

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Author Williams (Sydney Morning Herald)

The Bookbinder by Pip Williams

Novelist Pip Williams, a Londoner by birth, lives in Australia, but her two historical novels are set in and around Oxford, England.  I loved The Dictionary of Lost Words, a novel about the creation of definitions for a comprehensive English dictionary.  Esme helps her father in the shed sorting and organizing slips of paper with words and suggested definitions.  On the sly, she begins collecting and creating word slips that refer to women, their bodies, slang terms for females, and the like.  

In The Bookbinder, twins Peggy and Maude, work at Oxford University Press in the bindery department.  Devoid of means, they live on a narrowboat and spend their days gathering and folding the parts of a book and then stitching them together.  It’s a repetitive job and Peggy seeks more.  Their deceased mother had also worked there. She and Peggy amassed a collection of assorted foldings on their boat.  When she can, Peggy reads parts of the pages at work and at home.

It’s 1914 and with the men going off to war and then returning home injured, there are new opportunities for women.  Peggy volunteers to visit and read or write letters to these soldiers. On the ward, she meets Bastian, a Belgian who has been disfigured in the fighting.  Her association with Bastian is both fulfilling and stimulating, but her real dream would be to attend Somerville College.  How the lives of Peggy, Maude, Bastian, and their friends Gwen, Jack, and Tilda, unfold through the war years, is in part a leisurely stroll through the world of books and letters.  

Williams’ novels are well researched. This one about women’s work in the bindery came about because of a small, discovered-by-chance reference to a bindery girl in an archive.  The numerous details about the specifics of creating a book might cause some readers to get bogged down, but I found the whole process fascinating as well as the particulars of the tomes they were binding.  

Williams dedicates herself to rendering women’s daily experiences, in this case during WWI.  But the novel is also Peggy’s story of aspirations and dreams set against her growing love for Bastian.  Highly recommended!  (~JWFarrington)

Note: Header image of twirling flower girls by JWFarrington.