The Tandem Spirits were back in Rome last week to pick up our new US passports. Passports can be retrieved at the US Embassy on Monday – Thursday between 3:00 – 3:30 pm, no appointment needed. That being the case, we decided to make a day of it.
Our train ride to Rome is usually under two hours on the Intercity. This time there were some issues along the line and we arrived at Roma Termini 40 minutes late. But we made it, and it was a beautiful morning. It wasn’t too hot so the walk to Palazzo Barberini was pleasant.
Palazzo Barberini - Permanent Collection
We’ve seen a few exhibits at Palazzo Barberini, in fact, we were there recently for the Caravaggio exhibit, however we had never seen their permanent collection. Since it wasn’t too far from either the train station or the embassy, it seemed like a good option. The Palazzo was built in 1549, was purchased and enlarged by the Sforza family in 1578, and it was purchased by Maffeo Barberini (Pope Urban VIII) in 1625. He hired Gian Lorenzo Bernini as the architect to oversee his renovations. His two nephews lived in the Palazzo.
The museum has works from the Renaissance to the 18th century. The palace itself is impressive with frescoed ceilings and some enormous rooms as it was originally the private residence of influential families. In fact, dependents of the Barberini family lived there until 1955. Today as part of the National Museum system, it houses a vast number of works which are rotated and loaned to other exhibitions. There were some beautiful pieces by Filippo Lippi, Raffaello, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Canaletto.
Instead of looking for a restaurant, we decided to pop into the Caffetteria at the Palazzo. We had roast beef sandwiches with a glass of wine and ended with an excellent espresso.
After a leisurely lunch we walked up to Via Vittorio Veneto to see if there would be a line at the embassy. There wasn’t, and it was just going on 2 pm, but as we were standing around deciding what to do, we ran into our friends TJ and Ramela, who also had some business at the embassy. We took a quick selfie, and they ran off to the embassy for their appointment and we found a bar where we could relax and have a nice Spritz while we waited until 3 pm.
Time for a Rare Selfie
We were in and out of the embassy in a flash. After we gave the security personnel our phones and other electronics, we went upstairs, took a number to retrieve passports, and were called right away. Nice to know we won’t have to do this again for another 10 years. Next time we may do it by mail, although we always like to have an excuse to go to Rome.
Recovered Artworks Exhibition - Protection of Cultural Heritage
We had read about an interesting exhibit of artworks that have been recovered by the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC) unit of the Carabinieri, Italy’s military police.
It is located in the Planetario near the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Baths of Diocletian. It is a fascinating exhibit. Some of the works were returned voluntarily, others had to go through legal processes working with various local police agencies. The TPC Carabinieri also work with auction houses to ensure that items coming up for auction are not on the list of stolen artifacts.
Fortunately we had no slowdowns on the train back to Foligno. Ciao Rome, see you in September.
Love your posts. I jut read a book – fiction – the referenced the Italian government searching for and obtaining pillaged art. Nice to see the photos of the exhibit of some of them -reality.