Leave it to a Presbyterian and a Jew to introduce a fallen RC to Catholic Rome. The first thing on the agenda for my friends Carol and Arielle was going to St. Peter’s on Sunday to be blessed by the Pope. After all my trips to Rome, this is the first time I’ve gone to be blessed. It definitely had something to do with this particular Pope (for example, in his sermon he prayed for the Rohingya Muslims). I can’t say I understood much of the sermon, but Francis has a kind and gentle voice and seems like a nice man. It goes without saying that I couldn’t get a closeup of the Pope, but here’s the next best thing, Carol and Arielle awaiting their blessing.
As if getting blessed weren’t enough, Arielle discovered that the Pope buys his socks from Gammerelli, a shop near us, so on Monday we headed out to buy Pope socks. As we entered, we noted that the only other customers were some very serious looking men in black suits. We waited our turn only to learn later that those guys in black suits were two cardinals shopping for vestments. The proprietor confirmed that the Pope does whop there, but that he buys only white socks.
Our obsession with artichokes continues. Carol and Arielle are as taken with them as I am, and we’ve managed to have them in one style or another at least once a day. Romans are all over ways to cook artichokes.
Braised artichoke marinated in olive oil and lemon and stuffed with anchovy.
Chicken with artichoke hearts and prosciutto.
We were wondering if artichokes were good for you since we’re eating so many of them, and Arielle, who knows everything or knows how to find out everything, told us that they’re one of the super foods, good for your heart and blood and kidneys and liver and everything else except your waistline, given that they’re usually accompanied by some wonderful fat.
We discovered that one of the two best gelato shops in Rome is only .2 miles from the apartment (can you tell we’re using Google maps to get around?), so we’ve gone there for the past three nights. The winner among the 50 or so flavors is Greek yogurt ice cream, which tastes just like old-time Creole cream cheese ice cream.
We haven’t just been eating. On Sunday we went to Santa Cecilia in Trastevere to see the mosaics and discovered the old Roman house underneath, which is supposed to have been St. Cecilia’s residence. Cecilia was a noble Roman woman who was an early martyr. Her story is yet another grisly martyr story, this one involving attempted suffocation and attempted beheading and several conversions. The house has several intact mosaic floors and other classic Roman features. At its center is an early Christian chapel full of mosaics that are at eye and hand level, so you could touch them is you were crass enough to do that. These are allegedly 9th century mosaics, but the faces look totally modern. I can’t find much on the history and provenance of that Roman part of the church, so I had to resort to dratted Wikipedia for what it says. But look. This is what the mosaics in the main church look like (high up behind the altar so no close-ups):
And these are mosaics in the chapel in the Roman house (at eye level):
I am a bit obsessed with mosaics. Have been ever since I visited a studio in Pietra Santa years ago where ancient men, the last of the Italian mosaic artisans, were building a mosaic using the same methods and materials that went into these 9th century ones. My next mosaic quest is the San Zeno chapel in Santa Prassede, but first my feet have to recover from the 8 miles (clocked, not exaggeration!) we walked yesterday.
In the end, I elected not to buy white pope socks but settled instead for the red ones cardinals wear, merino wool, over the knee.
Have you been to Geliti? (Not sure of the spelling.) That was Meg’s favorite –
Envious of your blessing, and even more so your socks….