…which I arrived to from an earlier opening at Unosunove this magical warm summer evening by bicycle – locked up below at Piazza di Spagna to hoof it up the 132 Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti steps for shows presented by the French Academy fellows incluing films, a wandering bassoonist, an installation in the magnificent ..
Archives : June-2011
…cetrioli, (two of them) are busting out, pumping up daily, from those vines creeping up the rebar structures that I installed months ago – finally, finally being put to use by those lazy..
…are a sure sign that Roman summer heat has arrived (though locals tell me it is just getting warmed up – wait til August they say) near Porta Portese – where I have come to visit the super sweet guys at Manzo Cicli on the medieval-seeming narrow cobblestone side street just above Via Portuense which ..
…beans have arrived to the rooftop garden, with harvest day for the speckled magenta pods hiding everywhe..
…the iconic influential book by Christopher Alexander is standard issue to architecture students since it emerged out of the Berkeley in the 1970’s, which we were introduced to in our first year design studio, but I don’t recall ever actually reading it at the time (perhaps it seemed old fashioned, folksy, retrograde, and even conservative ..
…known as susine around here, in clustered abundance are bending tree branches out back with their weight while sneakily ripening to sweet perfection undetected as they remain yellowy green – but I see them and have filled a backpack to gorge on this weekend – and maybe a sugarles..
…conducted yesterday just blocks from my studio on the top floor of a modern Monteverde apartment building was with Gianfranco Baruchello (b. 1924) – the Roman artist whose book “How to Imagine” and 1970’s farm as art project Agricola Cornelia have been a recent inspiration – and we got comfortable in the living area of his ..
…was the loose title for this evening’s marathon of activities that I organized at the Academy – kicking off with a rousing talk by “Hungry City” author Carolyn Steel (narrowly arriving in time from London) about the relationship between food and cities – specifically Rome (wheat mills floating on the Tiber – license for a ..
…is the friendly, local, slightly hidden, Monteverde trattoria – just outside of the Aurelian wall from us – presided over since the early 80’s by gregarious hostess Dorina and Sardegnian chef Angelo, whom we have come to visit this afternoon for interview #14 for the upcoming Roma Mangia Roma book (featuring interviews with five generation ..
…is up against the Sabine Hills – which I am always staring at while tapping away at the keyboard or watering the plants since I have a direct view of them from the studio and garden – just east of Rome, but this morning we went west, north, east, south and then finally east to ..
…is not something I happen to give much thought to, but I have been noticing the early morning and late evening sun creeping around to visit my north facing windows over the past few days, plus the fact that our neo-classical faux Roman villa Academy facade is lighting up orange in a way that is ..
…is the most idyllic and purely conceived of hilltop Lazian towns which we have made a Sunday pilgrimage to, around Monti Cimini and dominated by the great pentagonal Renaissance genius of Villa Farnese (where upon entry into its hollow cylindrical central courtyard we were drawn by sounds of Mozart into the first great painted room ..
…has been home for almost a year, things move around everyday, people get confused when the desk is in a new place on each of three consecutive daily visits, things come in and out, a pile of pine cones gathers in one corner, bay leaf branches dry out, piles of glass jars accumulate and collect ..
…the storied piece of hilly agricultural land within a nature reserve, north of town, off the Via Cassia, and just outside of the Grande Raccordo Anulare, is where I surprisingly find myself wandering the fields of wheat today – after having written about my inspiring read of the 1984 book “How to Imagine: a Narrative ..
…is what I have been up to (as any Italian friend who I have bored with endless Puglia talk and questions over the past six months knows well), becoming increasingly fascinated by and fixated on this most southeastern region of Italy (heel of the boot) the more I learn – like their gay green anti-mafia ..
…the 16th century hill top residence designed by Giulio Romano, now owned by the Republic of Finland, was the site of the first day of the conference History and Environment in the Ancient Mediterranean “…bringing together scholars and scientists from a broad range of disciplines to discuss the effects of climate, urbanization, and the use ..
…that I am organizing at the American Academy in Rome for June 23rd has just been announced – spread the word to Roman friends…. HUNGRY CITY: ROME – an evening with CAROLYN STEEL, British architect, lecturer, and author of ‘Hungry City’ on Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 at the AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME at Via Angelo ..
…is the obliquely titled and themed 1990 book by Richard Sennett that I just finished reading which is about the divides between inner experiences and outer lives in urban spaces through time – continuing my on-going year of ‘stewing’ on a general constellation of loosely connected ideas – an expanding series of topics – an ..
…is needing a good watering every morning (that nearby Lago Bracciano is happy to oblige, providing Rome with the abundant local clean water that is the pride of this city and celebrated in it’s generous bounty of public fountains) which I am happy to offer every morning, wandering with a hose from planter to planter, ..
…filled Circo Massimo (where ancient Romans raced chariots, staged mock ship battles, and held religious festivals) with a reported million people – for a speech and a couple of songs on piano tonight – concluding the parade that started at Piazza della Repubblica, marched through the city, down Via dei Fori Imperiali, around the Coliseum ..
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