Fontana della Piazza Farnese, Detail, Rome, 2012
One of the best features of Rome are the many fountains. There seems to be an endless supply of water in the Eternal City much of it still arriving via ancient aqueduct to some of the most spectacular fountains in Europe.
Two of my favorite fountains are an identical pair located in Piazza Farnese which are made of granite bathtubs believed to come from the ancient Roman Baths of Caracalla. I spent many an afternoon in the piazza watching the light filter through the water.
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an enchanting spot. One of my favorite in all the world!
I was just remembering a walk I took with my best friends in Rome at night a couple of years ago. My friend’s husband, who is a walking encyclopedia of this great city, asked me to look closely at the bricks of Palazzo Farnese. Unusually, they didn’t match. They varied widely in color. This was, he told me, due to varying temperatures when the bricks were baked. But considering that this was built mostly by Michelangelo, it seems not up to his usual standards. The best guess is that it was meant by him to be covered with plaster. For some reason it was never finished.
That is a wonderful addition to the many stories I have heard about this imposing structure. One of the most indelible memories I have of the Palazzo are the imprints from the horses shod feet on the beautiful marble staircase. Learned that nobles didn’t walk up the stairs but rather rode their horses up to the upper levels.