Palazzo Massimo and the feast day of St. Fillipo Neri

You know how the story goes, I’ve got much to say and little time in which to say it.  Technically, I only have three things to recount but I want to recount them in detail and with photographs.  Since I have midterms this week, now is really not the time. 

There is one story that I just must, at the very least, begin to tell: 

I’ve noticed that on almost every trip I’ve taken, there is one moment that stands apart from all the others.  An intensity, a vividness that doesn’t fade.  Sometimes it is a shared experience with a close friend in an unusual or improbable occurrence, like the time in 2007 when Jessie and I met in Rome, sat in Piazza Navona directly in front of a classical guitarist and I said, “This moment could only be better if he started to play my favorite piece.”  Of course, that’s exactly what he began to play.   There is always a moment like that.  Sometimes it is a quietness that can only exist when you are all alone in a beautiful city.  Years later, you can quite easily look back and say it was the highlight of your journey. 

One of the things I love about Rome, and Italy in general, is that there is always some newly discovered bizarrity, which ends up being an unforgettable experience.  Today was no exception. 

Some of the finest Renaissance palaces are still intact as they were 500 years ago.  One such palazzo is Palazzo Massimo on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (not to be confused with the Museum of Rome with the same name).  I’ll be telling the full story later but for now, I’ll leave you with this:

The palazzo is still inhabited by the Massimo family as a private residence.  But for one day every year, they allow visitors.  That day was today.  Like Rome, the experience involved history, religion, family, community, tradition and art.  If I see nothing else for the rest of my time in this city, I would still be full of the richness of the few minutes spent in that house.

Ciao a presto...