Anna has used my citizenship to enable us to drive through taxi- and bus-only zones ("I'm with my American cousin and she's leaving tomorrow and we only have five minutes to get to our appointment at the Borghese"); she habitually line-cuts and drags me red-faced to the front; we have even interrupted weddings to look at important works of art ("if they wanted privacy they shouldn't have gotten married in this cathedral'.) She has brought me to places that most tourists never see, and many Romans have never heard of: The Orsini-Odeschalchi Castle at Bracciano (Tom Cruise got married there years after I had discovered it); a lovely convent in Rome with cloistered, vow-of-silence nuns where I knocked over a chair while they were singing vespers; the church of San Clemente which is a 12th century basilica built over a fourth century basilica built over a first century Roman pagan temple; and The Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola, which goes down in my book as Anna Rita's Greatest Hit.
Like most Americans (alright, American women) I love a castle - the older the better, furnishings preferred though not required - and I don't mean to brag but I've seen my fair share of chateaux in Europe so I feel comfortable saying that Palazzo Farnese should be on that 1,000 Places Before You Die list. Anna Rita took a Monday off of work to take me there, and after an hour long car ride from Rome, we arrived in the little town of Caprarola which consists of narrow streets around a main piazza, all overshadowed by the imposing castle which seemingly lords over the tiny village. We arrived to find that the castle was closed to visitors, which we should have known since most national monuments in Italy are closed on Mondays. With a shrug of my shoulders I started toward the car, but Miss Not So Fast Anna Rita started banging on the huge wooden castle door. As my stomach did somersaults the door was eventually opened by a man in a guard's uniform, and Anna started her plea: "My cousin is from Los Angeles and has been wanting to visit this castle but she's going back to America tomorrow; can you please just let us peek inside?" During the following tense five seconds, I went through an Italian Judgement which my years of experience have taught me to endure by making direct yet submissive eye contact. Save the Alpha-dog for another day.
Maybe the guard fell in love with us, more likely he was bored, but not only did he open the doors, he led us on a private tour of the entire castle. I didn't even have to feign the enthusiasm which seemed to encourage him to show us room after room, secret doors, the courtyard entrance, the Scala Regia - the grand spiral staircase where horse-drawn carriages would ascend with their passengers. For the two hours we were there, just the three of us, it was easy for me to imagine what it must have been like to wander those halls and passageways during the 16th century. When the tour was over and he accompanied us to the great wooden doors to see us out, despite protests from Anna Rita, I took some money from my wallet certain that he would proudly refuse it.
So he took the money, but nothing could have tarnished that day for me. Anna Rita and I giggled on the whole ride home. If you go, try to visit on a Monday.
Link to:
Castle Odescalchi Bracciano
Basilica of San Clemente
Palazzo Farnese Caprarola
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| Grand Marble Staircase at Palazzo Farnese |
