A Festa, a Church, a Store and a bit of Soriano!

A religious celebration is generally extraordinary and comes with decorations, singing, walking and music. Orte seems to have its fair share of celebrations and this one was a bit different from last year.

Orte had a small lovely festival. The streets had rock and sand creations and greenery touches. School children sang and walked through the village. A band played and some adults were in ‘confraternite’ attire. I photographed some of the artwork.

And in Roma…This church (chiesa) is magnificent. A bit of a read, but if you are interested, wow!

I met a friend in Rome, for lunch, lots of chatting and this church was open. On Via Del Corso (major shopping ?? road in Rome). Simply magnificent. Rome never disappoints me. We have a love affair going on. Okay fairly one-sided but still…I’m in love and awe.

THE CHURCH OF SS. AMBROGIO E CARLO IN VIA DEL CORSO

As far back as 1471, the Lombards in Rome had founded a Confraternity located in the small church of San Nicola de Tufis in Campo Marzio. Afterwords an adjacent parcel of land was acquired in 1513, and it was given with the purpose of enlarging the building and constructing a church dedicated to the Bishop St. Ambrose.

Subsequent to the canonization of St. Charles Borromeo, in 1610, Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfrondato initiated the project to dedicate the future building to the two great Milanese Saints. In 1612 Paul V raised the Confraternity to the rank of Archiconfraternity of SS. Ambrose and Charles. Onorio Longhi was commissioned to design the structure; his son Martino and, subsequently, Francesco Contini carried on the work. In 1665 various architects were called upon to verify the stability of the columns on which the dome, yet to be built, was to be supported. The building was completed in 1669 under the direction of Tommaso Zanoli, who used the drawings of Pietro da Cortona.

The interior has a nave and two aisles. The side aisles extend beyond the crossing and become an ambulatory. Inlaid polychrome marble frontals adorn the chapel altars covered with cupolas. The stuccos in the central arch, the transept, and the tribune were made by Cosimo and Jacopo Antonio Fancelli, based on the designs of Pietro da Corona. The church decoration is rich in paintings by artists from the late Baroque Roman School, as well as plaster statues in the open niches between the pillars of the nave. They are by Francesco Cavallini, and can be dated between 1677 and 1687. The fresco decoration was begun by Giacinto Brandi, a pupil of Lanfranco. The work was continued by Paolo Brozzi, who painted the false stuccos in the nave, the ambulatories and the dome. Other painters decorated the lateral Bays (1678-1681). Giacinto Brandi, Frescoes (1671-1679)

The entertainment on Via Del Corso is always interesting. Violin playing, portable piano, sand sculptures…changes every day. Weekends Via Del Corso is closed to traffic. So quite enjoyable to just walk and shop or just take it all in. Amazing stores there. The Apple Store is pretty awesome. In a huge palazzo!

My village has two grocery stores. There is always something interesting to see. The wine selections, extraordinary cheeses and the pastas! Is there peanut butter? Yes. And just about everything else!! The bigger grocery stores can keep you busy for hours just looking at everything. Although I would like some sweet relish to add to egg salad, that has alluded me. Hmmmm.

A larger grocery store down the hill has amazing hot food, coffees and gelato. Before you ever enter the shopping area.

I like the huge buses in the region of Lazio. They are very clean and relatively new, go everywhere and inexpensive! I feel like I’m on a cheap sightseeing trip! The Italian countryside is breathtaking. So many olive tree groves, fruit groves, flowers, vineyards…and the whole view of life in this part of Italy. The trees with huge canopies have been here forever. So beautiful.

I got on the first bus that came by and off to Soriano I went! I’d been through Soriano before but now I would be walking. And it was uphill! There are amazing churches at the top and I was quite curious. The castle at the very top was closed, open weekends but a church on the way down was lovely. I’ve seen so many Italian churches, but there is always something different and beautiful in each one.

Had an amazing mushroom bruschetta and decaf cappuccino at a very nice ristorante in Soriano. A bit of a misstep when they charged me two ‘servicio’ charges. (2€ each). I said something quite direct and a bit heated. Later I went back for a caffe and all was fine. I’ll go back. But I only want to pay what the Italians pay. Word to the wise: if you don’t want the bread, don’t take it. Say politely ‘no grazie’. Hmmmm