Once we finished our snapping applause for Nikil's finished presentation, we moved on to the rest of the Palazzo Barberini and its other amazing works of Art. Lisa took us into the museum's current storage room to explain its ceiling fresco - which she had researched for her master's degree. I wish any room in my house was half as beautiful as the museum's closet!
After unveiling all of the secrets to the fresco, we wound our way back through the art museum wing of the palazzo. We saw Raphael's "The Baker's Daughter" and learned the romantic story behind it. Raphael was in love with the baker's daughter, but was engaged to the niece of a cardinal. Art restorers discovered that Raphael had painted a ring on the wedding finger of the baker's daughter and then painted over it. They have recently uncovered the originally painted ring and we all got to see the hidden token of Raphael's love.After the Palazzo Barberini, Lisa took us all out for coffee at Tazza d'Oro. We were quite the mob going into the coffee bar, but the baristas handled our 25 orders with amazing speed. It was absolutely delicious! Several people bought ground coffee to take home with them.
That afternoon was day two of our independent project presentations. Laura, Alex, Anand, and Elroy taught the class all about funerary monuments and its evolution from the time of the Etruscans to current popes.
Then Ben, Michelle, Cat, and Erin taught us all about Italian poetry and its evolution through time.
By the time presentations were over, everyone was ready to get out of those uncomfortable conference room chairs and go home and relax for a while before having to start on all of the other projects and readings that are dominating our time this week.
Ciao, tutti!
Melanie Drake
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