Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Places in Guided Walk

For the guided walk assignment, I chose three places that were related to the Doria Pamphilj family. The first place that I decided to stop at was the Doria Pamphilj Gallery. I chose this spot because this is actually in the Doria Pamphilj Palazzo and is where the family used to live. Some of the building is still used as apartments, but another party has been renovated and turned into a gallery displaying the family's collection. This gallery holds a more personal meaning to me because directly below the gallery is our classroom that we're in everyday. To be more specific, directly about our classroom is a chapel that holds the bodies of St. Justin and St. Theodora. There are also a lot of great paintings to see and rooms that have been refurbished to look as they did when the family lived there in the 17th-18th centuries.

My second place is Santa Maria in Cappella which is where the girls in my program live. This is a place that was owned by Donna Olimpia Pamphilj and in the 17th century, she turned the courtyard into a playground for children. However, in 1860 her descendants turned the place into an elderly care facility which half of it is still used for today. The other half is where our apartments are located. We're allowed to go into the courtyard, but we aren't supposed to mingle with the elderly people that live here.

The third place that I chose was a place that I haven't been to yet, but it looks beautiful. It's the Villa Doria Pamphilj. This is one of Rome's largest public parks. It was built in the mid-17th century by Pope Innocent X. There are still some summerhouses and fountains that have survived to this day.

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