Rome Palm Sunday: Santa Maria Della Quercia

Santa Maria della Quercia to the southeast of Piazza Farnese in Piazza della Quercia, was designed by Filippo Raguzzini, the same architect who designed one of my favorite little piazza's in Rome, the "stage set" outside S. Ignazio.

Walking in Rome it is easy to miss this little Piazza della Quercia and Santa Maria della Quercia because it is tucked away in Rome's centro storico where on a Rome walking tour there is so much to see on a walking tour of Rome's centro storico. Nevertheless, this spot deserves a few moments.

Raguzzini is a late Baroque architect whose personal style may best described by the word "simplicity" because his buildings take a single idea, explore it and stop in contrast to Baroque architecture in Rome which typically loads up the visually complex. This individual Baroque architecture style is evident on the Santa Maria della Quercia's facade which is a single sinuous curve. Note the middle pair of pilasters, which rather than follow the curve, are compressed to make them interact with the facade creating an illusion that they are being swallowed.

Santa Maria della Quercia is maintained by the butchers of Rome. Every Palm Sunday in Rome Rome's butchers come here , set up grills, and cook for Rome's people. The funds gained are used to buy food for the poor on Easter Sunday in Rome. When traveling in Italy for Palm Sunday be sure to take a walk past Piazza Farnese, close to Campo de' Fiori to come eat some grilled meats by the butchers of Rome who are grilling here in Piazza della Quercia on Palm Sunday.

Lake Como Ferry

Lake Como Ferry is the ideal transportation for getting around Lake Como. We call it the Lake Como Ferry Go Round. First, we purchased an all-day ferry pass for transportation around Lake Como.

Then we started our ferry-go-round on the central part of Lake Como, beginning at Cadenabbia, where we are staying, on to Bellagio, where we lunched and shopped, then to Varenna, for an espresso, around to Lenno, where we walked, and on to Menaggio, where we shopped again and sipped a local red wine, Sassella. Menaggio captured our hearts.

Our last stop will be Tremezzo for dinner.

Such is day on a ferry-go-round in Lake Como on the Lake Como Ferry. Click below for our video of the Lake Como Ferry Go Round.

For more about northern Italy tours and travel click http://italiantourism.us