Alice's Wonderland

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I have to admit, as Mummy says, sometimes I am a little scamp. I don’t listen to Mummy and Daddy, I do what I want and I don’t do what they tell me to.
When we went to Parioli market, it was one of those scamp days.
I was just wandering around the stalls and wanted to touch everything: peppers, plants, fruits. And I was asking questions over questions: is this a chicken in pieces? Can I have red pizza? Is there some music to dance?
Then in front of the ice-cream bar I had a major tantrum because it was noon and I wanted ice-cream before lunch. But Mummy was inflexible.
Anyway, after asking all around, I did get something: a nice lady gave me a bunch of grapes and it was really sweet.

ALICE’S RECIPE
Pasta with Sicilian courgette, also called ‘zucchetta’
Cut the ‘zucchetta’ in pieces and boil it in salted water, then pass it in a pan with oil, garlic and cherry tomatoes. Pour the pasta ‘al dente’ and mix it in the pan. Add shred parmigiano or pecorino at last.

Just around the corner

Following the move, Parioli’s market is now just aside one the Risorgimento symbols of the capital: VILLA GLORI. Today the hill, once home to vineyards, has been renamed “Memorial Park” in memory of all the soldiers who died in Rome in every age, but its history is closely connected to the story of 78 brave men who attempted to bring weapons to the revolutionaries and confusion among the Pope’s troops in 1867. It was a group of volunteers following Garibaldi who were aiming at freeing the city from the temporal power and delivering the capital to an united Italy.
As leader, a young man from Pavia whose brother had actually joined Garibaldi’s expedition. His name is Enrico Cairoli and the story of his mates is remembered by a column in the heart of the park, while his death is remembered by a red bricks monument keeping a branch of the almond tree, under which he pronounced his last words, in the arms of his brother Giovanni.
It all started on the night of October 23, when after sailing from Umbria along Tevere river, the group disembarked and climbed on Parioli hills looking for a shelter. They found it in the vineyards, in the cottage of Glori’s family. To pluck up courage, they drunk several wine bottles they found in the cellar.
A bit later, the only red color around would be the one of their blood in a bayonet fitting by Swiss and German soldiers, more numerous and better armed. Their sacrifice will be described in verses by the Roman poet Cesare Pascarella: 25 sonets with the title “Villa Gloria”, which will be praised even by Giosuè Carducci. “Italian dialect poetry never got so high” wrote the Italian literature Nobel prize, praising the Roman colleague for succeeding in “picturing the ideals of Italian heroes dyeing for their country”.

But among Villa Glori’s trees, you will not only find the traces of an old battle.
Walking among oaks, pines, maples and olive trees you might come across signs that apparently seem left by an alien civilization, coming from the future and willing to communicate with us. If you have that impression, you are in the middle of Villa Glori’s SCULPTURE PARK, the first in Rome dedicated to contemporary art. A brave attempt, in a city traditionally resistant to change, which only partially succeeded.

Opened in 1997 with the works of international artists (Kounellis, Nunzio and Staccioli among others), over time it has been enriched with two other sculptures, but also sadly depleted due to neglect and vandalism. However, we leave the judgment to you, inviting you to follow the path starting with the last two works, installed in 2000: the “Gate of the Sun” by Giuseppe Uncini, which opens the itinerary also as a backdrop for a lively children's playground , and the “Grass-Man” by Paolo Canevari. We don’t know whether it’s a trick by the artist or the result of poor maintenance, but being able to identify the work – in spite of the maps in the park – it's a real treasure hunt! Moreover, the creator of the route, the art critic Daniela Pasti, had declared her intention to explore the possibility of integration between art and nature. Well, from this point of view at least, with the “Grass-Man” the bet is definitely won!

Going down from Villa Glori towards the bend of Tevere where Cairoli and his fellows arrived, you'll find the perfect place for a refreshing sip of water. And to listen to a love story: the story of the love between Romans and one of the most popular monuments of the city (a relationship “blessed” by at least four popes). But also the love story between a foreign “playboy” king and a truly Italian and very intellectual marquise. But first things first. First of all, the name: we are talking about the ACETOSA (literally, sour… similar to vinegar) WATER FOUNTAIN, commissioned by Pope Paul V in 1619, restored by Innocent X, turned in what we see today by Alexander VII and then retouched again by Clement XII. It was the first of the Popes to fix in marble, in Latin, the characteristics which soon made ​​this water so popular among Romans: “it’s medicine for kidneys, stomach, spleen and heart, and it’s useful for a thousand diseases”.
As of today, the water flowing in the three basins of the fountain – surmounted by the Chigi’s coat of arms – is no longer that fresh, fizzy, slightly sour water which the capital’s inhabitants used to stand in a line for, but a few decades ago it has been replaced by normal drinking water, and since a century at least there is no longer trace of the “acquacetosari”, who used to go around the city with their carts to sell it in demijohns and straw-covered flasks. Yet, Romans’ heart must have kept on benefiting of this natural medicine, as in 2003 they gave a resounding confirmation of their affection for the monument. In that year, for the first time the FAI (Italian Environment Fund) launched the census of “Places of the Heart”, asking citizens to report the sites to be preserved in their beautiful country.
Well, surprisingly the ACETOSA WATER FOUNTAIN got the first place with 1,472 preferences. And it’s thanks to this placement that a new restoration of the exedra has been possible, officially ended in December 2009, after years of neglect. But we promised to tell you also another love story, which actually led to another restoration of the fountain. It was 1821 when King Louis of Bavaria – fond of art and of women and therefore regular visitor in Italy – met the marquise Marianna Florenzi, during a dance at Torlonia’s residence. The fountain soon became the favorite place of their meetings, so that the Bavarian king even funded the construction of seats (which are still there) and planted new trees, to make the rendez-vous with the noblewoman more comfortable and enjoyable. The two exchanged invitations here and there for over forty years (to the court of Munich causing the irritation of Queen Teresa or to the properties in Umbria with the resignation of the Marquis Ettore, Marianna’s husband), letters (almost five thousands) and reciprocal gifts: she would translate in Italian the poetry of the monarch (which was actually less notable than her translations of the work of Liebniz and Schiller or the disclosure of those of Hegel, Kant and Spinoza), while he commissioned a to have her painted by the court painter Stieler together with 35 beautiful ladies in his Gallery of Beauties. Therefore, today the smile of the Marquise Florenzi still fascinates the visitors of Nymphenburg’s Castle in Munich.

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