When we were in Sicily, the weather forecast often said it would be rainy and cooler in a couple of days. But the next few days would be sunny and warm. The forecast would still show it was going to be rainy and cooler in a couple of days. But sure enough, the next few days would be sunny and warm yet again. It got to the point where we ignored any forecast that called for bad weather. Today, that finally caught up with us. It was cold and windy, though fortunately no rain.

So we had a slow start and for breakfast we sampled the panettone that Jan bought. So very tasty.

It gave us the energy we needed to brave the outside weather. But we weren’t going to be outside for long. Today was the perfect day for museums. We headed to the Galleria Spada, which houses an impressive collection of 16th and 17th century paintings collected by the wealthy Spada family. The rooms that house the paintings are almost as impressive as the paintings. It isn’t possible to do it justice with pictures, so I’ll just show a few of my favourites. The first is a 16th century paintings of Roman ruins. There is something about being in Rome, viewing ancient Roman ruins, and then seeing a four hundred year old painting showing ruins looking almost exactly like the ones you see in the Forum today. The idea appeals somehow.

In addition to the paintings, there were a number of sculptures dating back to 100 BC to 100 AD. This next one may show Aristotle. I like it because of its resemblance to The Thinker.

In the gardens there was a colonnade that was constructed in a way to fool the eye into believing it was much longer than it really was. Very impressive.

After the museum, it was time for a late lunch before heading back to our apartment. We are in the center of historic Rome, on a small cobblestone street.

The door to the apartment.

Inside, the apartment has been beautifully restored. It really is a lovely apartment and a wonderful area to stay in.

Today was cold, but tomorrow looks like it is going to be warm and sunny again. Our plan is to walk around Circus Massimo and then visit the Capitoline Museum. Should be fun.