Posted by on Jul 24, 2016 | 12 comments

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Hey, where are you guys going?  Am I coming, too?

Well, we took a little jaunt (mine, virtual) through the Doria Pamphilj Gallery this morning with my live-in guest handler (haha), and they all three came back looking like zombies.

WHAT A PLACE TO HANG YOUR HAT!  Er…capello.

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The entrance is so lovely, with a courtyard and orange trees and a fountain into which pigeons fly to take a little bath in this heat.  But the ceilings of the museum are almost as fascinating as the hundreds of famous paintings that this family collected over generations.  The Pamphilj family was fairly ruthless and managed to acquire more wealth and land than almost any other famous family in Italy.

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The ballroom…I’d love to dance here (if I danced, that is, but I can dream).

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A detail of one of the ceilings..painted in trompe l’oeil (fools the eye–this is a flat ceiling, not three-dimensional).

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The music room off of the ballroom with original instruments.  One can go to little concerts at the museum, with a tour of the private apartments! I wonder if they have any kitties?

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One of the many exquisite hallways of paintings with decorated ceilings.

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Mama loves angels in the architecture!

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And yet another magnificent ceiling!

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OH, NO.  ANOTHER ONE.

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The trompe l’oeil ceiling of the chapel within the palazzo.

Mama said that about halfway through the visit, her head started to reel from all the beauty.  It is called the Stendahl Syndrome, from when the writer visited Europe and was overcome by the magnificence of so many overwhelmingly beautiful scenes and cities.  Mama came home, made lunch and passed out for an hour just to rest her eyes that had seen so much wonder.  Well, I certainly understand the passing out part…

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Whew, it’s tough visiting a palazzo like that one!  And I didn’t see ONE kitty.