Thursday, March 20, 2008

Palazzo Sweet Palazzo

Palazzo Reale, (Royal home), was the official house (if you can call it a house), of the ruling Savoy family from 1646 until 1865. There are so many rooms in this residence that tour guide rushes you threw like the school cafeteria line. And another tour guide stands at the back of the group to 'help' you keep up the pace and make sure there are no stragglers. It was built on top of a Roman villa and you can still see mosaics and architectural elements around the palazzo from that time. Actually, there are so many paintings and decorative objects to see here that you could go a dozen times and always notice something new. The bigliettoria is in the grand ballroom. It’s just a table with 2 little old ladies selling paper tickets, out of place in this magnificent space. Everything was mirrored, gilded in gold or painted on. Putti (cherubs) were everywhere. It was a grandiose mix mash of mythological figures and religious artifacts; still, I'd live there. There’s a nice garden for Jolie to play in.

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