Roma!

Our team in Rome - Jason, Shannan, Stacey, Kristy, and Anton

Our team arrived in Rome on Monday (March 8) afternoon. I flew in from Copenhagen, Anton and Stacey from Hamburg, and Kristy and Shannan from Amsterdam. The MMF program is structured such that you visit cities in northern, southern, and eastern europe to help understand the diversity of culture, climate/resources, and economic and government institutions within the EU. Rome is our "southern" city.

Another principle of the program is to shake-up the groups in each city so you don't spend the entire Fellowship travelling with the same people. Our team in Rome was fantastic.

We were greeted with warm (relative to northern europe) temperatures and sunny skies when we landed in Rome. We rendezvoused at the hotel and decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather by going for a walk around the city center. We visited the colosseum and toured around multiple ancient Roman ruins before returning to the hotel in time for the evening's welcome dinner.

The Hotel Santa Chiara is located right in the city center, a stone's throw from the Pantheon and easy walking distance from landmarks like Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, etc.

We were very fortunate to have some time in the sun, as we would face rain and hail for much of the rest of our stay.

The Pantheon - right next to our Hotel

Pantheon ceiling

The locals say this is the best coffee in all of Rome

Trevi Fountain

Kristy, Stacey, Jason, and Anton (Shannan was taking the picture)

The welcome dinner was hosted by Ricardo Perissich, Executive Vice Chairman of The Council for the United States and Italy, and Dennis Redmont, Head of Communication and Development for The Council. We were treated to superb Italian cuisine and dined with several Italian MMF fellows. The evening was a great start to our stay in Rome.

Our City Host, Flavia Liberati, had a diverse and aggressive program planned for us, and on Tuesday morning we hit the ground running. Our first stop was the Quirinal Palace, the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic. The Palace was built in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII as a papal summer residence. It remained a papal residence until 1871 when Rome became capital of the new Kingdom of Italy. The Palace is the President's residence, and includes office space for his staff and advisors.

We were treated to a private guided tour of the Palace, and were all stunned by its beauty and historical significance.

At the end of the tour we sat down for a meeting with Ambassador Rocco Cangelosi, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the Italian Republic. This was a great opportunity to discuss the Italian approach to foreign policy, and current diplomatic challenges, including their upcoming visit to Syria. Italy was one of the founding members of the original European Community, and the current President is very pro-Europe. The President is the Head of State, guardian of the Constitution, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. However, the Prime Minister effectively runs the day to day operations of the government.

Quirinal Palace - residence of the President of the Italian Republic.



Several photos from the Quirinal Palace






Meeting with Ambassador Rocco Cangelosi, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the Italian Republic.

That afternoon I visited the Italian Parliament where I sat down for an individual meeting with Federica Mogherini, Member of Parliament and former MMF. We discussed a number of issues, including current Italian defense policy and spending priorities (she sits on the Parliament's Defense Committee), and the state of political discourse in both countries - we appear to have common ground in this area :) Thanks, Federica!

Italian Parliament

Later we visited Storti Restoration Studios, a well-known company that specializes in the conservation and restoration of historic paintings. This is serious business in Italy, and the professionals at Storti have restored works by Italy's greatest artists, including Michelangelo and Caravaggio. The visit gave us some appreciation for the significant role art plays in Italian society, particularly in a city like Rome. Indeed the studio recently completed restoration of some of the Caravaggio paintings currently on display at the Quirinale Museum.

We left the studio and went straight to the Quirinale Museum for a guided tour of "Caravaggio." The exhibition marks the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio's death, and includes many of his materpieces from galleries around the world, including the Metropolitan and Hermitage. Maria Rosaria from Storti Studios joined us for the tour, and gave us some detailed insights into the particular pieces that they restored.

These paintings are amazing and this experience is one I will remember for a long time. Caravaggio's status has risen dramatically in recent years, and some think he may eventually surpass Michelangelo as Italy’s most revered renaissance painter.

Restoration of italian treasures

These are the same people that restored some of the Caravaggio paintings we would see later in the day.

We were treated to a guided tour of an exhibit marking the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio's death.

Here is what some in the press are saying about Caravaggio:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/arts/design/10abroad.html


On Wednesday we visited the Bank of Italy for a very thorough briefing on Italy’s performance and prospects amid the current economic and financial crisis. Our briefers were Antonio Bassanetti and Roberto Torrini, both economists for the bank and former MMFs. Italy’s debt is among the highest in the world, and the current recession has hit them harder than some of the other large economies in Europe (Italy suffered a nearly 25% drop in exports as a result of the recession). We also learned that although their public debt is extremely high, individual household debt is much lower than in the United States due to a number of cultural and economic factors.

Central Bank of Italy

Meeting with economists Antonio Bassanetti and Roberto Torrini from the Central Bank of Italy

Inside the Central Bank

Later we visited Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the Italian state-owned public broadcast service. RAI has the biggest market share on Italian television and is of course heavily subsidized by state finances (all residents pay a user fee). RAI is facing increasing competition from privately owned television stations, and is now trying to market some of their programming abroad, including in the USA. We met with Luca Milano, Deputy Director of RAI Fiction programming.

On Thursday I was fortunate to have some time for sightseeing around the city. I decided a running tour would be the best way to maximize my time in the city, particularly because it looked like the weather was going to cooperate. I traveled light – just carried my camera and some money, and left the hotel about 7:30 AM. I ran to the Vatican Musem entrance to be at the front of the line when it opened. This museum is huge and unbelievable – you could spend a week there. I made a quick tour, visited the Sistine Chapel, and exited into Saint Peter’s Basilica – without a doubt, the most stunning church I have ever seen.

I left Vatican City, ran along the Tiber River, and went to Piazza Santa Maria del Popolo to see another Caravaggio painting. I then ran through the hills overlooking Rome to the Colosseum where I was able to catch a a quick guided tour, and finally returned to the hotel via the ruins on the Palatine Hill.

St Peter's Basilica

St Peter's Basilica

Adjacent to St. Peter's Cathedral - note Swiss Guard at the bottom of the stairs

Several photos from inside the Vatican Museum - nothing from the Sistine Chapel as photos are forbidden




Some more pictures from my quick running tour of the city:

















That afternoon we visited the Italian Department of Civil Protection, and received a very thorough briefing on the Department’s authorities and philosophies regarding crisis/disaster management. The Italians have a great reputation for crisis management, and their model provides an extremely clear command and control structure once an event is “nationalized.” This was a great briefing, and we also received a thorough tour of their impressive interagency operations center (my words).

We received a great briefing on the history and philosophy of Italian civil protection.

Group photo with our Department of Civil Protection hosts

Department of Civil Protection Situation Room - the Prime Minister sits at the head of the table.

We received a briefing from the Italian Coast Guard on their role within the Department of Civil Protection Command Center.

Department of Civil Protection watch floor - very similar philosophy to our DHS Interagency Operations Centers.

Forgot to mention - the food was incredible wherever we went, and we all ended up making daily (sometimes more often) stops for a quick gelato fix!

We finished off our visit in Rome with a wonderful dinner at Guiseppe Battaglia’s home (MMF 2007). Guiseppe and his wife Francesca prepared a superb meal of traditional Italian foods. We were joined by Carlo Papa (MMF 2002) and Mattia Cavanna (MMF 2008) and their spouses. Guiseppe is a Colonel in the Carabinieri (Italian national military police) and will be moving to Washington, DC later this year. Thanks, guys, for a wonderful send-off dinner!

Next stop, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Farewell dinner at Guiseppe's home

Hi kiddos!