Friday: Today, the British School at Rome unveils the latest exhibition by their current residents. Entitled “I Don’t Know How a Rock Feels”, the show features pieces from the artists and architects currently working out of the British School, including Angela Catlin, Charles Cooper, Colin Darke, George Egerton-Warburton, Nicholas Hatfull, David Lock, Covadonga Valdes, Duarte Natario Dos Santos and Felix Schwimmer. Based on the title, I’m guessing it’s not hands-on, but you can check it out starting tonight at 6:30. If you prefer to take in your art in a High Renaissance cloister instead of a stately British academy, then check out Miro: Poetry and Light opening today at the Chiostro del Bramante. The show, running until June 10th, displays more than 80 works by Catalan Surrealist Joan Miro, many of which have never before been seen in Italy. The Chiostro is open weekdays until 8 and weekends until 9, and features a lovely little caffe-bistrot in which to fuel up for, or debrief following, your artistic wanderings.
Saturday: Saturday is shaping up to be a bit rowdy. In addition to it being Italy’s 151st birthday (just imagine blowing out the candles on that cake), Italy is taking on Scotland up at the Stadio Olimpico in the latest “try” (you better believe I looked that one up) in the 6 Nations Rugby Cup. Fortunately, this all nicely coincides with, and will likely be balanced out by, that Irish celebration of moderation and decorum better known as St. Patrick’s Day. First of all, the rugby game is sold out, but it starts on Saturday at 1:30, so if you want a seat at the pub in front of the telly, get there early. And, once you’ve secured said seat, it’s probably best to just hold onto it for the rest of the day, as perennial game-watching favorites such as Abbey Theatre, Druid’s Rock, and, yes, Scholars Lounge will be throwing St. Paddy’s Day parties, complete with live Irish music, until well into the evening.
Sunday: Well it’s a good thing there’s not much going on this Saturday, because you’re going to need a good night’s sleep for Sunday morning’s Marathon. No, no, you shouldn’t try and run it (I hear that requires a bit of training), but you certainly want to get up early enough that you can get a fresh cornetto to enjoy while watching the hordes of runners circle the city. The route starts at the Colosseum, winds up along the river toward the Villa Ada, and loops back around down by San Paolo before finishing back at the Colosseo. If watching people voluntarily run 26 miles early on a Sunday morning didn’t already blow your mind enough and you could really go for some gravity, death, and previous conceptions of the human body-defying acrobatics, then catch the last day of Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco at the Palalottomattica.
