Hans - Your knowledge and understanding of Italian architecture and history is amazing. In 1974 I spent a couple of months right across from the FOA staying at the monastery of the church of San Gregorio and I never had a clue about this story.
At the time there was an awful lot of Rome to explore, I guess that's my excuse. I had moved in with an old friend in his room at the monastery - part of his junior year abroad program. When he left I stayed in the room, eating some meals with the students and the monks eventually noticed I wasn't in any of the programs. I explained that I was an architecture student, studying Rome etc. They were so nice, saying that that was fine, I could stay, they just wondered who I was. I took that forever as an example of Italian hospitality, putting up another pilgrim.
Hans - Your knowledge and understanding of Italian architecture and history is amazing. In 1974 I spent a couple of months right across from the FOA staying at the monastery of the church of San Gregorio and I never had a clue about this story.
At the time there was an awful lot of Rome to explore, I guess that's my excuse. I had moved in with an old friend in his room at the monastery - part of his junior year abroad program. When he left I stayed in the room, eating some meals with the students and the monks eventually noticed I wasn't in any of the programs. I explained that I was an architecture student, studying Rome etc. They were so nice, saying that that was fine, I could stay, they just wondered who I was. I took that forever as an example of Italian hospitality, putting up another pilgrim.
Malcolm