Dinner at the Academy

Louise and I were hosted by Bill Franklin, who is director of external affairs for the American Academy in Rome, married to the director.  Louise and Bill worked together at Trinity Church in Boston.  The others guests were Tiffany and Luc, an American/Belgian couple currently living in Clermont Ferrand.  It was an unforgettable evening.  Bill welcomed us at the imposing gates of the Academy and brought us over to the director's home, which is one of the few residence in Rome in what they call "Il Stile Liberty," their interpretation of Art Nouveau mixed with some Frank Lloyd Wright carpenter style.  A little prosecco and a few almonds.

Then over to the Academy, a beautiful, spacious and imposing structure designed by Charles McKim in the early 20th century.  I literally gasped when we walked through what I thought were the building's front doors, into an open loggia facing a large manicured courtyard.  Then out the back into the gardens, which were again large, gracious and inviting.  We watched the sun set over the hills behind the gardens, then went in for dinner.

The New York Times recently did an article on the dining room at the Academy.  After generations of famously bad food, they brought in Alice Waters who redesigned their entire food program from sourcing through recipes, and it's now the invitation to get in Rome.  If you've ever eaten at Chez Panisse you'd recognize the food -- we had a beautiful minty salad with beans, a cheese timbale over greens, and a grapefruit granita studded with orange pieces (it was vegetarian night).

But the food was only a backdrop for a fascinating, wide-ranging conversation on issues of the Episcopal church in the U.S. and Rome (all present except yours truly is involved in some professional way), the rising fortunes of the Academy, and some Rome-based insider information on issues of the day which brought me to the edge of my seat.  

Louise and I left bemoaning the fact that we're probably past the point that we would have any chance of becoming fellows of the Academy, but at least for a night we felt the magic.