The map room with ancient frescoes coincidentally reminiscent
of Julia on the left and her sister Alice on the right
between Baker's Secretariat Buildings, all of a sudden a
great dome and structure emerge, little anticipated as you
journey on the mall. Once before the Viceregal Palace,
you see its monumental long mass, very earthbound
from a conventional perspective. Imposing staircase
aside, the place speaks of civil authority, however divinely
anointed: Caprarola evokes the spiritual, the divine.
I went to Villa Farnese in search of tangible traces of the
stories Julia shared with me at great length and about
which she wrote in her 1965 memoir, Jottings from
Julia's Journal. The book is more a testament to her
many forays into the world of diplomacy and society
than record of Caprarola's house and gardens, the latter
it seems she confined to personal storytelling. I have
visited several times with Julia's great-grandniece, Faith
Gist whose father, Julia's grandnephew John Sweeney,
Julia adored. We form an admiration society for both
Julia and her sister Alice, reminiscing in all directions.
HYLAND
