Rome and part art lesson, initially had me a bit apprehensive because my nuclear unit includes one of the toughest customers — a first-grader. We met José Grave de Peralta, a man whose handshake comes with a box of colored pencils and a sketchbook, in front of Palazzo Farnese. Right away we were spying architectural detail on every building, from that historic center to Villa Farnesina in Trastevere. Storytelling and Roman history colored the walk, but my daughter was more captivated by de Peralta’s drawing techniques and his eye for pointing out the not so obvious in Raphael’s frescoes. Context walks are known for being easy-going and curiosity-inspiring, and de Peralta’s mythology workshop was made even more so by his clever way of encouraging children to visually tell the tales themselves. With every new detail discovered, I could see my daughter getting more into the subtly infused storytelling. We could’ve continued on the trek long after the two-hour mark had my daughter not remembered that she was hungry. Duration: 2 hours

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By Forbes Travel Guide Correspondent Erica Firpo

 

Oct 27 2014