Casa Santa Maria

I am getting set up in my new residence, the Casa Santa Maria.  The Casa is the graduate priest department of the Pontifical North American College.  There are about 70 priests from North America studying at the various Roman Universities who have their residence here. This place is really beautiful with long corridors and green gardens in the courtyard.  It is very Roman in its layout and style.  Here are some pictures to give you an idea.

As we used to say up on the 'hill' (The Seminary Division of the North American College), "It 'aint home but it sure is much!"

My room is one of many here at the Casa.  They are mostly set up like monastic cells because this at one time was a convent and the rooms were the sisters cells.  The building is kind of a patch work of add-ons and additions and so no two room are the same.  Mine faces the Via dell'Archetto which is a noisy little alley way not much bigger than a normal driveway but with cars and motorini passing by all day.  There is also a little restaurant across the street that has outdoor seating right underneath my window which makes for noisy nights when it's hot outside.  The romans love to eat outside and I have to leave my window open because there is no AC.  Here is a picture of my little 'cell'.