Retaking Rome - one wall at a time

I highly recommend watching this superb production piece on full screen! 

Post by FEDERALBERGHI ROMA.

An incredible video by Rome's FederAlberghi Hotel Assoc who rolled up their sleeves alongside RetakeRoma & started cleaning up our City Center.

It starts with:

Millions of tourists dream of coming to Rome looking like this... But when they arrive...it looks more like this.

And ends with: 

We've applied the elbow grease - now it's up to City & Govt institutions to do the right thing.
 
And then...asking your officials (everywhere in Italy as the graffiti, garbage& stickers is a pox on our society) what are they doing with the 90 million euro each year taken out of the pockets of our visitors "for services to improve our fair City?"

Travel to Italy - Booking Online Trains, Hotels & Automobiles

Rome, Sweet Rome

This past August brought me from Cefalù, Sicily up to Florence & Tuscany (to Il Grande Prato Agriturismo), to Milan, Como, Verona and onto Lucerne and Geneva, Switzerland and ultimately over to Annecy, France for a hearty helping of fondue. [Let's just say, between the inclement weather up north it was decidedly therapeutic.] So you can imagine my elation of coming home to Bella Roma, with its sunny days and empty streets and heck - even the hordes of dumpster divers appear to have taken August off.

While in the past I've picked on the places where this country dependent upon tourism makes continuous #touristfails, I'd have to say...I was pleased as prosecco during my travels, so I thought I'd share some of the Amore with you...Starting with the trains that got me to where I needed to go.
I love train travel.  And the trains are so spiffy, the waiting rooms with wifi and with Italo leaving right near my house, it's truly a pleasure.  Although, I'd gladly take the conversational compartments and the low fares back any day of the week.  And, the cellphone-less travelers, which is why conversations were being conducted in the first place.  ItaloTreno bent over backwards to help me with some ticket snafus, when they saw I had double-booked two tickets.  And most local trains I boarded including the glorious ones shuttling passengers back & forth from Palermo to Messina were pleasantly clean and air-conditioned.
On Trenitalia, the company I love to hate, as always their staff and conductors were the best thing on dozens of wheels. Their new Itinere food service providers even lowered the extortionist prices, and gave me a 5 euro coupon besides. Heck, they even mixed a Bellini for me during the drinks offering. Can you say, 'Benvenuto competition'?  And while I still have never successfully logged in on a train, and I still can't stand the blinding lighting, train designers have finally caught onto the concept that people actually tow luggage aboard.  Although it's Italo whose trains have the cutsie step that comes out so you don't have to hoist your bags like a Sherpa.
Online Bookings - Caveat Emptor or Carpe Diem?
In Sicily, you couldn't find a rental car if your life depended on it-which leaves me wondering why fleets aren't upped in the summer months there, but the trains and stations were so terrific, I didn't really care in the end. And while the proprietor didn't show up for a last-minute booking in Cefalù (and lied about it to Hotels.com), getting a morning ice cream-filled Sicilian brioche made it all better.
In Milan, I rented a car thru Economy Car Rentals which was efficient and inexpensive, although they said the price included the 'after hours pickup' - which I didn't have since Maggiore was open til 11 pm each night (what a change from years ago!)  They didn't cut me any deals on grace periods either but, I love them anyway. The convenience of picking up a car right at the train station is fantastic.
I used DirectFerries - UK for my ferry crossing from Salerno to Messina.  I was a bit nervous that I'd arrive at the boat and they'd say, Direct Chi??!!  Instead, an air-conditioned bus took me from the station straight to the port, a mini-bus came and picked me up at the entrance to escort me round the truckers loading up the ship, and the driver even ran and got me my ticket, while everyone welcomed my little pooch Archie with open arms (okay, I confess: the boat was practically waiting for me to board -- I hadn't read the fine print about arriving 2 hrs prior).  The ride was delightful with the only glitch: the woman purser who didn't want to let me have my dog with me on the deck (when everyone else said it was okay...).
It was the Swiss Train online system (sbb cff) that was the most difficult to work around when attempting the supersaver fares [Hint: they're offered only once you've committed to the train & time, like some wild teaser].  I spent over 10 hours booking tickets all around Switzerland (three times) and in the end, I never received a confirmation.  Thus the rental car when I got to Milan.  A friend says there's a Swiss train office right in Milan's train station - next time, I'll try there.
And, the icing on the gelato?  If you take Italo and you end up in Rome's Tiburtina Station (the boondocks, for most of us), you can imbibe in a terrific GROM gelato & shopping before your trip, and with a simple €1.50 bus ticket you can hop a ride on the railroad, over to any of the other Rome train stations...!  And at my beloved Ostiense station (where Eataly is to be found)?  Some lone, intelligent soul (or fatigued traveler) at Trenitalia has finally figured out that the airport train could use an elevator up to the platform - it's still a work in progress, but hey...Read here for what life has been like without it.
Now...if they would just re-institute the baggage handlers...Perfetto!

Rome's new Colosseum

As anyone who follows my blog or anyone else's for that matter, you will know that the Colosseum is currently under restoration.  Wrapped with scaffolding, but looking nothing like Christo's Gift-Wrapping the Reichstag* - to this day, one of my favorite art installations - ever.  Rome's Colosseum - at least from the inside - is still magnificent; it just looks like it has braces. [And for you tourists...it's not like you get to at least see, say, the Arch of Constantine or view the Forum streetside - alas, the Romans have decided that if you can't see the main attraction you won't see any of the sideshows, either.  So, the Arch is covered with scaffolding and the via dei Fori Imperiali is now a construction zone for the Metro (Subway) line still trying to make headway along a path filled with ancient relics most likely from Nero's Golden Home - the Domus Aurea.]  
So, the news we got the other day of - my team - AS ROMA - releasing the plans for their very own stadium was something to look forward to.  Or, as the following fab football fan & blogger put it, very forward considering the Romans have been waiting for their own stadium for the better part of half a century.  Why all the fuss? They share a stadium with their arch-rival, the lily-colored Lazio team.  But more than that, the new stadium is outright gorgeous.  And, it is inspired (as well it should be) by our very own antiquated Anfiteatro Flavio, replete with rooftop and all [although I haven't looked in to see if it can be rolled back on less sunny days].
And since Enzo, "a footballaholic in New Zealand" put things right in a Burnt sort of perspective, he's graciously allowed me to reprint his post about the hullaboo right here [and for that, he will be forgiven for using the colors of Lazio for his title].  Check it out.

Stadio della Roma

By Enzo Giordani on March 27, 2014 • ( Leave a comment )

‘Stadio della Roma’

Decades of anticipation were brought to an end in the early hours of this morning New Zealand time when Associazione Sportiva Roma unveiled plans for a new stadium. Think I’m exaggerating? I am - but not in the way you might think. The new ownership of Roma may have only started planning this thing three years ago, but Roma fans have been waiting for a stadium fit for purpose since our fabled original home ground, Campo Testaccio, was torn down in 1940. Nothing since has measured up. But while this latest design looks incredibly good for a multitude of reasons, you do have to forgive me for being slightly cynical. The fact is...we’ve been here before. I’ll believe it when I see people with hats digging holes. The anticipation, for me, isn’t quite over yet.

One of the things that keeps me from doing cartwheels down the hallway just yet is it just seems so damn good. My mother used to tell me, 'if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.' And I mean, look at it! It’s gorgeous. Modelled on the Coliseum, the players will rise from the ground like gladiators, the pitch is seven metres below the first row of spectators to stop the stray animals from pouncing into the crowd! Or maybe it’s to stop the crowd pouncing onto the pitch…Which brings me onto the Curva Sud, where the Ultras will stand, set out from the rest, brought forward, embossed.

The new Curva Sud

This is I think my favourite feature.

The location, Tor di Valle, is inside the city boundary, which is huge for Rome. Close to public transport and the southern city heart of Roma’s support base. And the timeline. Completed in time for season 2016/17……… Wait, what?

Here’s the thing: If you’ve ever tried to build so much as a doghouse in Rome, you would surely look at that promise alone and cackle your head off. The Mayor says this is the New Rome. ‘This will all be streamlined!’ Trust me, politicians in Italy say a lot of things. And streamlined in Italy means we’ll scale back our daily quota of cigarette breaks from 186 to 180. Former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti famously quipped that “Madmen either claim to be Napoleon, or boast they can bring order to Italy’s rail service”. When asked about Italian bureaucracy, President of the club, James Pallotta, said “I grew up in Boston, Rome doesn’t scare me.” Oh, my dear fellow, either you have balls of steel or you have no idea what’s about to hit you…

There is no planning permission yet. There is no application for planning permission. There are no details on when they will apply, how they will apply, or, well… actually there are just no details. All there is, is a pretty model and some nice drawings. I know these American owners are different from our previous overlords, the Sensi Family, but the fact remains that as things stand right now, there’s still exactly the same amount of concrete and reliable information as there was a few years ago, when we first saw this:

‘Stadio Franco Sensi’

So, yeah. Gorgeous stadium. Very exciting. But like I said – people digging holes. With hats.

* I'm thinking...maybe I should start an Avaaz petition for Christo to do his thing on Rome's Colosseum...

Can you say Yummy in Italian?

Italians are so serious about food, I never in my wildest dreams thought they would debase themselves to critiquing cuisine as 'yummy'.  But this word is so cool that I can’t believe I never knew nor used it prior:  gnam-as in gnam-gnam meaning yum-yum.  

Perhaps this is for kids, and, not having any Italian tots handy, maybe it just never crossed my radar.

Which brought me to think about food (doesn't everything?)  I've been doing a lot of that lately -- most likely due to hanging out with all the right people -- those Slow Food folks who I admire down to the very pit of my stomach.  So, as I chomp on an almost delirious piece of aged cacio (as in cacio cavallo cheese) - so yellow, it seems a bar of gold is occupying my fridge - I’ll share a few of my most recent palatable adventures.

I purchased the cacio cheese along with organic wines & olive oil from TusciaGnam - I know, an impossible name to type let alone remember, so just bookmark their site and never regret it.  Tuscia, is the Etruscan-ish area around Viterbo, just outside Rome.  Thankfully (for us tourists, not for the tourism providers), it's oft neglected by the crowds to their detriment; Tuscia is brimming with gorgeous foods, remarkable sights, and serious farmers who want to ply you with only the best.  It has, indeed, captured my heart straight from my stomach.  The area boasts plenty of food festivals or sagre, and Viterbo is home to an amazing annual foodie extravaganza, a two-week event called Caffeina.

A recent trip to Civita Castellana, a proud land of porcelain has a gorgeous Duomo and a wonderful relais, Falisco, where we were treated to more TusciaGnam tasties, including pasta from farro (an ancient grain I believe someone once named spelt - but thankfully, according to google, it's farro from now on), made with that scrumptious cacio cheese; my favorite right up there with Sardinian aged pecorino.  
At their ceramics museum, we were also enthralled by the skill of molto simpatico Mastro Cencio who showed us in minutes the technique behind Etruscan pottery and their decorations [Click on his site here & Cue in: music from Ghost].  His terra-colored paints when heated, turn black on the pots.  Gorgeous.  From here, the Etruscans would be pleased to know that the area gave us our toilets (or, bathroom fixtures, if you prefer).
*****

Back in Rome, I happened upon a fab new Gelateria Romana (a funny misnomer, as it was founded in Rimini in 1947 so now coming to Rome!)  They’ve done it up nicely, with an all-white atmosphere, gorgeous windows, gelato-filled crepes and sauces flowing non-stop from faucets; the stuff ones usually dreams about (or, that I always do...).

Just around the corner, I was treated to an all-day outrageous buffet at Porto Fluviale, one of the many hip bars & restaurants opening in this funky area (viale ostiense) that used to house flour mills along the Tiber, along with the gasometro and the Electric Company, now my favorite museum in Italy.

With all our balmy weather, the Gelateria was packed with the dopo-pranzo crowd, so, it’s a bit stressful to actually eat there, but worth the pushing & shoving; an experience not unlike the one across the way at Eataly.  The area also boasts about 5 sushi restaurants - I’m not sure in what state of sushidom…but one day, I’ll set out to try them on for size.

And, not to disappoint my readers without offering “the flipside of the frittata," I’ll mention that we have heard about the fake Italian virgin olive oil confiscated at the swanky Herrod’s Dept Store in London; looks like the Tuscan "import" comes from the fair green hills of Gran Bretagna - a sore subject taken up in the fine tome, Extra Virgin.  [And which also provokes the query...they have olive trees in the UK?]

And while on the subject of imposters, I had my personal bizarre moment, when my package of Pettinicchio ricotta turned out to be fucsia; not a color you want to see in nature's whitest product.

So, I’m going to check out if I can get Tusciagnam to deliver ricotta fresh from the sheep (even better than from the cow) but until then, I'll happily enjoy my golden brick of cacio cheese.

Italy: The Best of 2013

Habitual readers of my blog will know that for years, I have posted a Tante Belle Cose monthly roundup of some of the terrific things that happened in and around Italy.  My readers are so cynical, that people barely glanced at the listings. And while there are millions of articles, blog posts, videos, files postings on all that is great with Italy, those who know me, see that I take a rather - errrr - 'different' approach. 
But, in the spirit of the festive season, and in the hopes that you, dear readers will actually for once read 'til the end, here is my year-end review of some terrific or zany things that happened in 2013 Bell'Italia:

• Jan/The Gemelli Hospital - A young boy's heart valve operation was entrusted to the head of the cardiac unit at this Vatican-run hospital; famous for working on Popes but even more famous for the miracles performed on children. I panicked when the Chief Cardiologist was under 40.  I mean, this is a country in which many kids are still (supposedly) hitting the books in their 30s. Instead, he is one of many of the renowned medical professionals operating in this country.  And while many more skilled and highly trained researchers, scientists, physicians have left for greener pastures, he (and his wife) remain the face of what Italy could be if the younger generation was given half the chance.

  

  from the UK's Telegraph

• Feb/Pope Francis - Anyone who reads my blog or my twitter feed knows I am no fan of religious institutions of any cloth. The abject hold over the hypocrite politicians by the Vatican State - a theocratic society where women are not allowed in any real power - is outrageous. But I love this Pope.  Since his election, taking real action against the corruption in his own house, the plague of pedophiles in his midst and with discourses that could be translated easily to much of Italian society, well, I hope someone is listening.  Heck-he even told his own clergy that their homilies were boring.  Add to that an American woman at the helm of his finance committee, and his selfie, let's hope we can all surf this tsunami of change.

• Mar/Berlusconi Convicted - Finally, justice was served, albeit lukewarm (he's still not served a day) after the courts have been trying to try him for years. He was found guilty of wiretapping a political rival. Incredibly, in Italy, the statute of limitations does not stop once court proceedings have been initiated. So Silvio's crack legal team just practices delaying tactics until the clock runs out.  For a pretty thorough FAQs of Silvio's trials, just click here. And, don't forget to drop in on my dedicated Silvio Show Page above!  As most commenters would remark, in any other country he'd have been long gone from politics.

• Apr/New Government Elected - While not much would change with a left-leaning government, at least we no longer had to live down the peccadilloes of our previous Prime Minister. It was liberating. Even more liberating was the party of defiance, under the helm of comedian & general disruptive force, Beppe Grillo, came to the fore in huge numbers. The media (wholly controlled by politicians) continues to dismiss him and his members, but let's face it.  In a country of self-professed sheep - I call them lemmings - it's heartening to see at least one person call out the politicians for the ongoing rape of their country.

• May/Life & Death in Pompeii - While the actual walls of places in Pompeii have been crumbling before our eyes, while Vesuvius still boils under the previously scorched earth, and while city officials decide - despite all indications to the contrary - that it's okay for people to dwell on its slopes, the world got treated to another mega-exhibition on this fabled place; the way exhibitions were intended - by the British Museum.  The show brought much of the story and traditions to life through the unique objects, including a magnificent table, never seen in public.  You can still pick through the timelines, the stories, the cult of Bacchus, you name it on their slick website.  Carpe Diem!  Here's the Eruption Timeline

• June/The Supermoon - It's hard to pick the most amazing shots of the Supermoon with Italy as it's front drop.  Just 'Google It' and stargaze for yourself.  

• July/Italy's first astronaut in space - My head still in the stars, with the arrival of the 203rd astronaut into outer space continues to astound us with his shots of the world at large (very large) and his twitter feed (@astro_luca) Thankfully, we did not lose him in late July when his helmet filled with water during his spacewalk.  More here.

An Italian astronaut in space always makes me giggle. That's due to the old yarn about the Pan-World Space Mission looking for the next astronaut to send to Mars.  They interview the best candidates from every viable nation.  In the final round, the American says he'll do it for $1M -leaving behind his wife & family for 3 yrs.  The Russian cosmonaut says he'll do it for $2M. The Italian waltzes into the interview, and declares that he'll do it for $3M.
The interviewer is astounded.  "What do you mean, these other countries have the finest programs on earth!" he exclaims.  The Italian leans over and says, "Don't you understand? A million for-a you, a million for me -- and dee American goes to Mars!"

• Aug/New places in Italy - I got to spend my August with my sister/niece & nephews on Italy's Adriatic coast.  And, the best part yet, was seeing places I've never been to before!  Of course, no trip is complete without paying a visit to my favorite town in all of Italy, Ascoli Piceno (not least for their olive ascolane, deep-fried stuffed olives washed down with cool white wine).  But I was pleasantly surprised by the towns above Pescara, the churches that were out of this world, and the markets actually included real Italian-made products.  Walks near the Gran Sasso made it all the more spectacular, and provided a welcome breath of fresh air from the August heat.

• Sept/Raising the Concordia - While none of us can get over the 'Hands in the cookie jar' defense of the indefensible Captain Coward of the Concordia, I was glued to its raising.  It was a feat of engineering, and while it was a multinational endeavor, the Italians had much to be proud of.  Certainly, spending all that money on this derelict ship just to send it for demolition left some wondering where our priorities were.  After all, hospitals are being closed all around us, schools are crumbling, and all this money is washed away at sea [granted, the operation did save the fragile environment underneath the ship.]  But compared to the outrageous purchase of dozens of fighter planes for a country that can't afford toilet paper for its students, well...it's hard to understand.  Nonetheless, I was glued to the screen, if for no other reason than accident porn.  

This is gonna be a tough one to set straight
From the inimitable genius of Gianni Falcone www.gianfalco.it 

More takes on the year of the Concordia conundrum:

Captain Coward 

Concordia's Deep Throat 

• Oct/Night at the Museum - Each October, we're treated to free admission & festivities throughout the country.  But in reality, these aren't the only times you can get into the most beautiful places on earth for a song.  There is a week each May as well, free nites on your birthday, and  bank collections and FAI heritage trust sites often open for free.  And all winter, there are free visits to the show in Rome of Augustus.

• Nov/ASRoma Football/Soccer - Fans saw the Rome team came back from years of mediocrity (despite their 37 yr old Captain's finesse on the field) to have a fleeting chance at no. 01.  The games have all been exciting, and there's more to come in January!  With an updated website - in English, no less - I follow a lot of the English football commentary for my play by plays, even on twitter.  It's great to see.  In November, we also saw the relaunch of Naples' Città della Scienza after being burnt to the ground by someone - most likely interested in developing the area, and not kids' brains.  [Full disclosure: We opened with one of the shows I represent from the USA, Brain: The World inside your head].

• Dec/Londinium - After leaving behind: the fab book event in which I introduced readers to many expat authors living in Italy (I'll be adding even more to the titles on my Book Page Tab above), the drab Christmas tree mounted in Rome's Piazza Venezia (and crucified on twitter), the mad grab of politicians for more money & perks as they force most of Italy into poverty and cripple companies, I saw that sometimes, things are the same all over.  Attending the terrific show of Fascinating Aida, we found that Brits are threatened by immigration, school teachers can't make a living wage, the bathrooms at London's Science Center, airports & other public places don't flush (but they do have toilet paper!), and the price of transportation is keeping people away - from everything and everyone else.  As they say in Italy, "Tutto il mondo è un paese - The whole world is just a village".

Buone Feste! To the habitual Readers of my blog, to all my peeps, and to my occasional voyeurs and (sadly, even fewer) occasional commenters!  See you in 2014.

Many live links throughout the post.

A Guide to Life in Italy - Now Available!

What to get the Italophile in your life? 

A User's Manual to Life in Italy!

Francesca Maggi takes off her rose-colored glasses and takes on Italy's world-renowned Quality of Life.  Starting with her X Commandments of Life in Italy [Thou shalt not covet thy customer, Thou shall hold La Mamma as your one true omnipresent and omniscient lord of the household], she tackles Italian bureaucracy, drivers, superstitions, traditions, La Mamma and more.  Readers will get a hilarious insider's guide from an outsider's perspective, taking us through the trials and tribulations of life in Bell'Italia.

About the author...Francesca Maggi first came to Italy at the tender age of 4 months.  A return visit at age 6 sealed her fate as she endured the agony and enjoyed the ecstasy of this country of contradictions.  She has been working with Italy for nearly 30 years, 20 of them as a resident while traveling the entire swathe of the Boot and taking in the sights, sounds & society's peccadillos from Trapani to Trieste, from Trento to Taranto.

Illustrations by...Each chapter is introduced by the inimitable witty vignettes of Gianni Falcone, or GianFalco...www.gianfalco.it which are part & parcel of the humor of the book...(including the cover image).  You can see more by Gianni by clicking the main tab on the blog page, Cartoon of the Week...or visiting his blogs on OpenSalon (Just a few Pixels) or Diario Acido.

What they're saying...Francesca Maggi is brilliant -- a modern day critic following in the footsteps of Luigi Barzini's The Italians.  Her stories are at once funny, irreverent and poignant.

OMG - i just read the first few paragraphs of the ''Baby on Board' part of your book! that was hilarious.....       i'm still laughing  ROFL!

Been reading your book and LOVE it!! Great insight and funny, FAMILIAR anecdotes!

Get a signed copy if you purchase the book off the Official Home Page 
Burnt by the Tuscan Sun

http://burntbythetuscansun.blogspot.com

Life in Italy - A Day in Pictures

In my eternal conquest to douse a bucket of water on the hoards of wanderers and day dreamers who wont for a life in Bell'Italia...I say, of course, who wouldn't?  But lately, I see more and more bloggers and articles doing their own versions of Burnt by the Tuscan Sun 'Reality Checks' - Many of whom express my sentiments exactly, which I carefully outline in the epilogue of my book:  Italy is wonderful - but does not come without its own hassles.  And of course, this sentiment can be applied to every place on earth.  So, it's good to settle down in the place that gives you - for whatever your needs are - the best life to lead.
Having said that, here's my antidote of the day for that Quality of Life that everyone thinks they get in Italy.  These are pictures purloined from facebook and the web in just a single hour of checking my Feed.   You can chalk this post up to my being in a very bad mood, ever since Rome's Mayor Marino closed off the road to traffic rounding the Colosseum.  I no longer find joy sitting in traffic in Rome - when I could, on a nightly basis, whiz by the Colosseum and get thrilled down to my tippy-toes and recall, just how fabulous Italy truly is.  What a guasta-festa that Mayor is...so here I am, to party-poop myself:

A friend called this 'Hit&Run Party'
Sadly, it's a fairly typical feature come Saturday evenings in Italy
After all...someone else will clean it up later.
Fortunately for the photographer, Milan probably takes better care of their parks than Rome
(which is blessed with many many more, and far larger...but still)

A fellow blogger posted this from her old town center on the outskirts of Rome.
Guests (who have been arriving for months), cannot for the life of them
figure out why this trash can laden with cement has not been removed
from one of the ancient sites in her town.

Okay, I lied.  This is a picture taken in the park near my house about 24 hrs. after Rome's
Servizi Giardini came and cleaned up.  And every weekend, it's the same routine.
Even when their services are in play, in a matter of minutes, the place becomes someone's living room

I add this photo of this gorgeous building near my house that took upwards of 8 yrs
to build and, along with its sister skyscraper next door, remains unoccupied due to
nefarious business dealings by the owners [basically, the land is seemingly owned by someone else].
Across Italy, empty or half-finished concrete monstrosities are the norm. The result of people
simply running out of funds or having built on eco-zoned or residential land.
This photo is remarkable for two reasons:  One, the immigrants are now ripping the place apart - windows, doors,
electrical wiring, you name it.  I'm surprised squatters haven't simply moved straight in (doors have all been removed).
And two, on the same day I found these other photos posted, I read in the newspapers that
the City had - incredibly - given permission to build a third skyscraper on the very spot.
You can't make this stuff up.

I've seen this photo make the rounds on facebook before, but here it is again.
Made in Italy.

Taken this morning in Florence by talented sculptor - artist - blogger - author
 - teacher and best yet, Madonnara street painter (the title of her book) -- Kelly Borsheim
Reminding us why, of course, Italy still rocks.
www.BorsheimArts.com

Letter from Israel - Sistine Chapel, Bar Mitzvahs and more blessed occasions

Or, the real reason it's called the wailing wall.

It is a right of passage for visitors to Rome, often in for a three-day extravaganza, to ponder the ordeal (and it is an ordeal) of heading over to Vatican City for a day in the Museums (commonly called The Sistine Chapel, which has almost nothing to do with the museums themselves). In reply, I often quip: Just buy the book - you'll thank me later.  This has nothing to do with what I truly think of the museum experience, and especially the Sistine ceiling. After all, as Sister Wendy (of PBS/BBC fame) states in my very own loveable audioguide, there, you find yourself standing within an artwork - and with Michelangelo's masterpiece, what a work of art it is!  But decades after I first tramped through the hours-long lines to get into the museums, only to find myself so exhausted at the end to not even have the energy to so much crane my neck, well...I've often given this advice.  I have yet met a person who has truly enjoyed the full Monty Vatican museum experience.  Post visit, they speak of it enthusiastically, but more like something they've survived, like an elephant stampede whilst on safari.  To this day, I still cannot understand why the Vatican doesn't just relent and let the 5.2 million tourists simply bolt up that short, sweet, Bramante staircase to gaze up at the ceiling for their requisite 2.5 minutes, let them check it off their 'been there / done that' list and bolt right back down as if one of the horses that may have taken that very staircase and now needed to pee -- really badly.  Leaving the 400,000 or so who truly desire to view the artworks, rooms,  tapestries, heck even the ugly contemporary religious works to do so at their leisure.  As it stands (and you'll be doing an awful lot of that), you end up feeling you are on a rich, but exhausting pilgrimage -- only to find yourself deposited in the most chaotic place on earth; inside a Chapel that is reminiscent of the Roman Forum during the Circenses.  Whereas most people speak in hushed tones when entering a place of worship, for some reason (and maybe because of the walk of sorrows to get there), people burst at the seams upon entering the Sistine Chapel.  Add to this the automated announcements blaring SILENCE! SILENZIO! at 7 minute intervals and in 43 languages, well, you begin to wonder if Michelangelo didn't have it all backwards; and we are the ones in his version of Hell; not the guys depicted up on the wall.
Okay, so what does this all have to do with Israel?  Believe me, it's all connected, seeing that that's the place where it all began.  But a visit to the Holy spots in and around Jerusalem, and in particular, the Church of the Sepulcher, well, I had the same spiritual experience; the one in which I thought I was going to meet my maker alright -- by being crushed to death by cruise ship passengers donning baseball caps (inside a church?) as they pushed and shoved to get a closer glimpse of whatever it was in their line of vision (I don't know, I could only see the backs of baseball caps).  Looking up, you can tell it is an amazing place, and, I'm sure for millions, quite over-the-top when it comes to items on your religious to-do list.  But my experience here left me with a headache; my more religious friends running out the doors to shake the crowds even faster than I -- Turns out that after lighting your candle, a priest quickly whisks them all away so new candles may be lit.  My friend didn't want to witness the fate of the candle he had traveled so long to illumine and shot out the door. 

- praying for time ticketing
in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - 

Jerusalem is home to all of the great monotheistic religions, and so you can get the same religious experience no matter where you went.  Even at the Kotel - or Western Wall  [click here for the webcam].  We were there to attend a Bar Mitzvah, but to our surprise, so were dozens and dozens of other families. The boys, their extended families, their Rabbis and their Torahs were swept into the area, while hundreds of women precariously perched upon plastic chairs around the perimeter tried to catch a glimpse of the ceremonies below.  People inside pushed and shoved other groups for space, other visitors made their way to pray, ambulances stood on the ready while thousands more milled about on the slope and marching soldiers came by, guns strapped across their chests.  We were all so close, I got to cheer on two boys at once - with women swapping stories and candies amongst ourselves, as if the next of kin.  The experience was quite unique, and, out there with the women tossing candies, celebratory -- but spiritual?  I would have preferred a peaceful spot under an olive tree to the dodge'em car experience of vying for a space in the piazza, and later on sidewalks while heaving masses headed into the bowels of waiting tour buses just beyond.

Finally on our own bus and nestled in the quiet space of my very own seat, I was moved to recite my own prayer giving thanks for having survived my day of spirituality.  And while the Dome of the Rock beckoned in the sun, I thanked God that Mecca was not in Jerusalem as well.

All roads lead to Rome...A love story Part I

It's said that the English love to obsess over the weather...well, the longer I'm in Rome, the more I realize that we Romans are obsessed with the roads.  Maybe that's why we're know for that hackneyed phrase, All roads lead to...
Perhaps it was our destiny, ever since they laid the first stone on the Appian Way for us to look at the roads as a sort of measure of life.  The Romans gave us the milestones (a Roman mile now different from what we know as a mile, don't ask me why)  and life 'On the Road' reached Biblical proportions when St Peter happened to run into Jesus on that very same path.  We've been looking for road stories ever since.
I think we're obsessed with roads since Rome (and much of Italy for that matter) is layer upon layer of a storied past.  Underneath our black asphalt strips may lie an ancient Domus or a patrician villa.  No sooner than someone starts to dig, like for Rome's Line C of the work-in (sort of)-progress subway (tube) station, than it all comes to a halt -- while archeologists start scraping the stones with toothbrushes to determine what it is we're about to be plowing through.
It's no different for the Big News of the summer: the (sort of) closing off of the Via dei Fori Imperiali [via of the Imperial Forums -  you know, those ruins ruined in order to make the roadway [not unlike what America does with trees -- naming the streets after the ones mowed down in the process].
It's no wonder that the news went 'round the world - when it comes to Rome, roads are to be watched with close attention - and not just when you're trying ('trying' being the operative word) to cross them.  [As Alex of Italy Chronicles tweeted, Tourists in Rome discover (the hard way) that 'pedestrian zone' in Italy doesn't quite mean the same thing as back home.]

To see what we were actually talking about, check out this outstanding picture from one Bepix - You'll see old Rome circa 1890.  It gives you a perfect view of what it looked like before Mussolini decided he needed an avenue fit for - well, a fascist Dictator.  Rumor has it, in amongst those medieval houses was to be found Michelangelo's as well.  [As an aside, you can now go see the facade of his supposed villa at the entrance to the Gianicolo park, above Trastevere.]

Below marks the beginning of the construction.

Picture posted by Carlo Pavolini on Annarosa Mattei's blog 

And what Mussolini had in mind.  Julius Caesar would have been proud.

Picture from Wikipedia on the Via dei Fori Imperiali

Today, they still hold the processions, but you'd be more apt to see buses, taxis, politicians' cars (the infamous 'auto-blu' we all love to hate) and entire flotillas of motorcycles, vespas buzzing about, while horse & buggies vie for space along the edges.  And with a nod to Rome's ancient past...those vespa riders? They're called Centurions.

In part II, you'll discover what I had originally set out to type...Stay tuned!