Of Towns and Townsfolk

I pen these thoughts upon the eve of our departure from Volterra.

Having first come into the city from Rome, we were marvelously delighted at the change of pace and the change of scenery. No more hurtling Smart© Cars to dodge in the midst of scooters and motorbikes. No more angry waiters trying to rob us in broad daylight. No more throngs of tourists. But still plenty of gelato, for which Natasha in particular was very grateful.

Having gotten lost the moment we drove to Volterra, we consulted the nearest shopkeeper at the Enoteca Scalia in what appeared to be some type of town piazza (square). His name is Massimo and he is such a G. He gave us complete directions to the seminary we were going to stay at (right at the gas station, past the hospital), gave us a recommendation for dinner (La Vecchia Lira, up the street, you'll see it), and Ron and I felt so touched by his generosity and kindness that we had to buy a Chianti. So we did.

The Eternal City Day 2: A Bunch of Really Old Shit

Today was cultural overload day.

Rising early in the morning, we departed for the Villa Borghese (pronounced bor-gay-zay), what was once a large mansion, supposedly belonging to a Cardinal, but is now a nice museum. Taking the metro from Pyramide, we switch from the blue line to the orange line at Termini, and make our way to Spagna.

The museum contains a huge collection of paintings and sculptures. The weather is very warm, and we thankfully enter the darker cool of the interior.

The majority of the paintings in the Villa Borghese concern scenes from the Bible, stories about Catholic Saints, and Greek or Roman myths. I can't tell you anything about the Saints, but common Biblical scenes included the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. My favorites were of course the classical scenes - Leda and the Swan, Venus and Adonis, and sadly a myriad of other fantastic ones that I cannot remember.

The sculptures are particularly amazing - the collection includes a few Bernini originals, by far the most impressive sculptures we have so far seen on our trip (I write this on June 28th). The most impressive by far was entitled "The Rape of Proserpina". Propserpina, also known as Kore or Persephone, was once kidnapped (archaic: rape) by Hades and brought to the underworld. I hope we have a picture to show you, this one is a real treat. This statue is famous for Bernini's rendering of Hades' hands grasping Persephone's flesh. You won't believe this thing is made of marble:






Hades carrying Persephone away as he tries to kidnap her. Notice the flowing hair and Cerberus.














Hades's hands grabbing Persephone's thigh. I think she has a rather exquisite rear.

The Eternal City, Day 1: American Pizza

We arrive late at night. The night air smells like car exhaust.

Trudging our weary way to the train station, we conveniently forget to validate our tickets before boarding and almost get fined €50 per ticket. We mutter incoherently to ourselves under our breath and half-heartedly curse the lack of proper signage. For some reason, the train only opens its doors on the right side, even though it has platforms on both sides. An entire hoard of fools, ourselves included, blindly follow the left platform only to be greeted by disappointment and frustration.

Rome is adorable.