Rome: DAY 18

EIGHTEENTH DAY

September 30, 2005

It is hard to believe that September has shot by.  We have been in Rome almost three weeks; time flies when you’re having fun.  We are having a great time, but it is worth mentioning the things I seem to miss the most.  Early morning ESPN, Tim Russert’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning, Football, the American Dollar, golf with pals (sometimes), the light lunch, dogs and kids.  There is probably more and I probably have seen more TV Football then I should have anyway So enough said about missing.  Let’s talk about getting.

Yesterday I bought the scooter, and if all goes well in the Italian licensing system, I should pick it up next Tuesday.  I have learned a lot about Italian business protocol and even if I never get the damn thing, the experience of just making up my mind and making it happen has been a good one.

We went from the scooter shop to the Church at San Clemente.  It is another of those 3 Star do not miss places.  We were supposed to go to Nero’s Gold House, but as with so many of these antiquities we didn’t read the fine print.  You must reserve a place.  The Domus area where Nero lived is in a beautiful park above the church of San Clemente  and so while we waited for the church’s three o’clock opening, we read our Green Michelin guide and waited it out.  The church is really a 3 for l deal.  On the lowest level four stories down, it was an old Roman Villa dating from the 3rd Century where a small cult met to worship the god Mithras.  On top of that is a medieval Christian Basilica from the 4^th C, and finally the present Christian church on the top layer, like the icing on a cake. It is a wonderful example of 12^th Century austere architecture.  The Frescoes in the church are dramatic, gilded and and beautifully restored.   The restorers are a Dominican Order from Ireland who still maintain the church.  The floors on all 3 levels are still viewable as well as a few frescoes deep under present day Rome.  It is a perfect place to get the full shot of what Rome was doing through the ages literally walking down through the layers.  Kim is a great Shepard for me and pushes us to keep going.  We are attempting to do something historical everyday.  I am being force fed lots of churches and Renaissance art, but when the day ends, I am glad we did it. 

We ate at the Academy last night and while the food is ok, it is the conversation that makes it special.  There was a lecture before the meal by Mia Fuller, a specialist in Fascist Italian architecture.  She talked about Mussolini and his planned cities particularly the Italian colonies in Northern Africa.  In Italy, lots of people liked what he did and the pictures we have seen of him here are of a really handsome buffed guy - he had quite a press agent.  He was very decisive and brought modernity to some very poor sections but really cost these people a lot freedom and hardship.  Politics in Italy are very hot stuff and the guy who controls the country today is the richest Italian, Berlusconi.  He owns lots of media and TV stuff.  The system, as usual, is not without corruption.  More later

Rome: DAY 17

SEVENTEENTH DAY

September 29, 2005

I experienced a slight energy dip yesterday when doing my daily journal but today, today, I feel really good.  It is worth mentioning for the last time that in September the weather has been benign, lovely, although sometimes hot and humid in the late afternoon.  All that said, the light is going away earlier each day and the cool down comes faster.   I understand, that it gets very wet in late October and November.  We await the Gods. 

We have been picking a new spot to go sightseeing everyday.  Because it has lots of stairs, I have been avoiding the Campidoglio for the better part of this week.  Last Sunday, however, because the Capitoline Museum is on that plaza, I went to see an exhibit and found the steps were not too bad.  Three amazing buildings, all designed by Michelangelo surround the Piazza. It is a must for any tourist coming to Rome, three stars in every guidebook.  The old Senate building has been turned around to face the Piazza (it used to look down on the Roman Forum) and it was built according to Michelangelo’s plan after his death.  The intricate design on the Piazza floor is his as well. And from the back of the Senate building is the most famous view of the Imperial Forum.  It is so elegant and striking as to be beyond my power to describe.  The Museum is made up of the two other buildings on the Plaza and they are look-alikes They house the Capitoline collection.  From the roof of the museum building on the right, there is a terrace that overlooks most of the ancient ruins and churches of Rome.  I would call it one of the great romantic date places in Rome.    If my description doesn’t suit, you should come and see it for yourself.  We hung around for about an hour and decided that the museum collection was for another day. 

Walking back down the graduated steps of the hill we consulted our little red Trattoria book.  It is almost impossible to use as it is not divided by any sensible method, neither geography nor type of food.  Anyway, too tough for me to figure out, so I must look at almost every entry and finally found one that we thought looked good. It is in the Piazza del Pigna between Gesu and Chestini, very near an apartment that we like, except we have to sell our unborn children to pay the rent.  In case you are worried, Kimberly says no children are on the way.  This is a sweet little place and the food was as good as I have had in Rome.  I had the Antipasti and Kim and I split a great Clam Pasta.  In a moment of madness, I also ordered a Capressi Salad and was rewarded with the best Buffalo Mozzarela since we arrived.  Too Much, I need my Precor.  We walked all the way back to our bus in Trastevere in order to feel better about lunch.  We included the Campo de Fiori on the way.  Lots of legwork. 

Another new friend. Mario Teleri, teaches printmaking at Temple University in Rome.  He invited us to his studio and out to one of his favorite Pizza joints.  The studio was great and reminded me of mine in Sonoma, not too clean but very usable.  He has two intaglio presses much like mine but much more room for it all.  Still, his presses are in the basement and mine in the light of our garden.  There were lots of artists working and finishing up.  Mario’s partner, Luce, does not speak English.  She too is an artist, teaching print in Milan and making Jewelry in Rome.  Kimbo that great social wonder, kept the conversation all going and the pizza was tasty.  It was an early evening for everybody by Italian standards, and they drove us all the way back up the hill to our cabin.  Mario has been very generous, and I have been offered to teach one of his classes at Temple on the subject of papermaking.  Last night I wished I spoke Italian. 

Rome: DAY 16

SIXTEENTH DAY

September 28, 2005

Yesterday was about high finance and how to beat the Italian banking system.  I would say we lost.  But, we did get most of the dough for the bike.  I suppose what is most interesting is their approach to non-Italians.  At this moment, I cannot open an account in Italy because I have neither permission nor residency.  I am trying to circumvent the rules and make some other outcome happen.  One of the interesting aspects of Italian banking is how you get in the bank. You enter a glass cylinder, which then closes you in and the other side of the tube opens to let you in the bank.  Kim says it is like being beamed up like Dr. Spock and Scottie.   You may have noticed a strange new picture on the blog.  I am learning to transfer from my I Photo Library to the blog, but didn’t select the one I wanted and don’t know yet how to change it.  Patricia, one of the excellent Fellows with an undergraduate degree from that great Midwestern university, Northwestern, is my teacher.  We will see.  Cooked in the kitchen on our floor and ate on our stunning terrace.  All the days cannot be big.

Rome: DAY 15

FIFTEENTH DAY

September 27, 2005

Today the motorcycle wars begin in earnest.  My new friend or you might even say my new best friend is Kristin Jones.  Kristin is the woman who is doing a project on the Tiber, which I wrote about earlier in this journal.  A very interesting and strong character who is trying against all odds to move something along in a place where things happen glacially.  In any case she has offered to make a deal with me on a motor scooter.  I will buy the scooter for her and basically at the end of the six months she will get it for whatever the difference is in money between the buying price and the rental that we agree on.  If we can work it out it should be cheaper for me and safer (new machine) because the rental stuff is really beaten. She has the residence permits and the ability to get the insurance and license and I, so it seems, have the cashola.  We meet at the scooter dealer and work out our deal in the bar next door.  We have a deal, even though not as good as I thought I could do.  Oh well, it is only a good deal if both parties wish they had done a little better.  We walk next door to buy a Honda 125.  A very nice scooter that will require little maintenance and will run forever; it has a good reputation in the scooter world.  No options are required and no decisions need making.  Until it is discovered that Kristen needs one more piece of paper.  Some sort of further recognition of her residency.  I can see my scooter going out the window.  After a long argument, she agrees to get the piece paper and I start breathing again.  I hand over my card, VISA, only to discover that there is a 3.8% service charge for using this card in Italy - some garbage from Visa about foreign exchange risk.  For the balance, I am going to pay in cash.  I come back thrilled and excited.  The scooter should be around in a few days.  All I have to do is open a bank account and have the faithful and talented associate, Nancy T., wire in the bucks.  I stop at the Bank of Rome on my way back to the Academy.  Guess what?  You cannot open a bank account in Italy without a residence permit.  What, can this be the case?  Yes.  I could lose sleep over this stuff.  After all, we must get money together to rent the apartment whenever we find one.  So, I feel like I am a little out in the cold without a jacket or is it in a canoe without a paddle, whatever.  The Academy has a service that allows us to get up to $1000. with their signature.  Also, I think one of my expensive Credit Cards (3.8%) has a cash advance provision.  We will get the cash, I will get the bike, and Kristin will have the delayed pleasure of getting a virtually new bike when my time in Rome is up.  Not a bad picture if it all comes together.  I am murmuring Buddhist meditations while I await the scooter.

Last night the Academy had a big party for the Fellows to introduce them to the Roman Academic community.  I was disappointed to learn last week that we Visiting Artists and Scholars would not be invited. Not much more to be said on this issue except I don’t think the exclusion makes much sense.  There are some very distinguished Visitors here who are in support of the Academy program and they didn’t understand it either.  We went to dinner in the Ghetto with several friends who were also uninvited.  Once again eating the deep fried artichokes that taste so good - but late and rather dear for just ok food. 

I don’t want to forget the thrilling 3 hours yesterday morning that I spent in the rare book room of the Library here looking through old books and abstracts done mostly on paper made in the 15^th century.  The rare book librarian, Eugenio, was helpful and engaging.  The early papers were not as beautiful as some I have seen, and the books had been badly handled and in need of some restoration, but it was a nice experience that I hope will be repeated at various libraries throughout the city, including the Vatican.  Lucky me and I am not kidding, who would have thunk it.

Kim ventured off to sign up for Italian classes at a school near the Spanish Steps.  She begins next week twice a week for 3 hours each session.  I’m going to let her handle the speaking.  

Rome: DAY 14

FOURTEENTH DAY

September 26, 2005

The contrasts between life at home and life abroad continue to be a source of some surprise to me even though I knew it or know it from other times in Europe.  Sunday is a day that every small shop is closed.  Most restaurants are not open, and the supermarkets are only open in the AM.  In Italy that is all true, but and in Rome, that is a big but - there is a flea market at the Porta Portese that must be several miles with countless stalls and hordes of people all milling about.  I estimate the crowd at over 50 thousand walking around buying everything from used Jeans to Motorcycles.  The street vendors alone make it a difficult place as they clog the center of the walkway with their fake Prada purses, Rolex watches and mechanical toys.  As we were walking by a clothing stall, Kim forced me into the space and said I needed a sport coat Italian Style if I was to fit into Rome.  Forty-Five Euro later we were back on the street, I am a new man.  Kim bought a scarf which all Italian women over thirty wear.  My son Buddy always says Flea Markets are where people come to trade each other’s junk with each other.  Maybe, but lots of people must be trading lots of junk.  Luckily, no pickpockets tried to take our wallets, as the crowd was deep and very pushy, lots of jostling and shoving.  Not my cup of tea, but we went once.

With no real restaurants open we walked into our neighborhood hunting for a bar.  We landed at Pizzeria Arrostica la Legna.  If only fast food in the US was so good.  Because of the time 1:30PM and the fact that no places are open, the crowd at the counter was three deep.  I waited until finally a guy asked me what I wanted or I think he did.  I pointed at the Roasted Chicken, Greens and asked for due Coca Cola Light.  He walked over and quartered a chicken, grabbed the greens and sliced up the bread and we were in business for about 10 Euro.  Besides being fantastic, it was quick, cheap and pleasant.  We sat at an outdoor table and really, it was one of our better meals. 

Later after returning to our home on the hill, I went with one of the Fellows to an Alberti exhibit at the Capitaline Museum.  Albertti was a 16^th century genius who was first a philosopher and finally an architect and one of the original restorers of old Rome.  His drawings of various parts of antique Rome are seminal for every architect who comes to study in Rome.  The Fellow I was with, Janna, is studying that very period and she was an outstanding guide.  There were lots of old manuscripts in the show, which were both paper and skins and beautifully decorated.  The view from the Terrace of the museum is one of the best in Rome.  It will be a great place to take friends for a drink.  Busses and walking, busses and walking, more on the motor scooter wars tomorrow.