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 4th C, and finally the present Christian church on
the top layer, like the icing on a cake. It is a wonderful example of 12th
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
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