VISITING
FORT KNOX
January
9-10, 2006
We have a
list. What is on the list? Mainly, it consists of places and things we
want to see before we leave. Of course,
there are also the items related to leaving the apartment, getting our things
home, paying our various bills, and relieving ourselves of possessions and
furniture that seem to have accumulated during our four and a half months in
Roma. Our objective as “short timers” is
to check-off as many things as possible, so we are busy.
I was
able to drag Kim away from the churches of Rome. She has now viewed at least 200 of them (an
independent audit will confirm my number.)
Once again my friend Mario Teleri has arranged something that cannot be
seen except by special arrangement. We
begin at the Colla Graphia, which is the repository for over 23,000 original
copper plates printed by Italian artists deemed to be historically
important. It is like getting into Fort
Knox and feels like it too. They are
stored in an underground bunker that protects them against everything from fire
to atomic warfare. Part of the storage
is basically under the Trevi Fountain.
There is a lot of copper down there including Piranesi who has over 1000
plates in the collection. It is
fascinating. They also have a print
studio in the building that is expansive and has wonderful light. They used to do 2nd strikes of
artist’s copper like the Louvre still does and sells in its museum shop, but
because the plates were wearing down they stopped. Now they are beginning a project to digitally
remake plates they would like to reprint and will start selling them at
affordable prices in the next couple of years.
We did not have time to see their restoration lab and hurried over to
the Biblioteca Casanatense, which houses the collection of books donated to the
Dominicans by Cardinal Girolamo Casanate.
It was started after his death in 1700 and is a huge collection of books
printed before 1500 called incanabula.
The total collection is over 600,000 books. We were able to see their
most famous old ones, including a medical text with woodblock drawings printed
in 1535. I had seen pages of this book
at the American Academy several months ago but the complete book was even more
impressive. The main hall is immense
with a three or four story height, skylights and shelves of old books to the
ceiling. Kimberly was thrilled to have
come with us.
We bid
Mario goodbye until he comes to visit us in San Francisco this June. He made so
many things possible for me in Rome; I hope I can show him the best of life in
Northern California. We followed our
privileged morning with lunch with Roberto Mannino, my paper-making friend. We are bringing home some of his work which I
think is stunning. In very unItalian
fashion, we ate early and lightly. The BANK OF LAVORO looms in front of me like
a great white iceberg. It feels like potential
disaster, but I must get my account closed before we leave.
The weather
in Rome has been bright and sunny for the last 3 days. It is cold but dry, blessedly. We will divide and conquer. Kimbo will stay at the apartment to prepare
for the goodbye party and garage sale combo that she has instigated. I will get to go to the bank. I have all of my unused checks, all of my
statements, my passport and other related items. What else could they want? Well, they wanted a check I wrote to make a
gift to the American Academy at the end of December. When I checked with the Academy
on Monday, they had not yet deposited the check. I ask them to hold it so that I could replace
it with an American $ check and retrieve my Euro dollar check. Up to the Academy and then on to my bank for
the crucifixion. I was prepared for the
worst. Nobody was going to get me
churning after my nice morning. This time I was at the head of the line to get
back into the bank after the lunch break (3 hours). The same woman started the process and after
much paper work and filling out of forms she advised me that it would only cost
E125.00 to close the account. What a
great deal the Italian banks have. They
get to keep your money, pay no interest, make monthly charges to your account
and then charge a fee to close the account.
I said nothing. Upon further
reflection I wonder what lunacy made me think having a bank account in Italy
was a necessity. I now have the
money. Riding home from the bank in
triumph, I pass the Imperial Forum of ancient Rome and say a short prayer to
the Gods that look over this fascinating place.
Kim did a
great job on the party/sale. Our
apartment is once again cold and bare.
Lots of people from the Academy and from Kim’s Italian class came to say
their goodbyes. I considered it a
success because she ended up with more money from the sale than the cost of the
party.
This
morning having released ourselves from our possessions, we walked to Sant Ivo
de Sapienza to visit Boromino’s magnificent architectural contribution to
Rome. His curves and buttresses,
ceilings and lines are so stylish and tasteful.
Than, another short walk down the street to the French church that is
home to 5 Caravaggio’s completely restored to original color and beauty. Just another Roman banquet.
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