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| William Adolphe Bouguereau |
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
All Souls' Day
After the all-important Halloween on Monday, and the, for some, even more important Ognissanto (All Saints' Day) yesterday, how about a brief tribute to today's lesser-known holiday, All Souls' Day. If Halloween is the day the dead are permitted to walk the earth, and Ognissanto is the day we celebrate all the saints in heaven, All Souls' Day is the day to reflect upon and remember those we have personally lost, and (if you're Catholic) pray for their speedy passage through Purgatory and onto Paradise.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Numa Pompilius, Second King of Rome
If you thought Romulus was a great king, just wait until you meet Numa Pompilius! Considered by many to have been Rome’s greatest king, Numa was as much into religion as Romulus was into war. Not only that, he wasn’t even a Roman. He was a Sabine.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Faith's Vase
The 29th comes around faster and faster every month! Five months have absolutely flown by!
Last month I wrote about finding my great-great-grandmother's wedding ring, and how I didn't know it yet, but that ring would subtly steer the course of my life (if you believe in that kind of thing). I also promised that in this post I would explain how a 150-year-old band of gold could have such mystical powers, but I lied. I can't do that yet. I have to tell a little more of the back story first.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Viva VEnerRDI! Gilda vs Violetta
For your weekly injection of opera (that is, for those of you who don't take daily injections) I'll take a break from my beloved Traviata, to take about my second favorite Verdi opera, Rigoletto.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Fa Bìo - Best Sandwich Shop in Rome
In my adoptive country, however, I cannot say the same is true. Despite the catchy name, panini are often rather pathetic. Usually served on a ciabatta (literally: slipper, as in, the thing you wear around the house on each foot), a flat, oblong roll that is crunchy to the point of being annoying, panini are usually composed of two, maximum three (if you’re lucky) ingredients, that can range from tomatoes to mozzarella to prosciutto. Wow, decisions, decisions!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Roman Flooding
How is it possible that just three hours of heavy rain can flood a city?
Other cities have blizzards, earthquakes, hurricanes, monsoons, tornados, tsunamis! And they trudge through, brave and battle-weary. Rome has a particularly heavy downpour and the city grinds to a halt. I left for work extra early yesterday morning, because after 7 years in this city, I know well that a half-way decent rainstorm (and particularly the first of the season) can cause major traffic delays. You see, no one wants to get wet, so many of the thousands and thousands of people who usually take a scooter to work or use public transportation, decide to take their cars instead.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Georgia O'Keeffe: An American Icon in Rome
Last time I wrote (nearly 3 weeks ago! for shame!) Rome was in the midst of a delightful extended summer, where short sleeves and sandals were still the uniform. But autumn arrived suddenly and mercilessly, and overcoats and scarves replaced their lighter counterparts from one day to the next.
There is one thing that can make up for the decided chill in the air, and that is the explosion of exhibitions beginning this month. Check out the recently updated Exhibit on now page to see what’s new.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Viva VEneRDI: Addio al passato.
Why is it that a joyful song can never move us the way a melancholy one can? Why is nostalgia so sweetly painful? After listening to the frenetic and high energy 'Libiam ne' lieti calici' from La Traviata, the bacchanalian drinking song that opens the opera, close your eyes and savor the sublime and poignant third act aria, 'Addio al passato'.
Imagine a beautiful, dying ex-courtesan. She gave up the only man she ever loved so that his family would not be disgraced by her past. In order to make her lover leave her, she had to convince him that she no longer loved him. After suffering alone with her secret, her lover has finally learned the truth and is rushing to reunite with her, but she knows it is too late. Soon she will be dead and she spends a few moments saying goodbye to the happy memories of her past which will never return.
Maria Callas, Teatro alla Scala, Milano, 1953.
From La Traviata, by Giuseppe Verdi.
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Imagine a beautiful, dying ex-courtesan. She gave up the only man she ever loved so that his family would not be disgraced by her past. In order to make her lover leave her, she had to convince him that she no longer loved him. After suffering alone with her secret, her lover has finally learned the truth and is rushing to reunite with her, but she knows it is too late. Soon she will be dead and she spends a few moments saying goodbye to the happy memories of her past which will never return.
Maria Callas, Teatro alla Scala, Milano, 1953.
From La Traviata, by Giuseppe Verdi.
Liked it? Then share:
Thursday, September 29, 2011
It all began with a ring
Just like the story of the founding of Rome, the whispers of which could be heard long before that fateful day in 753BC, so the story of my wedding truly begins on Christmas day, 1861.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Death of Romulus
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| Augustyn Mirys |
After three weeks of "school," I realize that my initial idea to write a post about every lesson and every visit (a staggering 4 per week) was, as is so often the case with me, a bit over-ambitious. I generally finish class wrecked with my head full of a ton of information and zero creativity.
Instead I think I will continue with my original idea to follow the 3000-year history of Rome, in weekly installments. (I wonder how many weeks it will take to cover 3000 years?)
Having deepened my understanding of the myths of the origins of the city, I have the desire to go back and tell a bit of the back-story, pre-Romulus, as it were. Rome may have been born in 753 BC, but the whispers of what would one day come to be stretch back at least to the 12th century BC. However, my bossy, slightly-OCD side is screaming that I have to go in order, so Aeneas and Lavinia and a whole cast of personalities are going to have to wait.
Having deepened my understanding of the myths of the origins of the city, I have the desire to go back and tell a bit of the back-story, pre-Romulus, as it were. Rome may have been born in 753 BC, but the whispers of what would one day come to be stretch back at least to the 12th century BC. However, my bossy, slightly-OCD side is screaming that I have to go in order, so Aeneas and Lavinia and a whole cast of personalities are going to have to wait.
Let’s finish up with Romulus' reign instead so that we can finally move on! After beginning his career with banditry, murder and abduction, Romulus went on to have a brilliant reign, and became a benign and much-loved ruler. His co-ruler, King Tatius was killed not long after having come into joint power with Romulus, and the latter ruled alone until the end of his life. A few wars are described, such as those with with Veientines and the Fidenates, but no details of Romulus' reign survive beyond the very beginnings.
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| Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres |
So how did he die? According to legend (but this is all legend, right?), after a 36 year reign, one day as he was surveying his troops, there was an eclipse of the sun, followed by a hurricane (some less dramatic events have it as a thunderstorm) and Romulus disappeared into a fiery cloud. The interpretaion is that his father, the god Mars, returned to earth in his chariot to take his sun to heaven, who was then diefied as the war god Quirinius. He was 54 years old.
Yawn. The latter half of Romulus' life is not nearly as interesting as the first half. I must say I've always been disappointed with the story of the death of Romulus. Now, I'm not saying that the first half of his story is believable, but it could have happened. But this fantastical end seems to prove it was all just a legend. However, some sources claim that Romolus didn't disappear into the clouds at all, but was actually attacked by senators, who cut up his body into small pieces and carried them away, hidden under their robes. Not quite as romantic but equally unbelievable. I think the jury is still out on this one.
The ruins of a cave were discovered on the Palatine Hill in 2007 and are generally believed to be that of the famous Lupercal, where the she-wolf nursed the baby twins. Some now claim that this proves Romulus and Remus actually existed and that the legend of their upbringing is factual. All it really proves is that in the time of Augustus the myth was celebrated with ritualistic ceremonies, as the mosaics decorating the cave date to that period. Will we ever know if Romulus and Remus actually existed? Probably not, but as I've said before, just go with the legend. It makes life more interesting.
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