Faithful eCool readers may have noted that it’s been a slow month in the Eternal City. August is always rough in Rome: stores and restaurants close and normal daily life comes to a grinding halt as the city’s residents head for the seashore.
Those who are left in Rome (and numbers have been rising for years, but the economic downturn has certainly left lots of Romans unable to head out on vacation for the month of August) are always in search of a cooling breeze, some chlorinated water, and a place to get away from the stifling heat of the city. Yesterday we showed you a photo of the pool, bar, disco, and poker club called All’Ombra dell Colosseo. Today we bring you our favorite piece of publicity for All’Ombra – a sign for the poker club reminding Romans that they can play Texas Hold ‘Em in the shadow of the Colosseum.
We love this on so many levels. The juxtaposition of Texas and Rome seems strangely apropos when illustrated by the Colosseum. And we’re reminded that the ancient Romans had the same love-hate relationship with gambling that continues today. Though some late Republican statesmen argued that gambling corrupted morals and though all gambling, except betting at the circus and races, was forbidden by law, archaeological and literary evidence suggests that the Romans gambled with aplomb, especially emperors like Augustus and Nero, but also common people, whose dice and gaming boards have survived the ages.
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