Also spotted in Venice last week - while roaming the furtherest reaches of Dorsodoro. Just what event(s) - we wonder - provoked the expression of this sentiment?
Archive for the 'Outside Rome' Category
19
Apr
Don’t Touch My Radio
18
Apr
Figura Serpentinata
Artists in the sixteenth century spent their time trying to master the figura serpentinata - an idea that takes on a whole new meaning when one gazes upon these splendid snake skin shoes we found in a shop window on a back street in Venice. Displayed amongst a host of other lovely and handmade offerings, this headstrong pair of scarpe serpentinate initially sent us recoiling in shock and surprise (yep, that’s a little snake tongue sticking out of the head on the right), but then we became fascinated, even obsessed, and found ourselves slithering back up to the window for another look, and another, and another, until we convinced ourselves that one could cut quite a bella figura in these shoes if one were just brave enough to wear them.
04
Apr
Counting Sheep in Torino
(ANSA) - Turin, April 3 - For the second year in a row, sheep are being used to trim the lawns of this city’s parks and save the taxpayer some money.
The first herd of sheep arrived Thursday at the Meisino park, a vast area of land along the Po River on the city’s eastern outskirts, while a second herd will be brought to the Sangone park on Monday.
The two herds will graze in the parks for two months and officials believe this will save the city some 30,000 euros in gardeners’ fees.
Last year herds were used in three city parks, including cattle in the Maddalena park.
This year it was decided not to use cattle because they produced significantly more manure that sheep.
A total of 700 sheep and 16 newborn lambs were brought to the Meisino park and belong to Chieri shepherd Federico Tombolato.
”I came here last year as well and it worked out really well. The city saved money and kept the park clean, while I saved money by not having to rent fields to graze my sheep,” Tombolato said.
The sheep are kept in a fenced-in areas for a few days. They are then moved to other pens while the area is kept closed to the public for a couple of days to allow time for the land to settle and the grass to seed.
”There are some minor inconveniences for the public but the initiative has a naturalistic value and is even educational, allowing people, especially young people, to come into contact with and learn more about animals,” a city park official observed.
After their two-month tour of duty in the parks, the sheep are brought into the mountains for the hot summer months.
02
Apr
Neapolitan Street Scenes
Yep, folks. We’ve been spending a bit of time outside the Eternal City and we’ve been snapping photos as we walk the streets of such European metropolises as Paris and Naples. Knowing that our audience appreciates all things Italian, today we bring you some Neapolitan street scenes - all shot while roaming Via dei Tribunali in search of una vera pizza.
In comparison with Rome, Naples is another planet. In many ways, it is a city with two personalities - one mired in despair and disrepair (see the egg vendor above) and the other consumed with the exuberant celebration of life’s simple pleasures.
What produced this bipolar approach to life? Throughout the past 2500 years, Naples has been a trophy passed from one invading culture to another - first from the Greeks to the Romans, then from the Byzantines to the Normans, and then from the Angovins to the Bourbons, before finally becoming part of the newly formed country of Italy in the mid-19th century.
Such hot-potato handling of the city has made the population inventive above all - a trait clearly displayed when a white car pimped out with a loudspeaker and boxes of battery-operated toys blared its way up Via dei Tribunali announcing, “Toys for sale! Only two euro! Dolls! Cars! Batteries included.” (see below)
And then there’s the craziness of Naples. People, cars, and motorini swirl at rapid pace and in traffic patterns unseen elsewhere on the Italian peninsula. “See Naples and Die,” they said during the city’s Golden Age during Bourbon occupation, making reference to the drop-dead beauty of this city’s architecture and its geographical location. Today the words mean something else entirely. One dares not traverse a Neapolitan street in a distracted state of mind, as pickpockets, scooters, and cars all threaten your well-being.
Yet, amidst the chaos, there’s also a stillness to Naples. Time stops here - or at least it proceeds according to its own schedule. Swarming streets aside, one is led to believe that nothing has changed for centuries and that nothing will ever change, for the weight of history hangs heavy here, affecting everyone and everything.
In Naples, the making of figurines for creche scenes is centuries-old local craft. Twelve months a year, both sides of Via di San Gregorio Armeno in Naples are crowded with workshops displaying newborn Baby Jesuses, prayerful Virgin Marys, swooping cherubs, gift-bearing kings, and humble shepherds. But that’s not all. Because Italians like to include slices of daily life in their presepi or nativity scenes, there’s also a charming assortment of butchers, bakers, and pizza makers available to liven up your stable when there’s just no room in the inn.
Not surprisingly, each year some of these creche-crafters bow to temptation and spend their time making figurines of contemporary notables. Giuseppe Ferigno created a 40 centimeter figure of Luciano Pavarotti after his death last fall, while figurines of other superstars like soccer great Francesco Totti can be found up and down the street.
Now, however, for the first time since the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal, American politics are getting serious play in the world of Neapolitan creche figures. We’re happy to report that on a recent trip to Naples we found that figurines of Barak Obama, John McCain, and Hillary Clinton are available to populate your manger scene (see above).
So, go ahead. You’re just sitting around waiting for the Pennsylvania primary, right? Jump a train or plane to Napoli and score a few of these fabulous figurines. You’ll be glad you did when Christmas rolls around - they’ll look great next to the wise men!
Faithful readers may have noticed that we’ve been skimping on posts this week. That’s because some of us here at the eCool Compound took advantage of the Easter holidays and spent most of the week in Paris. While there we were continually reminded of Rome - particularly when looking at all things Napoleonic.
On this Photo Friday, Susan Sanders offers us a Parisian image that is Roman in scope and scale. The gargantuan Tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte at Les Invalides belies his physique but speaks volumes about his imperial ambitions.
Made of Russian porphyry (as Egyptian porphyry - that used to create the tombs of the Roman Emperors was out of stock), the massive sarcophagus rests under a gilded dome that reaches some 350 feet into the gray Parisian sky.
The imperial tomb - certainly meant to recall those in which Roman rulers like Hadrian were laid to rest - is positioned on axis with an altar covered by a canopy or baldacchino undeniably reminiscent of that which covers the Papal altar in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
So much Rome, so little time.
For more photographs by Susan Sanders, visit her Rome With A View blog.
At the moment, Italy is in the middle of intense political campaigns leading up to the mid-April election in which a new government will be selected to replace the collapsed regime of Roman Prodi. In Rome, that means political posters are everywhere! Walls are caked in layers of them. Special billboards are elected street side to accommodate the overflow. And each time a poster is put up, it’s only a matter of hours or days until it’s covered by another.
One artist in Rome recently likened the layers of political propaganda to an electoral lasagna, but an archaeological comparison might be just as apt, for the superimposed posters certainly attest to the constantly changing and shifting current of thoughts and words by which Italian history is being made.
In a recent downpour, many heavy layers of these posters collapsed into heaps on the street, almost as if Mother Nature was wiping the slate clean, and photographer Susan Sanders snapped a shot of the political fallout that subsequently lined the streets of Rome.
For more photographs of Rome by Susan, visit her blog: Rome With A View.
29
Feb
Mona Lisa Turns Trashy
Pretty much everyone knows about the horrifying and ongoing trash crisis in Naples as it’s been much covered by the international press. Now, it seems, the news has filtered all the way back to the sixteenth century and has incited such Renaissance celebrities as the Mona Lisa to action.
In protest of the smelly pileups in Naples, the Neapolitan graffiti artist, Raffo, has tasked the iconic star of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous portrait with the job of taking out the trash. In posters painted by Raffo and distributed throughout Naples, the Mona Lisa appears against a new backdrop - the Bay of Naples surrounded by trash. Her usual demure pose - with hands carefully crossed in front of her - has been abandoned in favor of a more active position, for in her hands she clutches nationalistically-colored red and green garbage bags as if she herself is headed down to the dumpster to drop off a bit of refuse. She’ll have trouble with that, of course, because the dumpsters are already full (see image above - we’re particularly fond of the Berlusconi campaign poster hovering over the dumpster in the upper left corner of the photo).
Today, on another bright and sunny Photo Friday, we bring you an image taken by Susan Sanders on a trip to Naples. Titled McBlessed Ludovica, the photograph shows a sumptuous work of stencil art that is clearly a play on Bernini’s swooning 17th-century sculpture of Blessed Ludovica Albertoni (see below, found in the church of San Francesco a Ripa in Rome).
While in the original sculpture, the Blessed Ludovica is overcome by a transcendental encounter with the divine, our artist in Naples attributes her altered state to another source: the hands that clutch at her abdomen and the head thrown back in rapture seem to be a result of a super-sized communion with a meal from McDonalds.
For more photos by Susan, visit her blog: Rome With A View.
22
Jan
Espresso Academy
Italian coffee is legendary. How legendary? Well, it’s commonly known that the Italian coffee tradition inspired the creation of America’s gargantuan coffee chain, Starbucks. But, despite expansion to China and beyond, Starbucks has recently announced that they’re not coming to Italy. It’s a sign, perhaps, of just how formidable is the long-established coffee culture on the boot-shaped peninsula.
If you’re a coffee lover who prefers your to take your frothy cappuccino or velvety espresso standing up at bar (rather than walking down the street), then Florence’s Espresso Academy might just be a place that you want to spend some time. The academy’s courses range in length from a few hours to two days and teach a variety of skills. You can learn the history of coffee, edify yourself about the fine points of roasting and grinding, discover how to make the perfect espresso on a stove or with a machine, and even become skilled in creating those lovely designs so often seen atop frothy cups of cappuccino.
Because the academy’s classrooms are located inside the Mokaflor roasting plant, you can observe the entire coffee cycle, from the unloading of trucks to roasting and grinding. You can witness new blends and new products being tested and look on as Moakflor’s employees evaluate new packaging and design new espresso machines and new coffee grinders.
What kinds of courses are on offer? There are six in total, the most alluring of them are as follows:
A three-hour Discovery course introduces students to the botany of coffee, its different varieties, and the methods by which it is picked and prepared for consumption. Participants in this course also learn to prepare the perfect stove top espresso and are introduced to the workings of the bar-quality espresso makers.
The “Milk Art” course is four hours in length and provides instruction in the making of cappuccino decorations such as hearts, leaves, and more. Those enrolled also get a crash-course in the making of cappuccino - from choosing the right milk to steaming it perfectly.
A four-hour Tasting course aims to improve your palate. After an introduction to the botany of coffee, participants learn to see, smell, and taste coffee, enhancing their awareness of the differences between such varietals as African Arabic, scented Latin American washed coffees, southeastern Asia Robusta, and Jamaica Blue Mountain.
And for those who like their coffee in the evening as well as in the morning, there’s a four-hour Coffee Cocktail course that introduces mixing concepts, classic coffee cocktails, and those more complicated ones that mix alcohol with milk or cream.
Via delle Torri 55, 50142 Florence
Tel. +39 055 7321718 - Fax +39 055 7321719
e-mail: info@espressoacademy.it
