Visions of Logan's Run

 I came across this park yesterday and was enthralled.  It is in the middle of a very nice neighborhood, as you can see by the surrounding houses, but part of the park is in a state of abandonment.  It is amazing to see Mother Nature reclaiming what's hers. 

Reflecting pool still able to reflect

Part of a porcupine pelt

Some of the stunning homes surrounding this park

As you can see, I was not alone

I wish I could figure out how to upload vertically oriented photos onto this blog.  I have a wonder photo of these steps taken from below with one of the dogs-seen above-carefully watching me. 

 This is just not something you see everyday.  Two lovely young women out for a stroll with their pig.



While I'm thinking about it I want to thank those of you making comments; they are greatly appreciated and I'm glad you're enjoying my ramblings.  I haven't figured out how to respond directly to your comments but do know I am receiving them.  So feel free to keep `em coming!

Puppies and Bicycles

Have I told you about the dog around the corner?  No?  Well, around the corner from my apartment is a furniture restoration shop.  Most days when I walk by and its open there is this little white and brown dog sitting out front with some of the furniture, no leash, no lead tying him down, just a cute little Jack Russell sitting there and watching the comings and goings of the neighborhood.  I've sat and watched him on a number of occasions and am always entranced at how well behaved he is.  For the most part he just sits there in front of the shop but sometimes he will get up and greet some of the neighbors or say hello to other dogs out for a walk with their owners.  But he always returns to his seat in front of the shop. 

This morning when I went out to get my coffee I was attacked by four other puppies.  They live up the street from me and often hang out in their dad's hair salon sitting in front of the large glass doors watching the world pass.  But today, they were outside with dad while he smoked.  They came up to me, their little tails a wagging, just asking to be petted so of course I obliged them.  That's when they attacked and I suddenly found myself being smothered in puppy kisses.

One day I passed by the shop and the four little guys were hunkered down in their bed at the back of the shop looking a little sad and dejected.  I peered in further and could see why...dad was in the back of the shop cleaning up what once was a nice pillow that the four little darlings must have decided made an excellent chew toy.  There was stuffing all over and you could just see the frustration in dad's posture.  But I'm sure he didn't stay mad for too long.  I mean, really, how can you be angry with that face?

One of my themes in my photography class is bicycles.  There are scores and scores of bicycles around this town but most of them are tied up and seldom used.  It's easy to understand; I cannot imagine riding a bike on these streets.  It's not the traffic that would bother me, it's all those San Pietrini-the large, square, and very uneven cobblestones that serve as pavement all over Rome.  I'm certain these things wreak havoc with the bicycles that do actually maneuver around town and I'm equally certain that their riders' brains must be a jumbled mess from all the bouncing around.  So, anyway, I'm taking pictures of bicycles, mostly abandoned ones, at rest.  

I came across one bicycle in the midst of a slew of others all chained up to a bicycle rack near my apartment...actually it is directly across the piazza from the above mentioned furniture restoration shop.  What I immediately loved about the bicycle was the patina the paint had achieved from its constant exposure to the elements.  Upon closer inspection, I saw the seat-or rather what's left of it, the rusted springs just screaming out for oil.  There were leaves and twigs and branches tangled up in the spokes of the tires, a testament to its abandoned condition.  But I had to laugh as, upon closer inspection, I noticed the chain securing this old, sad, tired contraption looked brand spanking new.  

I laughed much harder three days later as I walked by this group of bicycles again.  I looked once more upon my find and noticed that someone had stolen the seat.  Yes, that seat.  The one with no padding and no leather cover.  The one that looked like a good gust of wind would render it into dust.  That someone found that seat so appealing they had to take it struck me as quite hilarious.  Two more days passed and again I walked by the bike rack.  No, the bike had not moved, I hardly expected that.  But the seat had been returned and reattached, albeit at a strange angle, the front of the seat pointing to the left pedal.  Don't you wish sometimes that objects could talk and tell you their stories?  What adventures has this bicycle seen and where did the seat go on its, possibly forced, vacation?  Hmm...things to ponder.

Art Overload

How can I explain what happened today; I honestly don't think it's possible.  I arrived at the Vatican Museum at 11:00 this morning and spent the next six hours looking at some of the most beautiful works of art known.  I'm sure you've heard of some of the artists-Giotto, Fra Angelico, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael.  We spent an hour alone in the Stanza della Signatura to discuss The Disputa and The School of Athens-if you don't know them I suggest you look them up or better yet buy a book on Raphael.  The experience was amazing, seeing in person these enormous paintings across from one another in the room they were painted in-they are meant to be seen in context as one refers directly to the other and both are related to the two on the other walls completing the four disciplines.  I have no idea how on earth I am ever going to distill all this visual stimulation.

Here is a picture of a little church I saw while we took a break in one of the courtyards.  







At the end of class our professor left us in a small room to contemplate the paintings there-the Sistine Chapel.  There is more going on it that one room than in a Tolstoy novel!


Another almost mythological piece of art we saw today was the Laocoon.  This sculpture was completed in the 1st century BCE and described by Pliny the elder who tells us it was originally located in the Villa of Titus.  At some point it was lost-buried-and resurfaced in 1506 after being found by a gardener working at the Villa Belvedere in the Vatican City.  Contemporary artists were easily able to  identify the object as they had read the description by Pliny; they knew what it would look like, they knew its history as well as the names of the sculptors who made it-Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus.  This particular piece of art changed the course of art in the Renaissance as artists tried to replicate and surpass the beauty, the dynamic tension, the emotional strength as well as the physical details of Laocoon.

Laocoon and his sons

Tomorrow promises to be another long day and so it is time for me to rest.  Hopefully I'll have the time and energy to write more on Friday.  Ciao!

Angels on the bridge heading to Castle San Angelo and a view of St. Peter's

A statue of Mercury from antiquity

Mi dispiace mi amici

 I am sorry, my friends, for not writing sooner but I honestly have been busy with classes  which tend to be  very long leaving me with little energy.  In between the classes and the homework and the readings I had to research and prepare a thirty minute presentation on the Palazzo Medici in Florence.  Let me be a little clearer; both the Palazzo and the presentation were in Florence.  We just returned to Rome after spending four glorious days in Florence and Venice.

 Florence is a lovely city with the most amazing collection of Renaissance art.  The Uffizi Gallery alone is filled with works by Duccio, Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and countless other artists whose works I have up to now only seen in books.  Not to mention the churches with the Rafaels and the Masaccios.  During class it is inappropriate to take photographs-actually it is forbidden-so you will just have to take my word that the art is spectacular.

Brunelleschi's Dome

As I said above, Florence is lovely, filled with Renaissance buildings, large piazzas, flat-ish streets and sidewalks that more than two people can occupy at the same time-which is a good thing considering the city was crowded with tourists and it is still the slow season!  I was particularly struck by the light as it gently caressed the palaces along the Arno river creating magnificent reflections in the slowly moving water.  At one point the reflections reminded me of Impressionist paintings.  There were a couple of museums I missed so i must return to Florence soon.  

Santa Maria de Fiori
Also known as il Duomo

Perseus with the head of Medusa

All the statues in the Piazza della Signoria face the Perseus statue as
if they have all been turned into stone by looking at the face of Medusa

 We left Florence in the late afternoon and took the train north.  We arrived in Venice long after sunset and the boat ride from the train station to our hotel was breathtaking.  Actually that is a good word to describe the city as I was gasping with each turn of a corner-and trust me, there are a lot of corners!  Rome is a magnificent city and Florence is quite lovely but Venice is perhaps the most beautiful city in the world, certainly the most beautiful city I have ever seen and I have seen some beautiful cities.

 The light in Venice, like that of Florence, is amazing.  But in Venice it sparkles over across the sea and reflects in the countless canals that weave and dart their way through town.  Morning was perhaps my favorite time of day; not only were the streets quiet but there was a very special glow as the sun penetrated the very thin fog emanating from the water.  Sunrise over the Grand Canal is a sight to behold. 

Both fragile and resilient, Venice was founded on a few sandy islands sometime between the 4th and 6th centuries by people seeking refuge from the invading barbarians attacking nearby Padua and Verona.  The early Venetians brought logs down from the Alps and planted them like pylons into the lagoon allowing the Venetians to expand the islands.  After sever hundred years of soaking up water from the Adriatic the logs eventually petrified.  The Venetians, being first class merchants, were able to import stone from across the known world used to erect buildings whose stylistically unique facades also represent the myriad of cultures the Venetians were in contact with; the Byzantine decorated domes of San Marco and the Middle Eastern inspired lancets on the palaces of the Grand Canal are just a couple of examples.

Venice is the new...
          Alexandria-the campanile represents the Lighthouse at Alexandra and sits right next to the Library, the largest in the world at one point and started from a large donation from Plutarch.
          Constantinople-the patriarch of Constantinople fled to Venice to escape the capture of his city by the Turks.  He also brought with him the Icon of the Virgin Mary that St. Luke is purported to have painted.
          Jerusalem-the Palazzo Ducale has the same proportions as the palace of Solomon and sits right next to San Marco as Solomon's palace stood next to the Temple.

 Again the art in Venice is astounding.  Because of the humidity of the city Venetian painters worked mostly in oils which allowed them to create incredibly detailed paintings like the Northern Europeans such as Durer and van Eyck.  We saw works by Titian, Tintoretto, and, of course, the Bellini brothers, Giovanni and Gentile.  As with Florence there just was not enough time to explore all the museums at our disposal.  It looks like another trip to Venice is in the future as well....hmmm, perhaps for spring break!