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| Roman Caesar talking on his cell phone. |
The Holtzbrinck business conference
that brings us here was quite eventful … but this isn’t the place to talk about
that. One highlight, though, was
visiting the Sistine Chapel. I had seen
it once before, many many years ago, when it was still all covered with
schmutz, dark and obscure. Now, all
restored, the images are resplendent—not at all garish, which was the criticism
I heard in the 1980s (“Surely Michelangelo didn’t intend the sky to be so
blue and the robe to be so
red!!”)
It was beautiful. And the
transformation made me cry. Sometimes
humans are not so bad after all.
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| Daphne foiling Apollo |
I should also mention the final dinner we had at the Villa
Borghese. The estate itself, with
gardens and glorious architecture, is absurdly beautiful—graced even further by
all the lovely and interesting people who were there that evening. We had a tour of the private art collection,
and although there
were perhaps a few too many references to the fact that
our guide shared the same name as the Pope who built the Villa (Paolo), the art
was stunning, and I’m very grateful that I got a chance to see it up
close.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borghese_Collection Two Bernini sculptures in
particular stood out for me—Aeneas escaping with his father and son and Daphne
escaping Apollo by turning into a tree.
(I am a little discomfited by the amount of art I've seen so far on
this trip that glorify rapes of one kind or another. But I think Daphne showed very good sense in
turning into a tree. Much better than
turning into a cow.) And then there were
the decadently profane and luscious Caravaggios, 5 of them, hung right in front
of my nose. How lucky I am to be seeing
them up close, with as much time as I like, not pressed by any boisterous crowds to move along, or forced by anyone to listen to endless prattle.
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| Coliseum |
After the meeting, Gary and I had another day in Rome, which
we used to visit the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum. All I can say is, Rome is pretty darn old,
and there is lots and lots of old stuff lying around.
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Seat in the Coliseum of a Roman senator,
with his name carved into it. |
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| Lots of old stuff lying around. |
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I did have to make a couple of business phone calls
while I was there, but it was SO lovely to be able to
call the office from the Forum, rather than anywhere
else in the world.
|
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| Titus's Arch, depicting the sack of Jerusalem |
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| Forum |
Gary had rented a car, and here is what I have to say about
driving in Rome:
- All drivers are about 5 times as aggressive and
unpredictable as NYC taxi drivers
- Motor scooters zipping in and out
- Dearth of traffic signals and lanes are kind of
conceptual
- About half the streets one way (and WHY don’t
maps ever show that????!!)
- Pedestrians expect you to stop for them,
wherever and whenever they emerge (nothing like a “walk signal” at most
corners)
- Not much honking … because everyone here is
actually completely skilled in driving this way
- Lots of sudden braking (at least on our
part)
In the evening we checked into one of the funkiest little
boutique hotels I’ve ever been in. I
think it must specialize in *a certain type* of excursion, as witnessed by the
bathtub in the bedroom, with the disco ball hanging over it. And as for the shower . . . Gary said, “I’ll
give you one hint. The top control is for
temperature. The rest of it is your
adventure to explore.” And it was quite
a lively adventure.
They DO serve a mean breakfast, though.
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