Deep thoughts

We spent the day in Rome today, hitting the Borghese Museum and the Roman ruins in the afternoon. It’s pretty much mandatory.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese was the nephew of Pope Paul, appointed so in a nepotistic move in 1610. He set about collecting Roman works of art, commissioning others and sponsoring Gian Lorenzo Bernini, whose works are in the center of most of the great rooms. I was surprised yesterday to
learn that Jesus as we know him didn’t appear until that time, and also that the Roman generals, statesmen and emperors were sculptured during the 16-18th centuries. That Roman Empire was in vogue and ally educated men of that time studied Latin and Greek civilization.

Bernini did remarkable work, carving in marble with astounding detail and managing to convey both action and emotion in his work.

Enough about that. Museums are hard for me with aching back and information overload. Other than Napoleons’s sister, Pauline, sculpted in the nude and quite voluptuous, the women, even though naked, are not so hot. Painters seemed to concentrate on the male form, natnurally rippling muscles and magnificent buttocks. I’m not gay, mind you! But they did very fine work.

The Roman Ruins, Colosseum, Palentine Hill – it takes imagination to picture life and color in the ruinous settings, and to imagine the thousands of men and and animals that died in that arena. It was not working for me. All I saw was an engineering feat. I could not hear the roar of the crowd or sense death. It was just a rundown down stadium with all of the lower rooms under the area exposed. I know that people were brutal back then, but I am an American, and so know that we are still bloodthirsty bastards.
kely to argue with people that cuff them or tase them. The culture of police state does not seem present here as it is in the US.

People don’t smile – they don’t not smile either. Whenever you see a toothy grin for a photo, think American. Americans also wear emblems of corporations or worse yet, military units, while other cultures amply wear shirts without emblems. I have looked for clothing without advertising in the US. It is hard to come by.

Medieval religious art is impressive,but a little goes a long way. These are the learned piieope of that time, and their minds had been completely captured by the church, which dictates the icons of the age, much as American corporations give us ours. 

Brain not so fried. Long day, very tired. Walked many hot pavement miles. iPod is very annoying this evening. Forgive the typos. It’s Jobs.