Graffiti!

I admit it, I enjoy graffiti. And context is at least half the fun. Some of the most inspired work I've seen in the eternal city continues to be the unsanctioned/illegal street art to be found on buildings, walls, signs and benches (much more so than the sanctioned visual pollution known as advertising). And it's just the latest manifestation of a cultural practice going back thousands of years here.

Naturally, as a card-carrying preservationist, I don't espouse going so far as to tag ancient obelisks, but an argument can be made that a long line of pontiffs did just that when they decided to crown each one left standing in this town with a crucifix or saint (I'll save that rant for another time). At its creative best, graffiti urges otherwise dazed urban denizens out of their haze by way of surprise and can intrigue, inform and entertain us along the way.

I myself prefer wit to snit and each time I visit I'm impressed by the inventiveness of the stencils in particular. I enjoy this series of wild animals -- harkening back to the iconic she-wolf and the bloody contests held in the Colloseum -- when on my morning jogs along the eastern bank of the Tiber. There are at least 20 of them running along the retaining walls in various poses and to great effect.

Another amusing series consists of variants of these "glam-rocker" happy faces which appear to be the favorite of a local apostate -- they're emblazoned on a neighboring church as well as above restaurants and bars along our street. I like how they temporarily break up the monotony of cherub- and laurel wreath-encrusted facades. Lest anyone get too upset, they are simply screen prints attached with poster adhesive.

And I especially enjoy this more subtle stencil of fellow (and

now former) Ohioan Lebron James emblazoned on a park bench just off the Piazza San Cosimato. The caption reads: "Cleveland bred". I may just add "...and to Miami fled" if I can remember to find a black Sharpie.

To be continued...

L'Inferno Romano

Rome continues to be a particularly enervating inferno at 37 degrees centigrade and 90% humidity. The apartment is small and stuffy but we've been planning some strategic escapes from the urban heat wave, including forays to air conditioned museums and grocery stores. We took a 35-min. train to the beach at Ostia yesterday and had a full day of sun, surf, and sandy swim trunks. Giulia is determined to learn how to swim and is really making progress. Both she and Giorgio inherited the "I don't like getting me face wet" gene from my side of the family so her newly aquired dog paddle is significant progress! Giorgio fades rapidly in the sweltering heat but unfortunately becomes somewhat overly enlivened (i.e. running in museums regardless of the stern warnings of the guards) in the presence of air conditioning so we've got a bit of a Catch 22 on our hands.

It was nice having Shari and the girls as visitors last weekend. The kids really enjoyed seeing some familiar faces - despite the cramped quarters - so it was a welcome change of pace. Here's a shot of the kids outside the Pantheon where we were accosted by some picture-proffering gladiators.
Thankfully, Ostia wasn't as dirty as we were expecting (or as everyone we know warned). It was also a Tuesday so the beaches weren't as crowded. Much to our delight we also stumbled upon a particularly friendly, non-mangy feline on our way back to the station (see below).

I've started a new morning regimen of running along the Tiber before 7 am when the sidewalks begin to sizzle so that I can continue the daily regimen of pizza and pasta. Gio's culinary creativity hasn't suffered in our piccola home kitchen -- we've enjoyed rabbit cacciatore, pasta amatriciana and con vongole, among other memorable repasts. It's amazing what a pro can do with a fickle burner, two marginal pans and 3 square feet of work space.

The afternoon siestas afford us time to recuperate, plan the next outing, and improve our Italian while watching the latest TV commercials promising

weight loss "senza sacrifici!". Apparently all you need to do is stand on a vibrating podium for a few minutes every day to shed the pounds. A few years ago, attaching low-voltage electrodes to one's midsection was all the rage. It's also apparent that Italy doesn't see the need for a consumer protection agency.

The Imposters

It's been an interesting week. On Monday we visited the American Academy as a family and met up with Giovanni's future boss chef Mona Talbot who gave us a quick tour of the building where he will be slinging sustainable hash for Rome Prize winners and faculty come September. She said that our chances look very good for a 3 BR apartment in the family housing complex -- we just need sign off by the capo who is vacationing in California and won't be back until next week.

We of course feel incredibly fortunate at the prospect of living here for a year and I left the hallowed hallways (which were strewn hapharzardly with pieces of Roman columns, frescoes, mozaics, funerary monuments and the like) feeling a little like those people who waltzed past security to crash Obama's first state dinner. The "AAR" extends over 11 acres at the top of the Janiculum Hill and includes an assortment of imposing palazzos within the ancient Aurelian walls as well as gardens, orchards, bocci courts, library, and seven cats who patrol the grounds bequethed by Carnegie, Frick, JP Morgan, Rockefeller, and an assortment of other monocled industrialists who lived back in the days before there were symposiums on the value of a Liberal Arts education. Gio and I have agreed that the best way to get used to the idea of residing in such a rarefied atmosphere is to ask ourselves "Why not us?" whenever the imposter feeling becomes overwhelming.

The efficacy of this approach proved itself on Wednesday when we visited Maxxi, Rome's 21st Century Art Museum and newest monument. Designed by Zaha Hadid, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in architecture, the building is all curves and light created by ribbons of cement and resulting in a variety of interior spaces from intimate and intriguing to elaborately imposing. I especially liked the suspended staircases lit from below. Unfortunately, the most impressive interior installation by far was the air conditioning after we negotiated two stifling bus rides to get there. The various art exhibits were distinctly underwhelming - excepting the huge prone skeleton of a giant bird man outside the main entrance which thrilled the kids.

Video art predominated over other mediums, much to my chagrin. Yet the presence of several tents decorated with flags and rubber gloves and a sun hat suspended in a corner over a pair of espadrilles passing as sculpture served to remind us that the artists presumably didn't consider themselves to be imposters when they submitted these works for consideration before Maxxi's illustrous board .

Later that afternoon Gio brought my attention to an ad posted on the "Wanted in Rome" website for an Online Marketing Coordinator for the United Nations World Food Programme located here. They're the first responders every time there's a major disaster (i.e. the earthquake in Haiti last January) and also work with a variety of governments and NGOs to address malnutrition worldwide (in Gaza, Somalia, Tanzania, etc.). I shot off an email that night with a link to my LinkedIn profile online and they requested an interview this morning. I wasn't really expecting to hear back so quickly (or to put on eyeliner so soon in the 100-degree heat) but made my way to their high security building on the outskirts of town and had a pleasant chat with Abby, their communications coordinator. She said the position was somewhat flexible and that she wanted to keep me in mind for their publications division as well if this opportunity doesn't pan out. We shall see. It's quite an impressive operation and it would be great if I could assist them on a part time basis.

Tomorrow we look forward to hosting Shari Duscenne and her girls Giada and Valentina and their cugina for the weekend.

Sul Mare

It's Sunday morning at the Hotel Rupi Sul Mare overlooking the beach outside Gaeta. I'm waiting for Gio and the kids to wake up for our cornettis and caffe before we pack up and head back to Rome via Sperlonga. The beaches and coastal towns are completely packed and the chairs and rented umbrellas went to the waters edge yesterday. We're officially in the "alta stagione" and there must only be one or two designated residents in the landlocked towns of the hinterland to feed the cats all weekend.

The ragazzi are enjoying searching among the rocks for sealife and watching divers return to shore with their spear guns and string bags of fish and octopi. I took this photo of our Roman street urchin with a Mediterranean sea urchin ("Surf, meet Turf.").

Thought of the day: Without the Americas, this country wouldn't have tomatoes or cigarettes. I suppose all the pizzas were bianco in the old days and people did more snuff while waiting in line.

Nostro Apartamento

Our apartment building is on Via Francesco a Ripa in Roma's Trastevere district just off the main piazza. We're on the first floor of the ochre-colored building pictured and have the two windows next to those draped with Brazilian flags. Our landlords are from Brazil and are still in mourning for their defeated team. There's a great pizzeria downstairs and a superb deli across the street. We also consider ourselves lucky because we happen to be near one of Rome's only inner city playgrounds. Sure, everyone smokes and the bums have staked out a corner to enjoy their boxed wine, but there is shade, so that's an improvement over what we're used to in Napa.

We visited il Museo dei Bambini yesterday which is a kids' museum like Scientopia. Not all the exhibits worked correctly, but parents can enjoy a cappuccino or campari if they so choose so we were less inclined to be critical. Limiting liquor licenses to restaurants and bars as we do back in the U.S. now seems incredibly short sighted.

We're off to the coast tomorrow for a few days to explore the beaches of Anzio, Sperlonga and Gaeta and indulge in a little seafoood for a change. The Romans love their obscure organ meats with pecorino but I'm looking forward to lighter fare in the 90+ degree heat.

Here's an example of some of the focaccia we enjoyed last night.

Nostra passagiata questa mattina

Here's a shot of the kids taken this morning on our walk up to the Janiculum Hill. Giorgio looks askance at his sister at the mere suggestion of sharing his cornetto di cioccolata.

La prima pizza

Our first pizza (exhibit A) was a classic margherita enjoyed in Trastevere at a popular little place known as "Ai Spaghetteri" and washed down with a crisp Fallenghina. The kids did surprisingly well considering the 6+ hour layover in Dusseldorf and appear to be thrilled to be back in the land of competing gelaterias on every corner. Gio and I are thrilled to be back in the land of mandatory post-prandial naps for the entire populace and 12% alchohol vino that can be enjoyed without negatively impacting the next morning's agenda. We're definitely in the big city what with the nightly serenades of pigeons, motorinos, and street sweepers and the creative graffiti emblazoned on most everything stationery, but the beauty of the ochre-walled palazzos, rosy sunsets, and the variety of delicacies offered at the average deli is awe-inspiring.