Welcome back! While in Florence not all my time could be described as what I'm calling Giù in this series of posts, most of it was. This second section, while not completely free of Giù, is in general much more Su! As you'll see I've reached Roma...
Friday Evening, 10 January: "In Rome, after
a dinner of pizza and vino, watching TV in my very nice hotel room - not a
pigsty at all. It's located literally adjacent to the opera house! The TV has
CNN, two German channels, one French, all the rest in Italian, in fact I'm now
watching E.R. in Italiano."
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| Dottore Gianni at rest, recovering from the Fiasco in Firenze, in his hotel room |
"After a decent flight a very concerned and
kind Patrizia (from Italiatour) met me at the airport and did me all sorts of good.
Put me in a nice hotel, obviously, chatted about all sorts of stuff, and (!)
invited me to go to a great flea market on Sunday morning, which of course I
accepted."
[At that point in the writing I must have dozed
off, awoke again at 4:30 am, then fell back asleep.]
later, 4:30 pm 11 January: "Had a nice but tiring day touring museums; the Palazzo Barberini, with its collection of thirteenth to seventeenth century paintings, including a couple of Caravaggios and a quite sexy Rafaello [La Fornarina]..."
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| Raffaello's La Fornarina, in the Palazzo Barberini |
"Oh! But before that, I bought a ticket to the opera (48,000 lira)!"
"Then (when? chronology, Jack!) after my visit to the Barberini I popped into Santa Susanna, the church in which services are held in English, and another two churches in the same area, near the Piazza della Repubblica. Next I walked to Largo Argentina via the Trevi Fountain and bought a ticket for tonight for a Goldoni playing there - I couldn't even translate the title, so I fear I may spend as much time looking at the physical aspects of the theatre as I will watching, or at least understanding, the play - nevertheless I look forward to it!"
[At this point in the journal I go on and on about money - I've spared the reader most of my woes and fiscal condition, just thought I'd mention that there is a good bit cut from this "edition," if you will...even if you won't, adds Dottore Gianni.]
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| Constantine "deconstructed" - Capitoline Museums |
"On then to the Capitoline Museums, on the way checking on nearby churches, Il Gesu and Santa Maria in Aracoeli, both closed at that hour of the day so no luck there, but the Capitoline Museums were impressive! I also took some photos I think I can use for my history lectures, if any of them turn out! A bit of a trudge home after that - I'm pooped, but afraid for some reason to use the bus pass that I bought - I must take courage!"
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| Mosaique of ancient Roman theatre masks Capitoline Museums |
and still later, 10:30 pm 11 January: "Well...I fear that I lasted only one act of the Goldoni at the Teatro Argentina. Why on earth didn't I see it all! Two reasons, in un momento."
"Before those reasons, I had a nice walk down Via Nazionale and and around the Vittorio Emanuele II monument, and arrived at Largo Argentina just in time to wolf down a great cheap meal at a trattoria, as delicious as lunch had been mediocre, and the same price - wonderful pasta, a beautiful insalata and delicious vitello! [Pasta you know, insalata you can guess, but you may not know that vitello is veal] Good house wine as well, just in time to get to the performance on time."
[At this point in my journal I embark on a lengthy and not terribly interesting description of the theatre - on the outside it looks like it could be modern, but the auditorium is as it was in the eighteenth century - and the play - Dottore Gianni insists that I spare the reader all of that, but I will note the two reasons I left early (not understanding the Italian and a poor production) below.]
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| Teatro Argentina |
"Even though Goldoni rejected commedia techniques he still used stock characters, and in this production there were some I recognized. But Goldoni is very much about clever language, most of which was lost on me. The audience seemed to be watching an opera: dead silence (at first I thought they were hostile), then at certain "bits" performed by the actors they'd burst into applause! I have two words for the production: Deadly Theatre. Well, they are Peter Brook's words, but I appropriate them here. I realize that I missed most of the exposition, but I know stale theatrical tricks when I see them. I'm quite aware that lazzi [physical comic pieces of business] always were and still are used in commedia dell'arte, but it was only at these contrived and all too clearly set up bits that the audience laughed, as if on cue. Goldoni, I'm betting, would have hated it. Who knows? He may even have rolled over in his grave! [Didn't realize you were going to get a brief theatre history lesson in this, did you, dear reader?]So I left, took an expensive taxi back to the hotel, and here I am...no message from Patrizia, sigh, sort of [the call from her would have been to set up the next morning at the flea market, in case the reader doesn't remember]...but now I know I'm on my own - and I'll make the most of it!"
Sunday morning 12 January: "At breakfast early, and I think by accident I was actually given a pot of HOT coffee - Sometimes the magic works... [a definite Su moment] I'm pulled back towards San Pietro this morning, then perhaps a walk back via Castel Sant Angelo and Via Coronari towards the Campo dei Fuori, by way of the Piazza Navona? I must keep to a budget, and I want to re-visit briefly places that I remember fondly from my last (and first!) visit to Rome - the Villa Borghese, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza del Populo..."
"I need to make more use of the lobby here - I'm in it now, sitting in a very comfy chair - but I should arise from it, as I must start my day!"
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| Piazza Navona, January 97 |
Noon-ish, 12 January: "Now this isn't bad! Six days before my fiftieth birthday I'm lunching outside at Caffè Braccio on the Piazza Navona! This square is packed and the sun is warm enough for a lovely outdoor lunch: Lasagna e un po di vino, perhaps even a gelato per dolci. I had the waiter snap my picture - if it comes out, it may be my next Christmas card - Buon appetito!" [Another definite Su moment]
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| Dottore Gianni in Ecstasy, Piazza Navona |
later, 3:40 pm, 12 January: "Part of me wants to nap, part of me wants to go back out for a little more of this glorious day. The lazy part of me may just win - we'll see. I spoke to Patrizia on the phone. She had a fever yesterday, better now but resting. Wants to meet for a drink this evening and will call at seven. I must say this is rather nice of her - and rather nice in general."
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| Castel St Angelo - formidable! |
"In addition to my wonderful lunch, I took the metro to near St Peter's, saw the Pietà again and marveled. Bernini's altar and the throne are amazing, but too much, overdone
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| Bernini's angels on the Ponte San Angelo |
[Definite Su]
Monday 13 January: "I've been debating how best to spend my time without killing myself. I think later this morning, or maybe Tuesday morning, Ostia Antica is a must; then some time in Trastevere, back to the Villa Borghese. That may not seem like much, but I think it will be a good bit to fit into two days."
"Oh! Dinner last night - quite nice, if a bit strange - odd waiter, and I was placed right on top of a couple (NYC restaurant style) who happened to be American academics - the Millers? Anya was her name (who cares what his was), and they both teach in the CUNY system. I had rigatoni Bolognese, tasty, and vitello Milanese, followed by an outrageous gelato concoction. Finally the waiter gave me a limoncello [my very first], a light after-dinner drink he described as 'un digestif' - not bad! The restaurant is across from the opera - may return Tuesday..."
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| Ancient Roman Theatre at Ostia Antica, much restored |
Monday night, 13 January: "Well, I had a full day! I figured out how to get to Ostia Antica, charged out there and spent from about 11 am to 1 pm strolling around, taking probably too many photos. It's a lovely walk through an ancient city. You get that feeling of the ages as you go over its stones, really."
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| Roman Theatre at Ostia Antica, another view |
"Back in the center, I tried for a late lunch at the Piazza di Spagna, but wanted to eat outside and the entire area was
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| Piazza del Popolo |
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| Bernini's Ecstasy of St Teresa, Santa Maria della Vectoria |
"And now I'm here in the room, it's close to ten pm and TV time. Still debating how to spend my last day in Rome. Trastevere? and perhaps churches near the Piazza Navona? Ah! TV's on and it's Anthony Hopkins in Shadowlands, dubbed in Italiano! A can't-miss...One more day, then the opera, then back to the USA...hmmmm...mixed feelings..."
Tuesday 14 January: "Last full day, and a lovely one! Confirmed my ticket back, visited San Pietro in Vincoli for Michelangelo's statue of Moses, and quickly toured the Colosseum once more. That, and the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum are still amazing sights the second time around. Then to the Circus Maximus, and across the bridge to Trastevere. A stroll around that pleasant part of town, a gift for mom, to Gianicolo for the Palazzo Corsini and San Pietro in Montire (there are many St Peters in Rome!). Then back to Trastevere for a big lunch at Ristorante Da Cencia...al fresco!"
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| Santa Maria in Trastevere, beautiful church in a lovely piazza |
5:30 pm, Tuesday 14 January: "Apparently I'm to meet the elusive Patrizia [while I obviously failed to mention this in my journal, she canceled Monday as well as Sunday] for an aperitivo at 7 pm, just before I dash to the opera. Apparently her father lives right around the corner from the hotel. We shall see..."
"I had started strong today, but dropped out rather early. Got to Piazza Navona at 3 pm, but instead of having the drink I'd planned on, instead I grabbed a taxi back to the hotel - nature called! [God, do I leave ANYthing out of these journals? Of course I could have edited out, but then you'd not know the real Dottore Gianni!]" On the way to the Piazza I took a lovely walk along the river."
"Lovely indeed, until a car pulled up next to me and a man asked me to point out where St Peter's was, and the way to the French Embassy. I was able to explain the directions to both for him. Then he offered me two Yves St Laurent jackets because I'd been so nice. Gullible Jack took them - and then the guy asked for money! 50,000 lira. I truthfully did not have it, and told him so. Of course it was a scam.
Who knew?! Me, I guess. I'm not usually a sucker, but I certainly got gulled this time!" [one of the very few giù moments during my time in Rome].
"Still, it was an otherwise pleasant walk. This is a truly beautiful city. I say it again as emphatically as I did when I was first here."
"I did not get to the churches I'd planned to visit [for the art my friends, not because I was - nor am - moved by the spirit. I was then and am still a Catholic, but in name only, very "lapsed" indeed.] nor to the Villa Giula for the Etruscan art to be found there, but it's all right. I don't have to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to realize that I'll return one day."
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| The Trevi Fountain - no need to toss a coin in this time - and as it turned out I have returned to Rome several times since! |
"As I write, a church bell in the distance is chiming the old hymn 'Christ the Lord is Risen Today.' I think I'll watch a little TV and get dressed at 6:30 pm, in case Patrizia calls early...And then the opera! It's an early Verdi, Sicilian Vespers. Couldn't be too bad, and I look forward to seeing the inside of the theatre."
"And then tomorrow, I'm off. Already packed, and I have a complimentary transfer to the airport, courtesy Italiatour. I'm to be picked up at the hotel at 10 am."
Wednesday 15 January: "I'm at breakfast on my last morning in Roma. I had a really terrific evening, even (and maybe especially) before the opera. I'm eating a tad earlier than usual, a bit after 7:30 am, so that I can make fairly certain I'll be downstairs in plenty of time for the beginning of the very long day ahead."
"I'm pleased that Italiatour has provided transport to the airport. I find myself praying that they upgraded my seat again on the flight home as well. But as a friend from Brooklyn would say, 'Wuddevah!'
"Now, about last night! I met Patrizia in the lobby. She is not a beauty, but she had energy and charm that outclass most of the women I've met. I've been more than lucky to be introduced to, recently, several young women, mostly not from the U.S., who have graced my life for varying though always brief periods of time."
"Certainly the monuments of Rome, and on this trip the smaller treasures - St Teresa in ecstasy in a little church, the Caravaggios in the Palazzo Barberina and in Santa Maria del Populo - will stay with me. But so too will the two talks I had with Patrizia; at the airport, where we realized we were 'kindred spirits' and last night at the bar in my hotel, where we had a lovely chat and knew that we would meet again - the glasses of sparkling wine we quaffed didn't hurt either..."
"Patrizia walked me to the opera and when I kissed her cheek lightly, she reminded me, "Two kisses in Rome" so I readily obliged as she turned the other cheek. She continued "Three in Paris, two in Rome" and I promised to remember - ah! a very brief encounter. She has been to Prague, is leaving Rome soon to work in Munich, has even driven around south and central Florida! Cosmopolitan? Si, Si!"
[Ah Jack, alas and alack! Truth to tell, looking back from 2014: Patrizia and I never met again, in fact I later found out from her that she wanted to set me up with her mother! Agh! Her madre and I actually wrote a few times back and forth across the pond, but nothing ever came of that either... probably just as well! Oh, and in spite of my promise I did NOT remember about "three in Paris" - too bad as there were one or two occasions when...oh, never you mind...]
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| The Opera, a hop, skip & jump from my hotel |
"Finalmente, the opera! The auditorium was every bit as I'd hoped, from the eighteenth century horseshoe shaped house with a lot of gilt and light, the round ceiling, painted with an allegorical mural, a huge chandelier at its center. I was in a box of five seats looking down into the orchestra pit, so I had a great look at the auditorium, and also ran around during intermission viewing it again from several angles."
"I had a grand view of the king's box, even had the chance to explain it to the young American fellow who had helped me when I bought my ticket a few days before, now sharing my box at the opera. He is in Rome for his grandfather's wedding, after which he flies back to his job...at the Blue Note in New York City! He's 23, a philosophy major from Binghamton NY who loves opera and jazz - there is still hope for the future of the world!"
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| The Royal Box at the Opera di Roma - situated opposite the stage, it's like a miniature theatre, where the royalty can be seen! |
"I explained the royal box as well to my Argentinian instant friends in the box, on their way to Greece, who came to the opera primarily for the ballet in it, which featured a famous countryman of theirs. Of course I had come to the opera to take in the performance space, and I..."
[I have paused the journal at this point, as I next launched in on a lengthy description of the auditorium which is better left to the history classroom - breathe a sigh of relief, dear reader, that the good doctor did not put you through it! I will retain a bit about the performance, which may or may not interest you, just below]
a bit later in the morning, 15 January: "I'm just out of the shower, with a good half hour before I need to be downstairs. Les Vepres Siciliennes* is early Verdi and not his best - a few memorable melodies and some fine choral passages. The cast was disposable. Not to be overly critical, but one goes to the opera - at least Dottore Gianni does - to be swept away by the singing, and in my opinion the bass was the only one who managed that. The soprano, Daniella Dessi, was indisposed and replaced by a woman announced to sing for this performance only."
[*aka I Vespri Siciliani in Italian, Sicilian Vespers in English, Verdi's second opera written to be performed in Paris - thus the French title. It doesn't field a lot of productions today, and most of those are not performed in French, but in Italian, in which a libretto was quickly put together from the French. Strangely enough, this production was sung in French with Italian supertitles - ergo no help to Dottore Gianni! Interestingly, looking back from 2014, the Rome Opera production that I saw is one of only five or six mentioned in the Wikipedia entry on the opera - who knew? But then, everybody's a critic, including, it seems, Dottore Gianni.]
"There was in this lengthy production a ballet, as previously noted. Titled 'The Four Seasons,' it was THE highlight of the
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| Alessandra Ferri prima ballerina assoluta - absolutely! |
"I will admit it, I left after Act IV, which ended at midnight. There were two scenes of Act V still to come, and for me at least what had begun as a pleasure ended as an endurance test."
"But it was a fine way to end my second Rome adventure. Here's hoping there'll be more! And now, downstairs to the bus, then the airport, then the pleasures, briefly, of New York City..."
later in the day, 15 January: "On the flight home now. I bumped into the Millers again - Anya and Mark [ah! THAT's his name - from the restaurant opposite the opera, remember?], in the bus to the airport. They are on their way to Venice. I must drop them a line sometime. We had a nice chat. They both teach in English departments, she a course on English and Alcoholism [which strikes me writing in 2014 as a course with an abundance of subject matter]."
"We're less than an hour into the flight and are witnessing an unexpected treat. We're flying over the Alps and can see them crystal clear - absolutely amazing! They are somewhat frightening in their majesty, starting very close to the coast, then, still not far inland, becoming extremely jagged, high and snow-capped. An extraordinary sight, and well worth noting."
"It's been an interesting journey, from nightmarish failure in Florence [Giù] to rather a lovely time in Rome [Su]. In spite of all, I remember my walks, investigations, discoveries - and sitting outside in a brilliant mid-winter sun, lunching on the Piazza Navona...no, not all bad. In fact, all in all, un buon viaggio!"
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| I realize I am repeating this photo, but considering my last journal entry, I think it's appropriate, don't you? |
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| Agranov and Dottore Gianni |
Second, the very nice young man, whose name I, alas, no longer remember, that I met twice, first when he helped me with my ticket to the opera, second at the opera itself, told me that if I was ever at the Blue Note he could arrange priority seating for me. Yeah, sure...but some time later, not sure when, my friend Will and I were all revved up to see Oscar Peterson play there, and I decided, what the hell, it can't hurt to call the fellow from the opera. I did, and guess what? By all the gods of music he did just what he'd promised! The place was going to be packed, there was a line around the block, but as instructed I asked for him, and he took Will and me to the front of the line, along with a few other VIPs - we had TERRIFIC seats and a terrific time. Thank you young man, whomever, wherever you are!
Next stop featured in this series: Prague, 1998! Dottore Gianni is betting that you cannot wait!
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