"Inside" Sunday/At Home with Il Duce

Alright, I admit it. I slept in today. In spite of the non-stop barking from our neighbor's dalmatian through the wee hours, I was whooped enough to stay in bed nearly until 11am. However, I was still able to make a day of it once I peeled off my sleeping mask (it's necessary sometimes, and I only have one because they gave it to me on Air France last year; no judging, please). I thought something relatively close to home and indoors would be the best choice on this HOT Sunday, so I decided on a visit to the Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia, just around the corner from our classrooms off Piazza Collegio Romano.Seeking a respite from the heat in Rome's museums can turn into an expensive strategy, so I don't think I'll be resorting to it all that frequently. Palazzo Venezia was actually worth it, but that's mainly due to the fact that the current temporary exhibit is La Mente di Leonardo, and all critical perspectives aside, it was pretty cool. The permanent exhibit includes wooden sculptures, which is interesting considering the overwhelming amounts of stone and marble pieces that we usually encounter in the museums, piazzas, and churches here.

One last note on Palazzo Venezia - Mussolini often stood on one of its balconies that faces the piazza of the same name (a large, busy traffic circle/roundabout) and delivered speeches to the massive crowds below. Check out this entry from Dr. Benson's Senses of Rhetoric blog, where he posted an illustrative video of Il Duce and the aforementioned crowds in Piazza Venezia.

Image found here.