Perugia and a Railway Education

I spent this Friday into Saturday in Perugia, a lovely little hill town with gorgeous views and lots of those little picturesque archways and cobblestone streets that one expects to find in Italy.

I made my way back to Rome yesterday, due to the fact that I was feeling a little under the weather and in need of some Benadryl and a little time to sleep off the ickiness in my own bed (tiny and cot-like though it may be). My route home was a touch annoying (I did a lot of waiting around in train stations yesterday), but as I waited out the train to Termini in Terontola, I noticed a plaque on the wall devoted to a one Gino Bartali. What I could decipher from the Italian text on the plaque was that this guy was a cyclist, and an accomplished one at that. I wondered what kind of cycling legacy earns someone train station plaques, and while nosing around for some info on 'Gino the Pious,' I realized that not only is my Italian icons-of-sport history a little shaky, so too am I un-savvy regarding contemporary cycling. In all of our football fervor, we've been ignorant to the Giro d'Italia, which has been in progress since we arrived in Rome. The race ended today(!); Russian Denis Menchov is the winner.

Top left: Kids playing football in Perugia.
Bottom right: Gino being not-so-pious. Image found here.

Caught Red-Handed (Snouted?)

Una and I have taken to sleeping with the doors open - that is, there are doors in our room that open onto a very small terrace, and because we've been on the verge of heatstroke lately, we do whatever it takes to encourage even the tiniest breeze as we settle in to catch some ZZZs each night (what, you thought there would be AC?). The problem with the open door (and it probably wouldn't matter much if we closed the stinkin' thing either) is that all of the sounds of the streets below and apartments beside us drift in without regard for our beauty sleep.

I've been trying to sleep with earplugs in and sometimes my iPod on, but there is one noise that breaks through seemingly any barrier I attempt to put up. That noise comes from this little guy or grrrl:

Can't you just see the guilt in his/her eyes? His/her posture? He/she was fully aware that I was snapping this photo of the booming bark in action, and so the he/she turned away in shame!

This dalmation lives across the street and below us (hence the bad angle on the photo), and the owner seems to leave it outside throughout most of the day. This isn't necessarily bad dog-owning practice in Rome - plenty of animals are more of the "outside" than "inside" variety. We've taken to calling the pup 'Vega Due,' after the ill-fated animale domestico in Tim Parks' Italian Neighbors.* The clear difference between our Vega and the original - this dog will continue to bark all day long, long after we've departed Rome.

*Parks, Tim. Italian Neighbors. New York: Grove Press, 1992.

This Week in Film . . .

Lo sceicco bianco - Fellini's debut as a solo director. Although a "logical" narrative can be culled from film overall, there is much in it that is whimsical, nonsensical, and reliant upon spectacle, making it hard to make sense of in the midst of our neorealist undertakings. One thing that I think is clear, is that Lo sceicco bianco is fraught with questions about feminine identity and agency, and although the protagonist, Wanda, takes her fair share of missteps, it is her husband, Ivan, and the object of her desire, the White Sheik, who inhabit buffoonish roles, perhaps to the ends (arguably progressive within the historical context) that Virginia Pichietti describes:

"Because it problematizes femininity, Lo sceicco bianco stands as an insightful reflection of the dilemma that women faced in the gendered performances advocated by 1950s popular culture. At the same time, it cleverly unravels this performance to expose the contradictions on which it is built. While Wanda is not a protofeminist character, her movement between roles subtly reveals the wilful interpretation of the self's position in social intercourse. Unfortunately, within the conventional, institutional universe of Fellini's film, her vision must ultimately be confined to the role that guarantees a moral euphoric ending for her to participate as a functioning member."*

The ending, considered by Pichietti to be 'confining' and 'conventional' for the main female character, is often the one that our small audience of CAS in Rome finds the most comforting, as it is the closest we'll get in our film class to a happy Hollywood ending. Hmmm . . .

*Picchietti, Virginia. "When in Rome Do as the Romans Do?: Fellini's Problematization of Femininity (The White Sheik)." In Federico Fellini: Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Frank Burke and Marguerite R. Waller, 92-106. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.

Image of Fellini found here.

Calcio: Senza Alcol Edition

Playing host to major football matches in Europe, Asia, and well, anywhere outside of the U.S., can be an anxiety inducing affair. There has been a noticeable influx of fans into the city of Rome this week, and with more soccer fans, there has historically been an increased chance of violent conflicts. Ever since the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, hosting cities' officials have taken precautions, like increasing police presence, in the hope that the site and its reputation remain in tact - no culture/football capital wants to be the place where more people lost their lives over hooliganism than Heysel.

As a means to deterring conflicts in Rome for the Champions' League final tonight, a ban on alcohol sales has been in effect since last night (Tuesday) and is supposed to remain in effect until early tomorrow morning (Thursday). Una and I were unaware of the ban until our students mentioned it in class this morning, but we were doubtful of its effectiveness, considering we had ordered wine at dinner last night and sat amidst plenty of folks at lunch today who partook in a fair share of beer to wash down midday pizzas.

We'll see how the ban continues to be enforced/ignored as we head out to watch the match in a bit. One rule that I wish they had put into place rather than the ban: all Man U fans must keep their shirts on in public throughout their stay in Rome, no matter how hot it gets. Think of all of the trauma that could have been prevented.

Image of Heysel Stadium from Channel4.

"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.

A Weekend In/Around Rome

Although the weekends are often a time for residents of Rome to get the heck out, I was unconcerned with planning a trip out of town this weekend. Turns out, that wasn't such a bad move, as there is plenty I've yet to see, do, and stumble upon in the Eternal City.

Una, Matt, and I took an hour's train ride out of town to Nettuno for a beach day on Friday. If one can manage a trip to one of the beaches near Rome on a weekday, it is to her great advantage. There were only a sprinkling of beachgoers when we arrived (as opposed to the packed Saturdays and Sundays on the coast), which made for a quiet afternoon, and also meant we didn't have to navigate too many bronzed Romans in speedos - a difficult thing for many U.S. Americans to get used to. We didn't make it to the World War II cemetery at Nettuno, but it's on the 'to do' list for a potential future visit.

Today, I did some walking on the Aventine hill after strolling through the Protestant Cemetery in Testaccio with Una and Matt. On this trip to the Protestant cemetery, I was most taken with the different varieties of flowers scattered among the graves, and so it seemed to make sense to make it a day of cemeteries and flowers and visit the rose gardens (Roseto Comunale) on the Aventine, as well (the Roseto used to be the Jewish cemetery in Rome). In spite of the pre-summer heat, the roses were still in bloom and looking quite beautiful. I had to stop taking photos thanks to low battery, but I think you get the picture . . .

Calcio

Euro 2008 was a highlight of our stay in Rome last year, in spite of Azzurri's loss to Spain in the quarterfinals. Women's Euro 2009 is being held in Finland this year, but we don't have a TV, and it won't get underway until August, anyway. However, next week's Champions League final is in Rome - Barcelona v. Manchester United. I'm fairly certain one does not come by tickets for the final easily, so my hope is that we can squeeze in at one of Rome's Irish-themed pubs and watch the match over a pint. For those of you less interested in football and more interested in prettyboy footballers, come to the match for Ronaldo, but stay for the soccer.

Image taken from this site.