Against Horse Drawn Carriages in Rome

Dear Readers,

I know it has been ages sincce I updated my blog, but I am hoping that this message gets out. I have tried to promote online petitions regarding the cruel horse drawn carraige industry in Rome, but they were addressed to the politicians of the city of Rome. They seem to ignore our demands. This following letter was written by the the president of OIPA, an animal rights organizations. I am hoping that you will also participate and send this email, even though it is in Italian, to the President of Italy. At the end of the email, feel free to write your own comments in your own language and I might suggest saying that you plan to boycott Italy as a tourist destination until the "Botticelle" are finally banned in the city of Rome.

In the subject, please type, "No Alle Botticelle!!"

For even great effect, feel free to attach the following photos of this poor horse, who was killed in the cruel streets of Rome.

to: presidenza.repubblica@quirinale.it

Egregio Presidente,

Le scriviamo per rivolgerLe un appello, affinché non ratifichi le misure razziste e incostituzionali contenute nel cosiddetto "pacchetto sicurezza" approvato in via definitiva dal Senato il 2 luglio scorso, dopo ben tre voti di fiducia imposti dal Governo. Le chiediamo di rimandare questo vergognoso decreto alle Camere, chiedendone la modifica nelle parti palesemente incompatibili con la nostra Costituzione e con le norme del Diritto Internazionale. Siamo convinti che non è respingendo nell’illegalità chi arriva nel nostro Paese in cerca di asilo e lavoro per sfuggire all’oppressione ed alla miseria che risolveremo la questione dell’immigrazione. Non denunciando i malati che si rivolgono agli ospedali in cerca di cure, non rifiutando alloggio e istruzione agli esuli, non impedendo i matrimoni o separando i figli dalle madri; non è cancellando i diritti di altri esseri umani che affermeremo i nostri: c’è una sola Umanità. Il profondo squilibrio nella distribuzione delle risorse del Pianeta, lo sfruttamento di interi Paesi in epoca coloniale, i conflitti seguiti all’arbitrario tracciato di confini politici sono alla radice dei flussi migratori. Apparteniamo a un Paese nato dalla fusione di popoli e culture diversi, che tanti cittadini ha visto partire in cerca di un futuro migliore, a un Paese che ha vissuto l’orrore delle leggi razziali; signor Presidente, dica per noi quel “No” che impellente ci affiora alle labbra, con la Sua autorevolezza ci aiuti ad avvalerci, come diceva Primo Levi, della “facoltà di negare il nostro consenso”.

Write your personal message here

Con profondo rispetto,

we have a dream

Associazione di volontariato ONLUS

Via Val di Lanzo, 85 00141 Roma

SIGN YOUR NAME HERE

CITY, COUNTRY

The Second petition you can send will be to the officials in the city of Rome. This is important as well.

Please send to:

ld.gabinetto@comune.roma.it, urp@comune.roma.it, ld.ambiente@comune.roma.it, ambiente@comune.roma.it, f.delillo@comune.roma.it, info@andreadepriamo.it, comitato@andreadepriamo.it

Subject: contro l’utilizzo delle “botticelle” a Roma

Email:

Egregio Signore,Le cosiddette “botticelle” romane non sono affatto una tradizione di trasporto per persone bensì rappresentano una degenerazione di quello che era il loro originario significato e scopo. Infatti le “botticelle” devono il loro nome alle botti: la carrozza trainata dagli animali serviva nell’800 unicamente al trasporto di merci, e di botti nel caso specifico.Al giorno d’oggi non vi è alcuna esigenza che giustifichi l’impiego di animali per il trasporto, né di merci, né tanto meno di persone. Il turista può disporre, nella Roma del 2008, di moltissimi mezzi di locomozione, estremamente confortevoli, rapidi, accessoriati per ogni esigenza, e decisamente più economici della botticella, senza che questo debba comportare lo sfruttamento ingiustificato di animali.I due incidenti mortali, verificatisi a distanza ravvicinata, uno a giugno e l’ultimo il 20 novembre, sono indicatori chiari di una condizione che non è oltremodo sostenibile e che non può durare, se non continuando a mettere in serio pericolo l’incolumità delle persone e dei cavalli. Pertanto chiedo che venga abolita definitivamente l’istituzione della “botticella” e che venga quindi vietato in tutto il territorio del comune di Roma il trasporto di persone a mezzo di carrozze trainate da animali.

Distinti saluti.

add your personal message here...

First name

Last name

City, County

Thank you everyone!

Museums in Rome: Palazzo Massimo

Fresco from the House of Livia, Rome 1st c. C.E.

Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme By Sarah May Grunwald

One of my favorite places to visit in Rome is the not to be missed Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. It houses the world's most important collection of Roman antiquities, and it is one of the least trafficked museums of its caliber. Another way to avoid the nightmare of the Vatican!! It is also in a convenient location, just steps away from the main train station, but also steps away from the Exedra, which has a darling rooftop bar for your post museum cocktail.
Palazzo Massimo is what all museums should strive to be like. The collection itself is stellar, but the ambience of the place is really its greatest asset. As well, it is a totally feasible 3 hour trip, that won't make you say, "Oh, I wish I could have more time there." The collection ranges from 5th c B.C. bronzes, Republican era portraits, religious iconography, gorgeous mosaics, Imperial era frescoes and portraits, and even a nuministic collection for all you coin lovers. The collection also has continuity, which helps you along, even when you think you have reached the point where you can't look at another piece of marble; there is always something more interesting around the corner that puts the pieces of the Roman puzzle together, like the museum is telling you a story.
The best way to feel this continuity is the start at the top floor and work your way down. In this way you will see the most important artistic treasures, and, if you feel up to it, have time for that very interesting coin collection in the vaults in the basement. This is a very important piece of advice, because honestly, the museum is very quiet and the students that work there are not going to go out of their way to remind you to see the hermaphrodite or Livia's frescoes.
This collection, more than any other in Rome, demonstrates the highly polychromatic world the Romans lived in, not only indicated in the gorgeous frescoes that have been placed here, but in the mosaics and statues. Romans idealized the human form, as did the Greeks before them, in fact, the Romans had Greek sculptors working in Rome to create this masterpieces often copies from Greek originals. If we evaluate Roman art to give us a clear picture of roman life and ideals, what we know is that they were in fact very different to us in the day to day life.
They idealized lithe male gods, and fertile looking goddesses in the human form. They lived in a polychromatic world, which could almost be bordering on Technicolor to our eyes. As a warrior nation, sexuality was considered not only natural but of the utmost importance. The human form was not one of shame, but a form to celebrate, and idealized by sculpting the Gods and Goddesses as beautiful ideal men and women. To our eyes, Roman art can seem almost too upfront and straightforward. They did not hide sexuality or truths. A great example is the sculpture of the sleeping hermaphrodite, the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, who seems to be playing peek-a-boo with the audience. On one had she is all woman, with curves and breasts like an idealized woman, on the other side; you have the sexual organs of a man. Causing the viewer to question what exactly does gender identity mean? Nevertheless, the Romans lived in a war machine. A militaristic regime, and there was no mistaking to them who were the men and who were the woman. While one could play with gender and sexuality in the arts, a man's duty was to serve Rome, and a woman's was to serve man.
You could easily get hot looking at so many muscular and gorgeous men! They will make you look at your own man, and wonder if he could possibly start doing some sit-ups to strengthen up those abs so you can role play ancient roman myths in bed. Who were the artists' models, we wonder? And why don't men look like that, and why isn't the modern ideal of woman more like the healthy version the Romans had? Don't get too worked up, though, because you can't take a break. There is no café for a quick caffeine fix, so come prepared. Have a good lunch and an espresso before visiting

Our Day in Piglio

Our Day in Piglio, Latium, Italy


Our day in Piglio.
A few week ago Ettore and I were tired of being house bums and decided to get back into our old routine of going for a Sunday drive to a town within two hours of Genzano for a walk and lunch. We decided we would go to a little mountain town called Piglio which is located in the hills of Frosinone, which is a province of Latium. Piglio is "famous" for a native laziale varietal called Cesanese and Cesanese del Piglio has the excited new designation of a DOCG wine, which is th first in the region of Latium.
After the fall of Rome is 476 C.E. Rome experienced a huge change, which was a population drain and a brain drain. When the Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from the city of Rome to Constantinople, many of the skilled crafts people left, as well as scholars. Rome's population in th 5th c. dropped to about 10,000, although some estimates say 20,000 people. With the collapse of Rome in the west, Italy was espeically plagued by constant evasions by the so-called Barbarians. Without a central power securing the city of Rome, many people fled the area and moved into the hills of Latium where they built these amazing medieval towns out of stone totally isolated from anyone else, but also protected from invasions. Piglio is a great example of this. In the Middle Ages, Italy was primarily made up of hundreds of little city states, all at odds with each other. What happened is really what defines Italy today, a country of extreme diversity in culture, language and kitchen. Many people went back to their roots, to the villages of their ancestors before they were Romanized. The Hernici once ruled this region.
The Pigliesi retained their cooking and wine making skills for centuries without interuption, many of these traditions were brought from classical Rome. When one drinks the native varietals of Latium, one drinks the wine of the Classical Romans. It is a very exciting time in terms of wine production in Latium, with native varietals being rediscovered and wine producers realizing they have gold in their hands, and instead of relying on the internationl grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, they are places their bets on what seems natural, and what will thrive in the region.
So on this cloudy day, we decided to give ourselves a few hours break from our sick puppies, and took a drive into the real backwater countryside of Latium for a small taste of what the town offered.
After a very pleasant one hour drive from Genzano on the Autostrada, We encountered this town built of whatever stones were in the area. I would have hated to be the peasant who had to transport good from the fields to the town!

Due to recent rains(I should say never ending rains!) the countryside of Piglio was very green, and even though the vines of Cesanese were lifeless at the moment, the had an air of nobilty and age that no New World wine countryside can compete with.

When we got to town it was still too early for lunch, so we decided to have a walk in what seemed like an ancient ghost town, but surprisingly we came across people just minding their own business. This lady seemed to be taking laudry from the well to hang to dry. The people of these sorts of town are very interesting. It is rare to see young people, and the older people really hang on to their traditions as if glued to them. Ettore enjoyed hearing their dialect. He couldn't understand. That is what centuries of isolation created!!

It is good to know Italians never lost the ability to make the Etruscan arch. That's right...the arch is NOT a Roman invention, but something Romans took from the Etruscans when they conquered them.I love to study pre-roman Italian civilizations.

So we finally saw a child. Sometimes people who are from these towns move to the cities, but they never forget their roots, and come home for Sunday lunch.

When it was finally lunchtime, we found a real hole in the wall, down a stone alley, with the smallest door. The only reason when knew it was a open for lunch it because of the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. It was cold, and we cold smell minestrone and polenta, cold weather foods that appealed to our cold hands.

The restaurant is called La Cantinetta. They weren't quite ready to serve lunch, but they welcomed us anyway, and we got our table and ordered the house wine, which was made by the owners Uncle, a lovely Cesanese del Piglio.

We ordered a vegetarian antipasto for two. This consisted of the most delicious grilled vegetables I have had in my life, and their homemade ricotta and mozzerella from water bufalo. Ricotta di bufala and Mozzarella di bufala. THey were both lovely. I really do not want to have diary in my diet, but I also hate food to go to waste.

For lunch I ordered the Polenta di Porcini which was more of a creamy polenta with fresh mountain porcini, most likely fund in the forest behind the town. I can tell you it was delicious, but not very good looking, which is why I didn't take a close-up photo.

Ettore ordered the Penne di carciofi the pasta with artichoke. It was also delicious, and not as bitter as many artichoke dishes are, which was great in terms of being to taste the wine. Sometimes the bitter metalic property of artichoke interferes with wine. It is notoriously hard to pair with wine. Ha! You can actually see the fork moving in the photo. It was so delicious, I couldn't get Ettore to wait 5 seconds while I took a photo!!

All the food was extremely fresh, the kitchen aromas were enough to appeal even the pickiest eater. We had a lovely day trip, and the best part of it was the cost. Our meal, which was two antipasti, two primi, two desserts, house wine, and caffe was only

30 euro for both of us.

It was really one of the best meals of my life. Simple country food, that was satisfying in is simplicity, but also in it's soul and heartiness. I can't wait to get there in the summer, when everyone is boiling in Rome, I will be enjoying the cool mountina breeze of Piglio, sipping on a local wine. We saw that there argreat haking paths in the area and want to make a backpacking trip in the area. Hiking all day, eating local cuisine at night. Our favorite kind of vacation. The first year I lived here, Ettore and I would go on spontaneous day trips like this all the time. This tradition has waned, but I am hoping to revive it. Italy is so diverse, even a town about 50km away is like a different country for us.