I was at a birthday party up in Harlem last night (which, by the way, has gentrified significantly in the past ten years) and was catching up with a friend of mine that recently married a British girl. He’s American and I was thinking about how he would now be eligible for a British passport. … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Italy
Photo Of The Day: Sad Claudia
This picture was taken in 2008 on Christmas Eve… Circumstances have not improved for Claudia since I took that photograph. I suppose it is perhaps for the best that I refrained that evening from reminding Claudia that we all die anyway and, therefore, her concerns were meaningless and irrelevant in the broader scheme of things. … Continue reading
Photos Of The Day: A Contemplative Nun On Ostia Beach
Poem Of The Day – The Italian War Poets
D’Annunzio: In a lurid vision of battle that champions the victors’ right to slaughter their foe, lay waste his cities and rape his women declared: We shall ransack the mothers’ wombs with fire… I smile upon the land that is my prey Corrado Govoni’s long poem, called simply “War!” describes the entire world turning into “a … Continue reading
Visiting The Catacombs Of The Capuchins – Palermo, Sicily
Sicily’s Catacombs of the Capuchins (Catacombe dei Cappuccini in Italian ) are unlike anywhere else I know of in the world. Described by some as a “ grisly one-stop shop for horror” or the “ultimate museum of the macabre”, I believe there is actually far more to them. The catacombs were created in the 16th … Continue reading
Monte dei Paschi di Siena: The World’s Oldest Bank
Rocca Salimbeni and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena We are in front of the impressive former stronghold of the Salimbeni family, wealthy Ghibelline merchants and bankers. In the 15th century, their fortress home was confiscated by the Commune of Siena which placed the toll post and the “Monte Pio” later incorporated into Monte dei … Continue reading
Siena, Italy
Written: October 2010 Occurred: July 2009 Florence gets more attention, but my Italian and I prefer Siena to Florence by a huge margin. The tourist hordes can keep Florence. According to legend Siena was founded by Senius, son of Remus; the symbol of the wolf feeding the twins Romulus and Remus is as ubiquitous in … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 