My Balcony Jungle

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Art for Housewives

Balcony Garden

Yuccas dominate my balcony garden. But, thanks to the lockdown, I’ve been trying to grow food as well. In the foreground is a lemon tree I started from seed. It has yet to produce lemons, not even one flower. Keith Richards planted some pips from a supermarket lemon that grew into a tree. He germinated the tree’s flowers by hand and, said Keith, they produced lemons the size of grapefruits. Unfortunately, my tree that’s been around for a few years, has never produced even one flower. But I also started an apricot from a pit and it has fruit on its skinny little branches.

Other plants in this area include lettuce, mint, bell peppers, tomatoes, basil, garlic, and, I believe, a broccoli sprouts plant that I started from a grocery store sprout. During the first phase of the lockdown, it was impossible to buy seeds so I experimented propagating store bought vegetables.

The yuccas cast intriguing shadows on the wall. And the sun hitting on the orange wall makes everything glow. Rome is known for having a special natural light. Maybe so many residential buildings in Rome are ochre or burnt orange in order to intensify this color. Just the opposite of Paris. The natural light there is a bit greyish and blue. The grey white of the buildings helps to reflect the light.

The best thing about my balcony garden is that it helps me maintain an inner balance. You plant a seed, give it water, place it in the sunlight, and it grows for you. It shows you what the basics in life really are. So whenever the terrible events we’ve been witnessing put cracks in my thoughts, I go on the balcony and water my plants.

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Related:  ‘UN Report Says Small-Scale Organic Farming Only Way To Feed The World’

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On, Off, and On Again

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Art for Housewives

During the Total Lockdown, I reached a point of saturation with the television and all the COVID-19 apocalyptic news. So I just turned it off and, instead, used my time for reading, drawing, writing, and working on my balcony garden. It helped. Unfortunately, there’s now new news that’s bad news, too.

On Off

What I see going on in the U.S., my mother country, overwhelms me. It is radically shocking as it violates those Standards of Democracy I was raised to believe that the United States of America represented. Of course I knew that that the U.S. was not perfect but at least it practiced a minimum of decorum. But now decorum, as well as dignity, is dead.

I would like to react to all this is a healthy way. But for the moment, I’m flooded by sadness. So, for the moment, I will just have another glass of wine then go for a nap.

 

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My Friendly Neighborhood Wine Shop

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Art for Housewives

Today, after 10 weeks, Total Lockdown has ended in Italy and Phase 2 has begun. Many commercial activities will be opening up again although with severe social distancing restrictions. And the wearing of masks is still a must. But the biggest change is that people can now visit relatives and friends.

During the lockdown, my only contact with others came from my periodic visits to the shops. And the most socializing I did was with the owners of the wine shop across the street. Paolo and Roberto are always in a good mood and ready to make jokes. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all the laughs they gave me during the lockdown. Mille grazie!

The wine shop, Torrefazione Enoteca Giovanni De Sanctis, is a family business that’s been around for over 70 years. And the interior is basically the same as it was when it opened. Below are photos of the shop—it looks like something from a movie set.

The term “torrefazione” means “roasting” as once it was normal to buy coffee beans that had been roasted then freshly grounded. Sometimes the smell of the roasting beans makes its way inside my window and gives me a thrill.

Torrefazione Enoteca Giovanni De Sanctis

Torrefazione Enoteca Giovanni De Sanctis

Torrefazione Enoteca Giovanni De Sanctis

Torrefazione Enoteca Giovanni De Sanctis

 

Related: Quando un negozio in via Tagliamento chiamò “lazzaroni” il re e il duce

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The Horse on the Hill

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Art for Housewives

Capitoline Hill, aka Campidoglio, is one of Rome’s seven hills. The pagan temples that once adorned it have been replaced with the Capitoline museums and the seat of Rome’s city government.

Campidoglio

In the middle of Piazza del Campidoglio designed by Michelangelo is an equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. Leaders were often shown on horseback to indicate that they were victorious and all-conquering. Many bronze equestrian statues were eventually melted down to make coins and church bells. But the statue of Marcus survived thanks to its misidentification. For a long time it was believed to be the statue of Constantine the Great who, although an active pagan for much of his life, converted to Christianity for political reasons.

Marcus Aurelius is shown with his arm extended in an adlocutio gesture, that is, a gesture used by a general to salute his army. This gesture was later appropriated by Mussolini and his fascists as Benito’s greatest dream was that of creating a Roman Empire Revival, a plan he was unable to carry out thanks to his involvement with Hitler.

The poet Trilussa, popular in Rome during fascism, ironizes in his sonnet “Er salute romano” that the Roman salute is more hygienic than is the traditional handshake.  However, despite preoccupation with coronavirus contagion, it’s not likely that that the Roman salute will be reintroduced as, in 1952, it was outlawed because of its fascist past.

Marcus Aurelius, a Taurus, was known as the philosopher emperor. A devout Stoic, he is known for Meditations, a written collection of his thoughts. Many Stoics had the habit of keeping hypomnemata, that is, personal notes taken on a day to day basis. In some ways, writing was seen as a spiritual practice as it helped one better examine personal behavior. So every evening Marcus Aurelius wrote notes to himself regarding the events of the day. He wanted to make sure that he was living his life according to his principles and personal vision of the world.

Ideals give you a direction. Without them, it’s easy to get lost.

 

There’s nothing I can say about Marcus Aurelius that’s better than his own words:

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

No one can implicate me in their ugliness.

It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions than our own.

 You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.

Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life.

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Related: Diary Writing and other Spiritual Practices +  Meditations by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius free e-book + Stoicism in a time of pandemic: how Marcus Aurelius can help + The Inner Citadel Pierre Hadot pdf free on Academia +

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Keep Your Fountains Flowing

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Art for Housewives

Trevi Fountain

After the lockdown in Rome, photographs taken mainly by drones began appearing on internet showing a deserted city. One photo that got my attention was that of two vigili (city policemen) taking a selfie alone in front of the Trevi. There was something very tender about the photo as if these two vigili understood the uniqueness of being alone in front of one of Rome’s most important monuments and wanted to immortalize it.

Trevi Fountain is the oldest Roman water source and dates back to 19 B.C. The fountain was built at the end of the Aqua Virgo Aqueduct where there was the junction of three roads, “tre vie” thus “Trevie” then “Trevi”.

In 1730, Pope Clement XII commissioned the fountain’s remodelling. The architect who designed it, Nicola Salvi, died before the fountain was completed as it took 30 years to finish it.

The protagonist of the fountain’s sculptural composition is Oceanus, the god of the earth’s fresh water. The fountain uses tons of water that it reuses to sustain itself.

The film Three Coins in the Fountain made making a wish and throwing a coin into the fountain popular with tourists. The coins are collected regularly by Caritas, a Catholic charity, that uses the money for worldwide food and social programs. It’s estimated that c. E3,000 is collected daily or rather was before the lockdown.

In 1996, the fountain was draped in black after Marcello Mastroianni who, thanks to the film La Dolce Vita, helped make the fountain more famous than ever. (You can read more about Marcello here: Vieni, Marcello, vieni!)

Romans love water (just think of ancient Rome’s aqueducts and public baths).

A “nasone” is a drinking fountain in the shape of a large nose (thus “nasone” which means “big nose”). Introduced in the 1870’s, there are over 2,500 of them in Rome with the purpose of supplying the people with free drinking water. The water that comes out of them is the same water that comes out of household water faucets.

Although it may seem like a waste of water, it’s not. The nasoni are used as ventilation valves for Rome’s water system. Plus the constant flow of water keeps water from stagnating in the pipes as this would produce bacteria. More water is lost from leaky pipes than from the nasoni.

If there’s a lesson to be learned from the nasoni, it’s that flow prevents stagnation.

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Sculptural fountains in Rome + ”Marcello come here”: la scena cult nella fontana di Trevi

 

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