you hear about post partum book completion depression, at least this writer feels it now. Spinning an important tragic yarn like Semmelweis with years of energy, belief, good will, extention into the universe, and then, one day, stop, the way the new mothers who contracted childbed fever, which causes and mean of prevention he would discover, those mothers' hearts stopped, and sometimes their newborns, too, their breathes ceased and, in the end, Semmelweil went mad, some say from persecution, others late-stage syphillis, still others by infecting himself, running into a surgical theater which location he was able to recall, and cutting himself then immersing his bare bloddy hands deep into the corpse. In all likelihood, this feeling could arise also after writing a comedy, a musical.
Michelangelo in Bologna II
April 30, 2014
Another day should not pass without Daisy seeing with her own eyes three sculptures by the young Michelangelo here in Bologna. He was nineteen years old and lived here for eleven months—October 1494 – September ’95-- so he experienced the seasons in the Emilio-Romagna valley, the winters damp, cold, and the winds blow and hold Read More
Michelangelo in Bologna
April 16, 2014
a Wednesday, off to see early Michelangelos with my own eyes. A marble angel--height 51.5, and a statue of Saint Proculus of Bologna which purportedly presages the David--are located in the Basilica of San Domenico. An Asian couple and I arrive at the door at the same time only to discover that the Basilica is Read More
Origin of Georgio Vasari's (1511-1574) LIVES OF THE ARTISTS
April 12, 2014
"At that time I went often in the evening, at the end of the day's work, to see the above-named most illustrious Cardinal Farnese at supper, where there were always present, to entertain him with beautiful and honourable discourse, Molza, Annibale Caro, M. Gandolfo, M. Claudio Tolomei, M. Romolo Amaseo, Monsignor Giovio, and many Read More
The Last Supper & Peter Luger's Steak House
April 10, 2014
Viewing Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan is like eating a porterhouse steak at Peter Luger's Steakhouse in Brooklyn, New York. You need to make reservations weeks, months, in advance. The actual viewing and eating require planning, forethought, like rehearsing a death-bed scene.
Bologna's Two Towers
April 5, 2014
Today took a walk and got lost on Via Zamboni. There was the church of Mary Magdalene and I went in and prayed and meditated on Mary Magdalene and felt the love Jesus had for her and she for him. Though I have loved many women in this one lifetime, not one has ever Read More
Feast of the Immaculate Conception (2)
December 8, 2013
The second item on the papal itinerary today was a visit to St. Mary Major Basilica (Santa Maria Maggiore) to venerate the image of Mary known as the "Salus Populi Romani," which is an icon depicting Mary and the Christ child, over the altar of the Pauline Chapel (Cappella Paolina).
I have written about Read More
I have written about Read More
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
December 8, 2013
Today, December 8, Italians celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. All Catholics from recently baptized infants to men who, as a rule, do not go to church, which, in our entrada, comprised the majority of our men, the belief being that god would be more receptive to the prayers of our women more so Read More
JFK Remembered in Italy
November 26, 2013
Remembering JFK from Italy (1963/2013)
Ferruccio—called Ruccio-- and I together that day 50 years ago, in late afternoon Italian time, in Bologna. Today we arrange to meet at that city’s Porta Castiglione, named for the author, diplomat, soldier and courtier Baldassarre Castiglione (1478-1529), best known for his book, The Courtier. Italian streets have memory. Read More
Ferruccio—called Ruccio-- and I together that day 50 years ago, in late afternoon Italian time, in Bologna. Today we arrange to meet at that city’s Porta Castiglione, named for the author, diplomat, soldier and courtier Baldassarre Castiglione (1478-1529), best known for his book, The Courtier. Italian streets have memory. Read More
Elizabeth Taylor in Italy
November 25, 2013
You could hear the pride in Daisy’s voice and see the delight in her eyes when her Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese fellow players are reluctant to speak their native language in my company, and she says: “O go right ahead. He understands perfectly.” I understand some. Misunderstanding much has perhaps affected my Read More