L'Aquila

The largest city nearest the Gran Sasso is L'Aquila, which you might remember suffered a brutal earthquake in April 2009. After I left my campsite, I drove into town to check it out.

L'Aquila translates to "The Eagle". The Abruzzo, of which L'Aquila is the regional capital" is prone to earthquakes and has experienced many in its history.

Driving into town, you see signs that the city is still recovering from the earthquake. Here's a brace holding up the town wall.

Buildings, some old and even modern looking ones are uninhabitable.

Most of the "centro storico" is off limits and is called the "red zone"

The military is a constant presence at many major intersections making sure that people don't enter "unsafe" areas.

Even the L'Aquila Duomo is strapped and under repair.

This corner off the Duomo piazza is "Ground Zero". Photos, posters and dedications line the fences.

308 people died. Some of them were university students who were killed in a collapsed dorm. Some buildings were simply old and not up to code, but other more modern ones were suspect of lack of building standards. It was said that an earthquake of this magnitude would not have killed one person in California.

With only a few streets open, there isn't much life or commerce in the old town. I saw more volunteers than actual civilians. I did my best to help the economy by having coffee three times in the hour I was there.

When Italy hosted the G8 summit in 2009, it was intended to bring attention to the plight of the citizens here. But now it's nearing the end of 2010 and the renovations have been slow and even in my basic reading of Italian, the many posters here have anger and frustration at the government and its lack of assistance.

Gran Sasso

Have access to car, will travel. I hope to make it to all of Italy's 20 regions before I leave. This past weekend, I checked off #13, the Abruzzo. For those of you keeping track, the seven I have left are in the corners, Val d'Aosta (NW corner near France), Friuli-Venezia-Giuila (NE corner nearest to Slovenia), the island of Sardinia, as well as Molise, Puglia, Baslicata and Calabria (the boot and toe). I headed to Abruzzo to see the highest peaks in the Apennines, the Gran Sasso.

The Gran Sasso is a national park that has great hiking and peaks greater than 2,000 meters.

The highest peak, Corno Grande, is 2912 meters. I started to hike it but it started raining and got really foggy. At the base of the Corno Grande is a hotel in which Mussolini was housed/imprisoned (not sure which) during two weeks of the summer of 1943.

The "Campo Imperatore" is a huge wide plain that kind of feels like being on the moon. Can it be that his place is less than 80 miles from the center of Rome?

As I was driving out, the sun broke through and I got an amazing sunset and awesome colors of the sky. So, instead getting a hotel nearby, I pulled out the sleeping bag and slept under the stars.

The Ancient and The Modern

No, it's not the name of a soap opera, but the two places I visited in Rome last Saturday. The first is a place that I've passed by so many times and finally went in.

Piazza Repubblica, a great oval, is actually the former entrance to the Baths of Diocletian, built in 306. In art history we learned that these grand baths were built in the NE corner of the city to be closer to the military camps and thereby appease the soldiers who up until that point had to haul themselves a few kilometers to the Baths of Caracalla.

The Baths of Diocletian fell into disuse and sat empty for a few centuries until the 1500's when the remnants were used for religious purposes. Michelangelo took part in the designs and turned the large frigidarium into the transcept of the Chiesa Santa Maria dei Angeli. Talk about reuse of abandoned buildings!

One of the coolest things inside the transcept is this diagonal sundial, built along the meridian. Here at the spot closest to the wall, is where you see the sign of Cancer. The sun hits here around noon when it is highest in the sky, the longest days of the year.

Way on the far wall, the waterbearer, Aquarius.

So typically Roman/Italian. There is a modern road built through the ruins of the baths.

Up in the northern part of town, the newly opened Maxxi Museum of Contemporary Art. I've kind of become a fan of modern art for some reason. I take it at face value and sometimes it really does speak to me.

The Maxxi is built right into a Roman neighborhood and the juxtaposition of the buildings is fascinating.

Is it a bird? Spiderman with a beak?

The artist spent a great deal of time rolling newspaper into a cord of rope.

I thought it was an homage to tobacco, but it was supposed to be bark. Art is about interpretation, yeah?

I have to give credit to architect Zaha Hadid for I was never able to place where I was in the museum. I have a great sense of space and direction but I kept getting turned around and finding new unexplored galleries. That is a fun feeling to have, which I rarely get to experience.

This piece is the "wailing wall" of all those people have had to pack up and leave their homes.

My absolute favorite piece in the Maxxi was this modern "Trajan's Column." The real column has a frieze which tells the story of Trajan's victories over the people of the East. This set of televisions is pictures of those defeated but unable to tell their story.

Suppli

On the streets of Rome, you can duck into a pizzeria or Roman fast food shop and find suppli. They deep fried rice balls in which a chunk of mozzarella has been inserted. This past weekend, Anna made a huge batch of them for the annual school picnic. It was my first cooking lesson from Anna.

Anna has the bowl of rice already made. It's rice, tomato sauce (optional) and raw egg. The guy on the left is Charles, her host kid from three years ago who is going to school in Rome and was up for the afternoon visiting.

Take a scoop of rice, stick a chunk of mozzarella in the middle and squeeze to make as tight as possible. Then cover it in breadcrumbs.

The suppli are now ready to be deep fried in hot oil.

Everything is better deep fried. Alas, my suppli were not compact enough and broke apart during the deep fry. Therefore, Anna had to bake them to get them to stay together for the deep fry. Too many hands in the kitchen.....

Suppli are also commonly known as Suppli di telefono because if you break them apart, the two ends are the receiver and handset of a telephone and cheese, strung out looks like the cord.

Discrimination?

I have never been discriminated against to my face, up until this past Friday I think. It's not like it was overt, but, well, in retropsect it was. Backstory, you always have to get it with me. I'm feeling a bit isolated here in my 60,000 person town. Last year, it was all new and exciting so I never got that feeling of loneliness. But, the start of this year, I'm starting to feel that way and so knowing that I'm going to have to face building a community when I move back to the United States, I know that I'm going to have to take action and just put myself out there.

A few weeks ago, a colleague of mine mentioned that he saw something in the newspaper about a big gay event in Rome that was happening all summer through the month of September. From what I gather from the website, it's a big festival, held on Friday and Saturday nights where they fence off a big field, set up booths and stages for music. Think the post pride day celebration in San Francisco, but on a smaller scale.

I make myself go down there. I get a hotel room for Friday night. I hike a kilometer to the site and get asked if I am on the list. I say, what list, it says I can pay 13 Euro to get in. Now the guy starts talking in Italian and says "no list, non possible." Seriously, he was holding clip board, but the sheet of paper didn't have names on it. And, I was the only person in line.

I was so shocked that I stepped back out of line and just watched for the next ten minutes as EACH AND EVERY PERSON got in past the guy who turned me away. He never looked at any list.

Now, I can't outright say that I was turned away for being what, not Italian? Not white? Was I not dressed properly? I went in the most innocuous outfit there is, jeans and a white t-shirt. Could there have been some other reason why I was legitimately turned away? There is certainly a possibility. But the bitter taste I have from that experience tells me in my heart of hearts that I was not allowed in those gates for the way I looked. It's a horrible feeling. And from the gay community as well.

I have to say that I'm turned off by the experience. I was prepared not to have a good time, but I was willing (and still able) to give myself credit for doing something that was uncomfortable and challenging, and certainly not in my comfort zone. But never in my wildest dreams did I think the evening would turn out with this outcome.

Viterbo -- Home of the Popes

Back in the 13th century, the Papal States were not only a religious force, but a political force as well. The popes and their dominion had enemies. Sometimes the popes would flee Rome and set up elsewhere. Back in the mid-13th century, Urban IV fled Rome and came to Viterbo, where the popes sometimes summered.

SYA Class of 2010-11 on the steps of Via Saffi on the way to their first Friday field trip.

The papal palace in Viterbo

Urban IV brought the papacy to Viterbo. He was a French pope.

The arches of the loggia connecting two building in the papal palace. They are gothic in style and are the symbol of Viterbo.

In 1268, Urban IV died. The cardinals came here to Viterbo to elect a new pope. However, they had nice accomodations and were being treated to a life of luxury at the expense of the Viterbesi, they went nearly two and a half years without electing a pope. So, in the summer of 1271, the people of Viterbo, locked the cardinals in this room until they elected a pope.

The Viterbesi also removed the roof of the that room to expose the cardinals to the elements to force them into an election.

In November of 1271, three years without a pope, Gregory X was elected. He promptly wrote the beginnings of the rules of the "conclave" which is what essentially is used today to elect a pope, and prevent any delays.

In 1276, Gregory X was succeeded by John XXI, the first and only Portuguese pope. He died six months later.

Late in 1276, Nicholas III was elected.

The last Viterbesi elected pope was Martin IV, who upon becoming pope, moved the papacy back to Rome.

The Viterbesi are hugely proud of this part of their history, even if they reached their historic peak in the 13th century.

Sardinian Pig

Dinner on 8 settebre 2010. Sardinian Suckling Pig (roasted in Anna's wood burning stove located outside) and pasta as a primo.

The view this morning on my bike ride into work.

Transporto Macchina di Santa Rosa

Watch this! I am watching this from my 3 story window. Apologies for having to turn your head to watch, but it's worth it. This tradition of having 150 men of Viterbo carry a tower in honor of our patron saint, Santa Rosa, has been going on for over 300 years. Every September 3rd, it's crazy, and awesome and I was even more into it than last year.




This second clip is of myself and Eleni at the Trevi fountain in Rome. Note that I am embracing my inter Italian, with the faux aviator sunglasses and the stubble.

Strada Buon Respiro 14 (Street of Good Air)

Yup, that's the address of my "country home" here in Viterbo. This year, as per my request, I am living with a host family. Anna Fabi is my host mother and after a week, she is cutting me no slack with my Italian. Plus, she cooks and does my laundry. I am totally experiencing life as a coddled Italian Mama's boy. It's pretty nice I must say.

Here is what I come home to each and everyday. My studio apartment is on the ground floor of the Fabi family home. The dog, Ettore, greets me like this every day. In addition, Anna's daughter and her entire family live in the other half of the duplex. Note, the bike parked by the garage door is the one I ride to and back from school.

Anna, without her usual cigarette, welcoming me home as she does most every day.

The studio is kind of soviet in feel at the moment. I have new colorful sheets and carpets care of Eleni, my first visitor of this school year.

Eleni posing in front of the bunk bed. In my first miscommunication with Anna, I asked her to make up the second bed for Eleni, but Anna thought I wanted a bed with two places (as in a Queen bed).

The tub is not a rectangle, but a square. I have not mastered taking a shower yet without spraying water everywhere. I've decided for now, to shower sitting down.

The sink and the heater. Note the yellow basket. It's where I am supposed to keep my shoes. I left my shoes out one day and I found them in the basket when I got hom.

The house is about a 30 minute walk out in the country and this is the view. The hammock is a huge added bonus!

When I walk to school, I still have to dodge plants growing out of the sidewalks in addition to those that are encroaching on it. I plan on doing some community service and trimming these back sometime in the next few weeks.