Be informed

26 December 2023: Once again we decided to spend the festive period away from home. Last year it was Naples, this year Rome. Whilst we do not need heat, a bit of less-cold is welcome. And maybe a little sunshine. Getting there by train is pretty straightforward. Munich-Bologna-Rome. I mention Naples because there is an interesting contrast. Many Neapolitans are on the streets on Christmas Day. Romans are not. Having arrived at Roma Termini last night, we found the Metro closed. The taxi queue was extended. We walked successfully for 30 mins to our hotel. But eat before you travel away from Termini as eateries are mostly closed.

We have been to Rome before. The Colosseum still stands and today it was heaving. As was the Pantheon. Long queues for both. But one of the significant beauties of Rome is the free culture available. Most churches are open. All have something interesting to share.

For example, the Church of San Marcello al Corso has recently commissioned some new art work. “Mothers and their Gift of Life” (right) is disconcerting. It is bronze and sculpted by Timothy Paul Schmalz. The woman in question may be Mary, but could be any woman with a baby growing inside her. This one is small (but aren’t they all?). But it is in a dish. I don’t know how to interpret that, but I read it as need and hunger, not the gift of life per se. Very odd.

If there was a theme linking my thinking today, it probably is the depiction of women. Whilst the mother is young and beautiful, there are some grotesques depicted on every building if one just looks up. The example (left) adorns the Palazzo della Consulta opposite the robust statues found in the Piazza del Quirinale.

A little along from there is an unassuming garden (Villa Carlo Alberto al Quirinale). There is a monster statue of King Carlo on his horse, but the sculptures on the plinth are really interesting (right). It is the court of Carlo and, of course, it is exclusively men. If one looks carefully, the women are depicted only as pictures on the wall! On the other side is a lot of men dying in battle. There is a lot of that in Rome. Men dying in battle.