New York City meets Rome palazzo - contemporary art in Rome

It's over, but we couldn't resist showing it.  And perhaps if you've read this far, our "warning, explicit material" is too late.

The pix we show are from one part of a 3-artist show earlier this Fall in Rome - Three Amigos, New York artists whose work occupied (oops, there goes that word again) very different venues.  Dan Colen, here, was in Palazzo Rospigliosi, on the Quirinale hill.  Colen's work, Trash, also was in the very tony - but accessible - Rome Gagosian gallery. 

The explanation for the installation in Palazzo Rospigliosi is that Colen wanted to put his word works next to the "rape scenes," as he describes them, on the ceilings of the elaborately painted palazzo.  Hm, not sure that's how we'd describe the palazzo paintings.  See this description of the palazzo and its art work. 

In any event, we think Dan's artistry worked.  Let the images speak for themselves, for they surely do speak.

Dianne

The Piazza's Filthy: Why?

Piazza Bologna is filthy--on Sunday, that is.  According to La Repubblica, it's filthy (sporca) on Sunday because of funding cuts for overtime workers--gli straordinari--that have prevented L'Ama (the governmental entity in charge of cleaning Rome's streets and squares, the folks with the dark red trucks--photo, right) from hiring people to clean up on that day.

What makes it especially troubling is that the Piazza, located in an upper-middle-class area in Rome's northeast, is often an active square on Saturday nights, a place where one finds the "movida" (the getting together of large numbers of young people). 

The newspapers present this as a social tragedy.  The article opens with the story of a young mother pushing a stroller, only to have it hung up on a bunch of plastic cups.   Worse still, a group of old people (anziani/ancients) reading newspapers on nearby benches find themselves surrounded by beer bottles, wastepaper and plastic bags.  The president of the Municipio (the local jurisdiction) reported that he had received "dozens" of phone calls from area residents "infuriated" by the degraded condition of the piazza. 

OK, so the piazza is a mess on Sundays, and the budget won't support overtime.  As everyone knows, Italy is a financial mess, and the city's no exception.  As the papers often say, things are "in tilt." 

In a situation such as this, would it be too much to ask the local folks who enjoy Piazza Bologna on Sundays to lend a hand and pick up the trash?  With 2 or 3 people--even old people--it might take 20 minutes to make the whole piazza look respectable, 3 minutes to pick up the junk around the benches and on the paths. 

Yes, it is too much to ask--in Rome, anyway.  Romans have little sense of working voluntarily for the public good.  If the "state" doesn't do it, it won't get done.  They pay their taxes, so the thinking goes, and that's enough.  

Well, it isn't enough.   What stinks in Piazza Bologna isn't the trash, it's the attitude that most Romans have toward their public spaces, and toward lending a hand--voluntarily--to solve a public problem.
Bill   [from Dianne- okay, Italians are not Canadians, but neither are we.  You're being a bit hard on them, aren't you, Bill?]

Russian Social Realism - in Rome

The mix of Russian Social Realism posters with “occupiers” on the steps of Palazzo delle Esposizioni – the State’s large art gallery on via Nazionale – caught our eye (along with the protestors) recently in Rome. The posters are ads for a blockbuster show of Russian art of the school of Social Realism (not much else was permitted) from the 1920s to 1970s.

We almost camped out ourselves to see this show, because the museum was closed for almost a week of the protest (to the protestations of the protestors, btw), and the wait was worth it.

"Excuse us for the disruption;
Global revolution in process"
"We want it open"

Going in with our preconceptions about “bad” Russian Social Realism, we were amazed at the variety and quality of the painting. The panels – in both Italian and English (yay!) – provide good explanations of the evolution of the art form.

If you’re going to be in Rome before January 8, put this one on your list. And leave plenty of time. It’s a large and exhausting foray into Russian art of the last century.

Dianne

Food and Wine Happenings in Rome



Cousins Massimo and Emiliano at the bar

RST loves a good party, as most of you know - and, as they say, you can too!  Last month we hightailed ourselves to an event sponsored by Katie Parla (of http://www.KatieParla.com/ - and a frequent contributor to the NY Times Travel Section).  We were inspired in part because the event was at one of our favorite winebars, Il Bacocco, in an off-the-tourist-track part of Trastevere. We sang Il Bacocco’s praises and showed off their creative “finger food” in an earlier blog.

Yes, we said "Finger Food"

Katie arranged a Lazio (the province of Rome) wine tasting, complete with several Lazio cheeses and meats as well as explanations by sommelier Hande Leimer of vinoroma. E15 a person, with part of the proceeds going to a new food charity. Katie gives the details on her blog.

A crowd of more than 30 happily bumped shoulders with each other (Il Bacocco is small), most of us primary English speakers, almost everyone full-time residents of Rome.

Katie, presiding

A good time being had by all

Even if you’re temporarily in Rome, if you have a chance, hook up with one of Katie’s events (she held one in NYC recently also). Or if you’re just a foodie (we’re not, but she almost makes us want to be), her blog is for you. She alternatively waxes eloquent and is brutal in critiquing Rome's restaurants.  Click on the Events tab to see what’s coming up.

And Hande does personal wine tastings and food tours in Rome (e.g. her "My Italians" session is Euro 50 per person and sells out regularly).

Dianne

Delivering the Meat

Meat gets delivered everywhere, but perhaps not so obviously in US cities as in Rome.  Indeed, we can't remember ever seeing a meat truck transporting carcasses in the United States.  They surely exist, but they must do their thing in the back of supermarkets, far from the eyes of squeamish shoppers, who would rather not know they're eating animals. 

We had these and other thoughts when we came upon a meat delivery, this one in front of a butcher shop on Via Gregoriana XIII, in a vibrant neighborhood known as Boccea (after Via di Boccea), to the northeast of Rome's center--behind Monte Mario and beyond, even, Parco del Pineto.




The delivery guys wore long burgundy coats (all the better to hide the bloodstains) with hoods, the latter to shield them from the cold and clammy meats that inevitably press against their heads.

Bill