March madness of a different kind

 As cases started to climb the government redefined the restriction categories suddenly putting much of the country into the highest risk zones.  Lazio, where we live went from yellow, with fewer restrictions, to the highest red zone.  The announcement was made on Friday to go into effect on Monday.  That weekend we went for a walk and saw so many people out for lunch with friends.  The piazzas and sidewalk cafes were full.  I wondered if the pre-lockdown party would be its own super spreader event and cause what they are trying to prevent.

An old ape (bee), a three wheeled combination scooter and truck.

In front of Santa Maria in Trastevere with the crowds

A 16th century palazzo that is now a pharmacy

The new decree also said that all schools will be closed in red zones.  So back to online learning we go.  This will be the first bit of online school this year for My Girl.  Until now middle and elementary schools have been open.  High schools have been off and on, so this is the third round of fully online school for My Boy with much of the year a hybrid of online and on campus.  He hates it.  He does so much better when in class with people.  At least the schools and teachers are doing a much better job with the online learning.  It was a rough transition last spring when they were dumped into it all of a sudden.  I don't think it is helpful to close the schools.  At least the cost benefit isn't there.  Occasionally there will be a kid who tests positive and they do the appropriate contact tracing and isolation etc.  There have been very few cases at the kid's schools.  They are not getting it or sharing it at school.  They are getting exposed on the weekends and after school.  The schools have all of the distancing, masks, and ventilation in place.  The teachers are vaccinated now, so that isn't a reason anymore.  At least they have been able to go to school as much as they have.  In California the schools have been online all year.

People are quite tired of all of the lockdowns and restrictions.  Last year when this was all starting people were afraid.  You could sense the tension in the people on the streets.  People scurried around like frightened mice.  Now, even in the most restricted zones, people are out running errands.  Families are at the parks with their kids and dogs.  People wear masks in public and bump elbows instead of kissing, but they go about their lives.

It has also been one year since the lockdowns started.  This anniversary brings mixed feelings.  At My Boy's school there were commemorative activities and remembrances of how much they have overcome and how resilient they all are including flags in the cortille with inspirational words.  His reaction was flat.  Instead of being encouraging it was a reminder of how little has changed.  One year in and we are once again going into lockdown.  This time there isn't fear, just resignation and disappointment.

To battle the doldrums we celebrated St Patrick's day in our traditionally Irish-American way with corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes.  Corned beef is a bit tricky in Italy.   I heard of a place where you could get a pastrami sandwich, but I think that is as close as you can get to corned beef here. I had to make it myself from scratch.  It was an effort.  I started by ordering potassium nitrate from Germany, then spices from the Esquilino market.  I got the beef there too, two kilograms of whatever it was that looked close to brisket.  It had to brine for at least a week so we prepared in advance.  It turned out really well.  What a relief.

For us it is a double celebration since it is Dad's birthday as well.  He joined us online, since he is in California for tax season.  We sang for him and the kids helped him blow out the candles and eat his portion of the corned beef and birthday cake.  It was a fun day, but we missed having Dad with us.

John Campbell's Irish Bakery has moved and sadly no longer sells t-shirts.

Just before the latest lockdown I went to see the Torlonia Marbles exhibit at the Capitoline museum.  It was incredible.  On display were 90 of over 600 pieces of ancient sculpture in the private collection of the former Torlonia museum.  The collection started with pieces excavated from land owned by the Torlonia family.  One of the sites was the villa of a 2nd century Greek philosopher, Herodes Atticus, who had sculptures imported from Athens.  Later other collections were added to those from the Torlonia family excavations.  

Many of the pieces on display were portrait busts.  It was amazing to see the individuality of the sculptures.  They were true portraits.  I'm sure there were many that were idealized and probably took a few years or decades off their age, but others showed every crease and crevice.  It was interesting to compare the portraits with the sculptures of gods and characters from mythology.  Where the portraits were full of life and individual character, the gods were classically idealized.  This may have been because they were copies of earlier Greek works or maybe they didn't want the gods and goddesses to look too human.

Emperor Calligula

Athena

Each year there is an online drawing challenge of 100 heads in 10 days.  I made it to 8.  But I had fun with them.  I like using the sculptures as models.  They hold still and don't mind if you stare.

One more thing...  This year is the 700th anniversary of Dante's death.  What better way to celebrate than commemorative Divine Comedy themed ice cream bars.  There will be three flavors available for two months each during the year.  The first one is the Inferno, salted dark chocolate and raspberry.  The ad is pretty fantastic and so very Italian.

I had high hopes, but they were a bit of a disappointment.  The salt chunks in the chocolate were too big. The raspberry swirls in the picture were missing and the grey (charcoal?) ice cream just didn't work.  Hopefully Pergatorio will be better.