Calcio e l'elezione
As some of you might know, Italy just held its general election. Since I don't really watch much Italian TV or interact with very many actual Italians, the impact of the election wasn't as huge as I might have expected. However, I did see campaign ads all over town, which was pretty cool. They just put up posters everywhere, and there were so many different ones, because Italy has so many political parties. If they put up posters like this in the US, you would just see the same two over and over again. So this is much cooler. I stumbled upon a small political rally in Firenze, something to do with communists. Aside from that, though, I didn't see as many rallies or demonstrations as I had hoped. Ultimately, Berlusconi, the crooked, wealthy media mogul who owns basically the entire country and was the incumbent prime minister (about whom I wrote an enormous paper) lost. I think this is a good thing for Italy, but I'm not entirely sure what the majority of people think. It was an incredibly close decision, so I think the country is pretty divided, just like back home. I wonder if Italy has "regioni rosse" and "regioni azzurre" (red states and blue states). Anyway, Berlusconi is being a sore loser and demanding a recount and all that, so I suppose we have yet to hear the last of him. I'm just glad he didn't lose sooner, because that would have hurt the thesis of the paper I wrote, that being Berlusconi was basically invincible with his vast media empire.
On Wednesday, I went, along with almost everyone in my program, to a soccer game: Roma vs. Palermo We all bought tickets together, but we got there a bit late and there was a mad dash to get there in time, and we got separated. It didn't seem like a big deal, because I figured we could all find where we were supposed to be, but it was easier said than done. The stadium is not like Safeco Field or something, where you can walk around the whole place and go from section to section. Each section is isolated, and has a separate gate for entry. In between sections of seats, there are tall plexi-glass barriers. I guess they do this so that if fans of opposing teams are sitting in adjacent sections, they can't kill each other. That makes sense, but if you don't know what you're doing, it makes navigation quite a bother. I was with Joel and Jen, and we had no idea where everyone else was. We ended up standing behind one of the goals. I think a lot of people had the same problem of not being able to access their section, or just not wanting to, because the aisle was jam-packed with people. In the states, this would never happen, and those people would have to go wherever their tickets say. This section we were in was crazy. People were waving flags the entire time, both for the Roma team and Italian flags, which didn't make much sense. I mean, I've never seen anyone waving an American flag at a baseball game or anything. They also had elaborate chants and songs, with all kinds of claps and hand motions. It was really complicated. It must take a lot to get all that together. There were also flares and fireworks going off, and people shouting stuff through megaphones. It was crazy, and completely unlike any stadium experience back home. Roma scored the first goal, which would turn out to be the only goal of the game, and the section just went nuts, as you might imagine. At halftime (do they call it that in soccer?) we decided to try and find our real section. We got close, but gave up and we ended up just sitting in the aisle along the side of the field, maybe 10 rows back or so. The view was amazing, but the atmoshpere was completely different. It actually was like being at a Mariners game. People just sat there, occasionally shouting something at the players, and they would get pretty worked up if Roma mounted an offense. Otherwise, pretty laid back. From there, I could see the section of Palermo fans. The sections on either side of their section were empty and lined with guards, so that the fans, again, couldn't mix and kill each other. There were also frequent annoucements warning the Palermo fans to remain in their seats until everyone had left, for their own safety. This annoucement, each time, was met with a chorus of boos and whistles. In the end, Roma won 1-0 and the place went nuts. People were waving flags, cheering, and singing some song. It was incredible. I'm not entirely sure what the significance of this game was, though. I believe it was part of the Italy Cup, which is a sort of playoff. Kyle, can you explain it to me? As we were leaving, we saw the others, and were able to walk back with them. All in all, it was a great deal of fun, and I don't even like soccer. I just wish I had bought cheaper tickets, since I didn't actually sit in my seats. They cost 35 euro, but they were having some kind of bullshit promotion where girls only had to pay 5. Ah well, now I know for next time.
Today, we had another guided tour with Ruggero. This time we visited a series of Baroque churches. It was pretty interesting, but after a while, I started to get numbed to it all. I'm sure Jenelle will be irate to hear this, but they all started to look the same to me. Cool mural on the ceiling, statues, jesus, altar, etc. I get the point already. The highlight was one, the name of which escapes me, that featured some works of Caravaggio. I believe it was the cycle of St. Matthew, something along those lines. Those paintings were truly spectacular. Otherwise, I think, I'm pretty churched out after all of these, plus St. Peter's, San Marco in Venezia and Il Duomo in Firenze. I think I may check out the big synagogue here in Rome this weekend. I need a break from all this Catholic art. I'm staying in Rome this weekend. I'm not sure what I'm doing, though. A lot of people are going to the Vatican on Easter Sunday. Perhaps I'll use that time to explore the synagogue and the Jewish part of town. I have no desire to spend my Easter with the Nazi Pope and 100,000 of his favorite pilgrims.
Anything interesting in the news back home? I haven't been paying any attention. I have no idea what is happening in the US right now, except that the Mariners are at .500 and Barry Bonds, who is now off the roids, has zero home runs. Finally, I ask that there be no more petty squabbling in the comments section. I enjoy hearing from everyone there, but there's no reason to resort to childish name-calling. Let's all be friends.
On Wednesday, I went, along with almost everyone in my program, to a soccer game: Roma vs. Palermo We all bought tickets together, but we got there a bit late and there was a mad dash to get there in time, and we got separated. It didn't seem like a big deal, because I figured we could all find where we were supposed to be, but it was easier said than done. The stadium is not like Safeco Field or something, where you can walk around the whole place and go from section to section. Each section is isolated, and has a separate gate for entry. In between sections of seats, there are tall plexi-glass barriers. I guess they do this so that if fans of opposing teams are sitting in adjacent sections, they can't kill each other. That makes sense, but if you don't know what you're doing, it makes navigation quite a bother. I was with Joel and Jen, and we had no idea where everyone else was. We ended up standing behind one of the goals. I think a lot of people had the same problem of not being able to access their section, or just not wanting to, because the aisle was jam-packed with people. In the states, this would never happen, and those people would have to go wherever their tickets say. This section we were in was crazy. People were waving flags the entire time, both for the Roma team and Italian flags, which didn't make much sense. I mean, I've never seen anyone waving an American flag at a baseball game or anything. They also had elaborate chants and songs, with all kinds of claps and hand motions. It was really complicated. It must take a lot to get all that together. There were also flares and fireworks going off, and people shouting stuff through megaphones. It was crazy, and completely unlike any stadium experience back home. Roma scored the first goal, which would turn out to be the only goal of the game, and the section just went nuts, as you might imagine. At halftime (do they call it that in soccer?) we decided to try and find our real section. We got close, but gave up and we ended up just sitting in the aisle along the side of the field, maybe 10 rows back or so. The view was amazing, but the atmoshpere was completely different. It actually was like being at a Mariners game. People just sat there, occasionally shouting something at the players, and they would get pretty worked up if Roma mounted an offense. Otherwise, pretty laid back. From there, I could see the section of Palermo fans. The sections on either side of their section were empty and lined with guards, so that the fans, again, couldn't mix and kill each other. There were also frequent annoucements warning the Palermo fans to remain in their seats until everyone had left, for their own safety. This annoucement, each time, was met with a chorus of boos and whistles. In the end, Roma won 1-0 and the place went nuts. People were waving flags, cheering, and singing some song. It was incredible. I'm not entirely sure what the significance of this game was, though. I believe it was part of the Italy Cup, which is a sort of playoff. Kyle, can you explain it to me? As we were leaving, we saw the others, and were able to walk back with them. All in all, it was a great deal of fun, and I don't even like soccer. I just wish I had bought cheaper tickets, since I didn't actually sit in my seats. They cost 35 euro, but they were having some kind of bullshit promotion where girls only had to pay 5. Ah well, now I know for next time.
Today, we had another guided tour with Ruggero. This time we visited a series of Baroque churches. It was pretty interesting, but after a while, I started to get numbed to it all. I'm sure Jenelle will be irate to hear this, but they all started to look the same to me. Cool mural on the ceiling, statues, jesus, altar, etc. I get the point already. The highlight was one, the name of which escapes me, that featured some works of Caravaggio. I believe it was the cycle of St. Matthew, something along those lines. Those paintings were truly spectacular. Otherwise, I think, I'm pretty churched out after all of these, plus St. Peter's, San Marco in Venezia and Il Duomo in Firenze. I think I may check out the big synagogue here in Rome this weekend. I need a break from all this Catholic art. I'm staying in Rome this weekend. I'm not sure what I'm doing, though. A lot of people are going to the Vatican on Easter Sunday. Perhaps I'll use that time to explore the synagogue and the Jewish part of town. I have no desire to spend my Easter with the Nazi Pope and 100,000 of his favorite pilgrims.
Anything interesting in the news back home? I haven't been paying any attention. I have no idea what is happening in the US right now, except that the Mariners are at .500 and Barry Bonds, who is now off the roids, has zero home runs. Finally, I ask that there be no more petty squabbling in the comments section. I enjoy hearing from everyone there, but there's no reason to resort to childish name-calling. Let's all be friends.