another eye opens

After the week in Tuscany, I spent a day and a night in Rome, where I met up with Michael Mele, his husband Andy, and his old friend Antonio in Piazza Navona.

With his friend Pier Paolo, Antonio has started a business giving guided tours (see romearoundrome.com) — two of the couples from That’s Amore! hired him for their introduction to the Eternal City.

Just walking around the neighborhood with Antonio is a treat — he pointed out that in the Baroque era, street lights couldn’t just be lamps — they had to have painted portraits and putti and wrought-iron embellishments.

We stopped into a church nearby, Basilica di Sant’Agostino, that just happens to house a famous and controversial Caravaggio painting “Madonna of Loreto” — controversial for three reasons:    1) smack in the center of the picture is a pilgrim’s rear end; 2) his dirty feet face the viewers; and 3) the Madonna is hanging out in a doorway dandling her infant like a common hooker.

We took a walk across the bridge to Castel Sant’Angelo, the tomb of Emperor Hadrian — opera buffs know the location because Tosca leaps to her death from the ramparts.

Antonio pointed out the statues along the bridge, all created by students of Bernini and reflecting his extremely sensual style — swirling dimensionality, bared flesh, ecstatic facial expressions that verge on orgasmic.

Walking to dinner in Trastevere, Antonio pointed out one of the oldest synagogues in Rome hidden away on a side street, detectable only by the Hebrew lettering still visible on the middle column (click photo to enlarge).

At dinner friends showed up from all over, including Dino and Michael from That’s Amore!

Our friend Graziano showed up on a motorcycle with Andrea, who had just spoken at Rome’s Gay Pride Rally.

And then a bunch of us met again for breakfast in Piazza Navona before I headed off to the airport to fly back to New York saying “Arrivederci, Roma!”

Rainy afternoon in Tuscany. #luxuryproblem

on a clear day, the light gilds everything

the view from my bedroom

the mulberry tree in the yard dripped with ripe fruit

some afternoons demanded a dip in the pool

for a first-time visitor to The Boot, Dino dressed molto Italiano

but then this was a pretty stylish group in general

the last afternoon we walked to the nearby town of Mercatale for lunch at Mimmi’s

At dinnertime more singing

and more singing

excellent meals prepared primarily by Karen

we even got her to sing a couple of songs from her hometown (Rome)

a dreamy ending to a dreamy week

Another day we took a road trip to Perugia — Luca drew us a map by hand, which we referred to as “Luca’s GPS.”

Perugia is an ancient hill town, the largest in Umbria.

It’s famous for, among other things, its chocolate (baci). And the duomo houses the wedding ring of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Its traditional symbols are the gryphon (above) and the lion.

We hired a guide to show us around, the friendly, handsome, and extremely knowledgeable Paolo.

He walked us through the scenic route, pointing out the ancient Roman viaduct that still runs through the university district.

He showed us this tiny former chapel, now a fancy clothing store.

He walked us through the spooky underground city, telling us about how much Perugians hate the Pope, dating back to Pope Paul the Third (or the Turd, as Paolo pronounced it) and the war that started in 1538 with a tax on salt. In retaliation for the town’s resistance, the Pope sent soldiers to build walls burying the house belonging to the city’s wealthiest family, the Baglioni. This area was only recently unearthed and now is used for holiday markets.

The Etruscan Arch

and the modern art

Very enjoyable tour

Our lunch at Il Cantinone was the best meal we had all week.

And the light was exquisite for photos — here is John.

After lunch, there was shopping. Of course.

We brought back some Umbrian wine for dinner.

Hijinks ensued.