Beard of the Week XIV

We happened to be in Rome this time during the World Cup Soccer playoffs, which created several curious memories.

The championship was being hosted in Germany. We flew to Europe and back on Lufthansa — entirely pleasant flighs, by the way — which had a severe case of World-Cup fever itself. The noses of many of their jets were painted to look like soccer balls. With our meals we got little pieces of chocolate wrapped in foil to look like little soccer balls; each meal tray had a fold-up schedule of the play-off games. The overhead televisions were almost always showing something soccer related.

Rome, of course, was crazy for soccer by the time we got there. As evidence I offer three views of this advertisement for underwear that featured members of the Italian soccer team. This ad was everywhere — not that I had any complaints about that! For full effect I show three different views of it, roughly approximating the way I appreciated it visually on each encounter. For fuller effect it would be necessary to be in Rome to see it in its 6-meter-tall versions on billboards, its illuminated version in the metro, its mobile version as it appeared on so many buses, and its paper versions plastered on every available surface. It is an enduring visual memento of our visit.

Aurally, it was the sound of distant cheering. On several occasions we would be out in the evenings and would hear now and again distant cheering from several directions: Italy had just scored a goal. And then when they were victorious in their match: the sounds of cars honking their horns. Sometimes we would see one of these cars drive by with someone leaning out the window brandishing a large Italian flag. All would cheer the passing of the car, naturally.

One day Isaac and I made a visit to the church of Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso (Saints Ambrose and Carlo in the Corso, familiarly known as San Carlo al Corso — the Corso is a large boulevard between Piazza del Popolo and the Cathedral of St. John Lateran with much shopping at the upper end). We wanted particularly to drop in because we have a painting in which the dome of San Carlo figures prominantly.

The church was being renovated last time we visited; this time the renovations were complete and the church was looking splendid. I particularly enjoyed two features: the small chapel behind the choir where there was a charming reliquery displaying the heart of Saint Carlo, and posters describing the engineering challenges encountered during the restoration, particularly of the dome, featuring graphs and color photos of models simulating stresses on the dome.

Inside a church like this, one typically hears only very hushed sounds of the street; coupled with the coolness of the interior on the incredibly hot Roman days, the church provided a welcome spot to rest a bit.

While we were inside, there was evidently a soccer match in progress featuring the Italian team, because we frequently heard sounds of distant cheering. Also while we were inside, it seemed that there was an operatic soprano having a music lesson in an apartment across the street. She was practising an aria that I didn't recognize, but the effect put me in mind of the music lesson from Donizetti's "The Daughter of the Regiment".

It was a potently evocative mixture: the quiet hush of the church interior, the occasional distant cheering of the soccer fans, and the desultory display of operatic filagree from the soprano.

Posted on July 18, 2006 at 19.13 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Beard of the Week

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  1. Written by Tim Wilson
    on Thursday, 20 July 2006 at 17.18
    Permalink

    Has anyone previously pointed you to this Flickr pool? As soon as I saw it, I thought of you.

    I'm sure there are more that are similar. I just happened across this one.

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