Weekend Perspective: In Hadrian's Eyes

Captivating. Colossal marble bust of Hadrian from 1st-2nd Century A.D. Originally displayed in Athens's Agora, it is now the property of the National Archaeological Museum in the same city.

If I'm being honest, it is not everyday you find such a well-curated collection in Italy as that running at the Archaeological Museum of Hadrian's Villa until November 2nd. 

Hadrian and Greece: Villa Adriana in Classicism and Hellenism, small though it may be, comprises caryatids, busts and statues in the Hellenistic style (thus testimony to Hadrian's appreciation for Hellenism), all hailing from various parts of Greece and realized during Hadrian's rule as Emperor, 117 to 138 A.D. 

Originally displayed in the likes of Corinth and the Agora of Athens, among other places, these propaganda pieces are absolutely gorgeous, are very well-illuminated, and come complete with very thorough historic descriptions. A week later, I can't but continue to stare at all the photos I took away and ponder the history during Hadrian's lifetime. 

Female busts in marble, 2nd Century A.D., normally on view in the Archaeological Museums of Corinth and Athens.

If ever you are in the Rome area, make every effort to get to Tivoli to see the Villa Adriana, which is a jewel in itself and only a half-hour away from the Eternal City. 

At 5 Euro, prices are nice, while the first Sunday of the month is always free. (The current exhibit costs an extra 7-11 Euro, but if you go on November 2nd, you can see both without paying a cent!)

These Caryatids, the female shaped columns of ancient Greece, once completely surrounded Hadrian's Canopus, thus mixing the Hellenistic with the Egyptian! (The Canopo was a sort of luxury resort in ancient Egypt, so renowned in the Mediterranean world that Hadrian decided to copy it on his villa grounds.)

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Weekend Perspective: Faith, Football and...

Basilica di Santa Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome.

(Click photo to enlarge.)

Thinking about #Argentina and

#CAR 

#SouthSudan

#Gaza #Palestine 

#Israel 

#Syria #Iraq 

#Ukraine 

#notjustfootball

Weekend Perspective: Faith and Football

In cultures around the world, soccer (football for everyone else) has long been as much a part of daily life as religion. Often during my travels, I never lack for occasions to observe both remarkable religious structures and young people playing the game. Morocco is no exception, and although the country has not qualified for the World Cup since 1998, the passion for this universal sport is always front and center.

(Click for larger photos and slideshow.)

The former Synagogue in El Jadida, 

whose Jewish community was once so sizable

it boasted 12 Jewish temples.

Whether in a tiny, colorful medina alleyway, or on a desolate street whose modern decay contrasts to what is just inside the old city walls, soccer pitches both improvised and planned are as common here as churches are in Italian cities. Snapshots of the Moroccan urban landscape reveal a continuous hodge-podge of shops, houses and playing "fields," with the mosques, former synagogues, and rare church acting as its hinges. 

See more photos and read about my visit to Morocco in Back to the Maghreb

Casablanca's Grand Mosque Hassan II.

A mother and her children pass below one of the arcades that compose the Hassan II complex.

Weekend Perspective: The Promise of Summer

Summer starts tomorrow... Break up the workday with a five-minute escape to the castles, grottoes and mini faraglioni of Monte Argentario, Tuscany! 

(Click to enlarge and see slideshow.)

An Aragonese castle, one of several on this promontory that was once a Spanish conquest. Today, Americans and other foreign nationals have done a little conquering of their own by making second homes out of the strongholds.

These tiny seastacks remind me of their larger counterparts off the coasts of Sicily and the Campanian island of Capri.

Getting to know Argentario's thousands of unique nooks, crannies and formations is, to me, akin to a hard-core version of cloud-watching.

You can't see it so very well in this photo, but in the upper left is a natural arch that in person resembles a couple mid-kiss!

View Monte Argentario from afar here.

Weekend Perspective: Italy, Rain or Shine

Storm's a-brewin' in soul-stirring Syracuse.

The Island of Ortygia along Porto di Siracusa, Sicily.

(Click photo to enlarge.)

Late morning: Brightly-colored fishing nets 
match the lively pastels of the houses 
and palazzi lining Giglio Harbor. 

(More on the island of Giglio.)