People of Pisa

On the way back home to Rome from the Cinque Terre with my friend Erica who is visiting, we made a long afternoon stop in Pisa yesterday.  Most people follow Mr. Rick Steves' advice and take the bus from the train station to Campo dei Miracoli (Piazza del Duomo) and only see one piece of a rather large city.  Erika and I ventured out beyond the crazy crowds beneath the leaning bell tower (with the help of Trip Advisor) and saw a modern mural by American artist Keith Haring, and walked through what seemed to be mostly locals milling about after work on Friday evening.  It really is worth it to get out of the tourist zone and this trip was no exception.

But even so, the Piazza del Duomo which houses the Baptistry (they think the architects meant for it to be used as a musical instrument - apparently it echoes so long you can sing a chord by yourself!), the Duomo, the bell tower (the main attraction), the largest, cleanest, greenest lawn I've seen in Italy, and the cemetery were pretty amazing because we read quite a bit about each building and their history.  Mr. Steves makes an interesting point: this piazza is chiefly important because of its long-standing history, and because it is the Pisan life from birth to death.  Pretty interesting!  The architecture (1000-1300 or so) is Pisan Romanesque which draws from influences all over the world, most notably Gothic and Islamic art.  Marbled designs, sharp edges, light color, beautiful mosaics, and much attention to detail were all a wonderful sight to see.  It turns out all the buildings are sinking (in different directions), and that the "leaning tower" most known by the world was built in three different centuries.  I enjoyed Pisa much more than I thought I would and next time I will definitely go inside the baptistry and cathedral.  Timing and blistering heat kept us from staying and exploring the inside this time.

Of course, the best moments were watching droves of tourists acting like total fools to get their "Pisa pic" with the tower - pretty soon, I shifted my attention to the acts of idiocy in the name of tourism instead of the sights to be seen.

I call this collection "The People of Pisa:"

Unfortunately missed: a girl backing up with her butt to the tower, and another girl doing some weird dance/erotic move up against it.  Not quick enough on the trigger, but I'll never forget them.

Of course, just to be a hypocrite...

Let's FINISH this!

Seriously!  Go to Pisa and stay a while. 

We are still learning 5000 year-old lessons...

Buon estate a tutti (Happy summer, everybody)!

In a continued (and recently renewed) effort to become a more read individual, I finally marked one off my list today that was recommended to me three years ago: The Epic of Gilgamesh.  Not one with which you are familiar?  Neither was I.  I read Beowulf twice in school, but that was the extent of epics and ancient literature for me until I was introduced to the Enuma Elish in college (with which one can draw fascinating parallels to sacred text creation stories).

The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered to be the oldest story on earth - dating back to almost 3000 BCE, and was found on 11 stone tablets in Mesopotamia (the origins of the Enuma Elish as well).  The themes of loyalty, power-hungriness, friendship, revenge, and search for meaning are all present in large quantities, and it is interesting (and maybe depressing, too) to think that these are all themes in modern life, almost 5000 years later.

However, given the current state of our world where it seems as if almost every nation is at war with someone, the most impacting theme I saw in the epic today was one of creating an understanding of gray area: that people can change, that you can change, and that there might not be absolute truth in all things.  This was the most difficult, but important, lesson I learned in my 20s and it has continued to impact everything about my life from my politics and religion to my friendships and how I choose to spend my time.

This quote especially reminded me of the current Israel-Palestine violence that has escalated this week and my (and I trust everyone's) hope for a peaceful outcome:

"Gilgamesh spoke to Utanapishtim, the Faraway:
'I have been looking at you,
but your appearance is not strange--you are like me!
You yourself are not different--you are like me!
My mind was resolved to fight with you,
(but instead?) my arm lies useless over you.
Tell me, how is it that you stand in the Assembly of the Gods,
and have found life!'"  (Tablet XI)

The EOG is definitely worth a read, especially about halfway through when the two male "macho men" in the story shred the Bull of Heaven to pieces and throw the hindquarters at the lady who tried to kill them with said Bull...all because Gilgamesh wouldn't marry her.  I was laughing out loud.

Next up: a little Italo Calvino reading (not in the original Italian yet...but I have hopes I can start soon with that)...