CHIAVARI, Italy – It’s the end of the year, not much
is happening. Christmas is over and everyone seems to be quietly waiting for
2014 to see what surprises it is going to bring. To say things are moving
pretty slowly in Chiavari would probably sum it up nicely but in other parts of
Italy, like Florence and Rome, it’s a little different. Things seem to be
pretty much on track there. Here are two bits and a bob from those two cities
that you might find interesting.
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| Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze |
The First Bit. . . . is from Florence, Italy
The Biblioteca Nazionale in Florence
Italy is currently hosting a Nicolo’ Machiavelli exhibition. You remember him,
the Florentine writer, astute statesman, humanist, Italian historian, philosopher, ruthless power monger,
father of political science, cunning schemer and unscrupulous politician who
wrote that best selling treatise on how to get and keep power. Of course he
wrote it 500 years ago, but it’s still a best seller in some political circles.
Among the exhibit
highlights are an autographed manuscript of Machiavelli’s L’arte della
guerra, which has been called a Manual for Gangsters, and the original
warrant for Machiavelli’s arrest in 1513. But perhaps the most interesting part
of the exhibit is the Tavola Doria, a depiction of the central scene of
Leonardo da Vinci’s Battle of Anghiari. The massive mural, which is now
lost, was commissioned in 1503 to commemorate the Florentine Signoria’s
glorious victory over the troops of the Milanese army in 1440.
La via al ‘Principe’:
Niccolò Machiavelli da Firenze a San Casciano
Until February 28, 2014
Biblioteca Nazionale (via
Magliabechi entrance), Florence
Free
entrance
The Second Bit . . . . is from Rome, Italy
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| Run Inna, Run |
Inna Shevchenko, a well
known pro-abortion activist and leader of the Ukrainian women's movement Femen,
was stopped and arrested this week by Italian police while trying to enter St.
Peter’s Square in Rome to protest the church’s anti-abortion policy. The semi-nude activist tried to wiggle away as
she shouted pro- abortion slogans but police quickly wrapped her in a blanket and
hustled her off into a police car.
Femen is an anti-Christian,
anti-Muslim feminist protest group that originated in the Ukraine but is
currently headquartered in Paris. They are well known in Europe for their
controversial topless protests against sex tourism, religious institutions, international
marriage agencies, sexism and other social issues.
Ms. Shevchenko said that
she, and other members of her movement, often take their clothes off to show
police they are not carrying concealed weapons.
And the last bit, or maybe
this one’s a bob . . . . is back in Florence, Italy
.jpg) |
| Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy |
For
those of you who don’t know, in Italy sometimes chestnuts are called marroni, and
marroni are a less than polite name
for a certain portion of a man’s dangling bits. But that isn’t why I found this
bit of etymological research particularly interesting, honest.
In
1282 the historic Torre della Castagna (Tower of the
Chestnuts) in the center of the city of Florence, became the meeting place of
the Florentine Priori delle Arti. The Priori, also
known as the Signoria, was the governing body of the Florentine
Republic.
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| Tower of the Chestnuts, Florence, Italy |
The
members of the Priori delle Arti were elected for two-month
terms, during which time they were not allowed to leave the tower unless in the
company of another member, ensuring that all contact with outsiders was
monitored to reduce the risk of threats or bribery. Now there’s an idea worthy
of revival given the sorry state of politics today.
The Priori were
very influential in the decisions made for the Republic and they used a voting
system similar to the modern day ballot. But instead of using pieces of paper
stuffed in a box, they use chestnuts. The number of chestnuts placed in
small fabric bags indicated the voting preference of each member. In Florentine
dialect boiled chestnuts are known as ballotte - you see where
I’m going with this don’t you - and so there are some scholars who think this
is why ballots are now called ballots. You think?
