When in Rome-3

Now, yesterday after getting back and napping (don't you hate it when you wake up even more tired?) we went out to dutifully search for a supermercato. John had given us a few places to check out and we thought it was time to start stocking the apartment larder. As usual, our carefully copied directions proved fruitless in the long run, though I believe we were in the general area. Luckily, in Rome, you always end up somewhere worth being (and I think we're getting better at navigating this organically grown civic labyrinth). We spotted a cooperative owned market and grabbed some supplies. Unlike WalMart or Target, there isn't one large room organized into separate aisles and sections. It's mostly living room sized areas connected by doorways and at least one escalator. Sort of like a mini-Rome with food, not sure what's going to be around the corner but there's probably something you want. Found a few familiar brands of beer (Belgian ales mostly) as well as the Lavazza brand of coffee we use at the restaurant. But we limited ourselves to some pasta, fruit, and some cookies (gotta have breakfast, right?). On the way back, we stopped at Ciao Checca which is Italian fast-food, I guess. But that basically means it's normal food cooked quickly and served in to-go boxes. Had an Italian lager (fine, but nothing to write home about. Oh wait...) and Catherine had blood-orange juice with a little bit of pampelmo.  And we both ordered ravioli which was pretty tasty. The seating area was strangely reminiscent of 2001:A Space Odyssey with sheer, white walls and large glass panes opening onto the street.

Today we went out in search of the Jesuit Curiae (the other location where Catherine will be doing archival work) which turns out to be right next/in Vatican City (I never can tell). For baby transportation, we tried the stroller today which Martina had provided for us. For the most part, he was pretty chill about the whole operation. I think he is experiencing sensory overload most of the time (I know I am). He even slept a bit while we were walking around. We found ourselves turned around more than once but we managed to find our way there and track down those wily Jesuits. Again, there is no way I can talk about everything we saw today but I hope to pick out a few places in the next weeks to really get good pictures of and describe. The highlights for today were crossing the Tiber for the first time (which included some magnificent bridges), and entering St. Peter's square (again, going to wait until I've been there a few times before trying to talk about it).

What struck me today was the whirligig character of Roman (and especially Vatican) crowds. With so much truly historic and sacred art and architecture, there is an abundance of unrelated spectacle. For instance, besides the innumerable souvenir carts and shops, I saw a performance artist dressed as the Grim Reaper smoking a cigarette. I think people are partly drawn here because they want to be associated with something worth seeing. Something of permanent visual significance. Along one of the bridges that provide an excellent view of St. Peter's basilica there was also set up a massive car advertisement that prevented you from seeing the former without the latter. But maybe Walter Benjamin's distinction is helpful here. Sacred art is that which is not infinitely reproducible and has a presence which remains even when veiled or not looked at. Advertisements and performances cease when they lose their audience, but the functionality of churches, religious artwork, or even catacombs and sarcophagi persist even apart from their use as photogenic background material for hollow selves.

We enjoyed a lazy late lunch close to our apartment. As usual, Stephen has declared himself the Prince of all Romans and received his due worship from the waiters and customers. This baby is getting heavier. He's even somewhat crawling. Great strides. We're heading out for another grocery run. This time we'll probably make it.