nobody puts Gallienus in a corner!
Okay, I'm going to indulge myself in two teensy little rants today:
First, evidently Ferragosto is more like Chanukah than like Christmas: it can't be contained in just one measly little day. At least, that's the only explanation I can come up with for why the damn Auditorium of Maecenas was closed when I tried to visit it. I stood there at the locked gate, staring forlornly at the sign with the dates and times marked on it: open every day except Monday (it was Tuesday) after 9 AM (it was 10 AM). Maybe they figured that, hey, it's only the measly Auditorium of Maecenas, not the Colosseum; only real archaeology geeks want to see it; and screw 'em. Bleah.
Second, what's the deal with the Italians and making change? Seriously; I know that this is a cliche, but it's absolutely bizarre. I went to Feltrinelli (Italian for "Borders") to buy the 2005 Gambero Rosso guide to Rome, and the clerk gave me massive amounts of attitude because I was paying for 25 euros worth of books with a 50-euro bill. If it were a bar or a little shop, I might understand: the owner doesn't want to schlep all the way down to the bank to get change every morning; that's valuable cappucino-drinking time wasted on customer service. But this is a big store! I've gotta figure that there's no logic here; just the reflex to defend her precious, precious change, and wrath at the customer who's just there to screw everything up...
Okay, enough ranting. Here's a photo I took on my walk yesterday. From the Esquiline, it's the so-called "Arch of Gallienus". So-called because while it has an inscription honoring the emperor. But it's actually one of the city gates of the old Servian wall, pimped up into a triumphal arch. Nowadays, it's in pretty bad shape, which is what I sort of like about it; it's kind of a seedy, broken-down ol' arch, wedged between a church and a block of apartments. Sure, it needs a little TLC, and nobody pays a lot of attention to it nowadays, but it's still standing, dammit!
It's sort of like Gallienus himself. The guy was in power from 253-268, which alone makes him one of the more successful rulers during the "Crisis of the Third Century," aka "Rome, It Sucks To Be You Right Now." He doesn't get a lot of respect, and pretty much only ancient historians even know much about him nowadays. (And he isn't even a punchline, like that other -ienus emperor. You know the one I mean.) But as ruler in a horrible period of Roman history he had his work cut out for him just keeping things from really going to hell in a handbasket, and he put into place a lot of reforms that were followed up by Aurelian and Diocletian and that put the empire on a firm footing again. So I give him props: you go, Gallienus!
First, evidently Ferragosto is more like Chanukah than like Christmas: it can't be contained in just one measly little day. At least, that's the only explanation I can come up with for why the damn Auditorium of Maecenas was closed when I tried to visit it. I stood there at the locked gate, staring forlornly at the sign with the dates and times marked on it: open every day except Monday (it was Tuesday) after 9 AM (it was 10 AM). Maybe they figured that, hey, it's only the measly Auditorium of Maecenas, not the Colosseum; only real archaeology geeks want to see it; and screw 'em. Bleah.
Second, what's the deal with the Italians and making change? Seriously; I know that this is a cliche, but it's absolutely bizarre. I went to Feltrinelli (Italian for "Borders") to buy the 2005 Gambero Rosso guide to Rome, and the clerk gave me massive amounts of attitude because I was paying for 25 euros worth of books with a 50-euro bill. If it were a bar or a little shop, I might understand: the owner doesn't want to schlep all the way down to the bank to get change every morning; that's valuable cappucino-drinking time wasted on customer service. But this is a big store! I've gotta figure that there's no logic here; just the reflex to defend her precious, precious change, and wrath at the customer who's just there to screw everything up...
Okay, enough ranting. Here's a photo I took on my walk yesterday. From the Esquiline, it's the so-called "Arch of Gallienus". So-called because while it has an inscription honoring the emperor. But it's actually one of the city gates of the old Servian wall, pimped up into a triumphal arch. Nowadays, it's in pretty bad shape, which is what I sort of like about it; it's kind of a seedy, broken-down ol' arch, wedged between a church and a block of apartments. Sure, it needs a little TLC, and nobody pays a lot of attention to it nowadays, but it's still standing, dammit!
It's sort of like Gallienus himself. The guy was in power from 253-268, which alone makes him one of the more successful rulers during the "Crisis of the Third Century," aka "Rome, It Sucks To Be You Right Now." He doesn't get a lot of respect, and pretty much only ancient historians even know much about him nowadays. (And he isn't even a punchline, like that other -ienus emperor. You know the one I mean.) But as ruler in a horrible period of Roman history he had his work cut out for him just keeping things from really going to hell in a handbasket, and he put into place a lot of reforms that were followed up by Aurelian and Diocletian and that put the empire on a firm footing again. So I give him props: you go, Gallienus!
posted by Andrew | 5:57 PM
1 Comments:
Poopy anus!
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