Ok, so the new year has been rung in and you’re probably rung out. I know I am. Why my neighbors need to shoot bullets into the air deep into the night the calendar runs out I’ll probably never understand. I hope none of the bullets fell to earth near someone who wasn’t shooting off a gun. America. You got to love us when we’re defending our right to be stupid with handguns.
In any case, for those of you planning vacations for spring or early summer, listen up. There are a couple of things on display you don’t see very often.
First off are the Stone Age Venus Figurines on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Ancona:
All were uncovered in the Marche region but date from different cultures and times, with the oldest figure created some 25,000 years ago and the most recent around the fifth millennium BC.
Well, unless you’ve been staring too long at a picture of me, you won’t be able to gawk at many compelling objects that old.
While you’re looking at these obese, nude female figures, think of how much stone age fecundity depended on being fed well. Think of how successful a small scale society could be if it efficiently created abundance. Fat was different then. There were no pilates, not even on the foreseeable horizon.
The exhibition, which runs until March 30, is called ‘‘Donne o Dee? Le figure femminili preistoriche nelle Marche’‘ (Women Or Goddesses? Prehistoric Female Figures in the Marche). Read more
Here’s information in Italian from the Museum.
Turin Shroud on Display
Did you know that they only put the Shroud of Turn on display every once in a while? In fact, it’s been about 10 years now. If you’re planning a spring vacation, you’re in luck:
In 2010 the Shroud of Turin will be on display in the Turin Cathedral from April 10 to May 23. While there’s no cost to view the Shroud, you must have a reservation. ~ Shroud of Turin Visiting Information
Have a happy 2010.