Lately there has been a general decline in the number of times folks collar me to ask what Italians think of Americans. These days, the Italians in my village are too troubled with their own um—for lack of a better word—“leadership”, not to mention the slumping, dead-in-the-water economy.
I was thinking of this when I remembered the picture over there to the right (click to see it bigger). It was part of an art display that caught my eye as I searched for the entrance to the Naples Underground excavations below the Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore, located at the exact center of the Greco-Roman city.
The artist wanted to know if an American like me “got” the art. Well, certainly I got this one. And they’re right, the dollar will probably never be the same again; all bow to Goldman Sachs. We know they won’t quit until the even the butterfly loses interest in the greenback.
Another thing I noticed is that Italian art is like Italian food. It’s simple, direct, and to the point. There’s not a lot of ingredients. You don’t stew in it for hours. After, you go out for coffee…
In any case, you should forget the wallowing dollar and make an effort to get below Naples at any cost. It’s quite interesting. As in many Italian cities, people have been digging out soft limestone underbellies for years. They’ve made bomb shelters, dovecotes, wine cellars. Along the way they’ve discovered that other folks have been carving out the same territory; ancient Greeks and Romans had the same ideas. You can go underground in Rome, Orvietto, and Naples and probably a bunch of other cities built on soft rock.
The other interesting thing is that the folks who keep the Naples underground going are volunteers. It makes sense—if the Italian government financed every archaeological excavation and visitor center they wouldn’t have money left to repair their leader’s faces after irate and ignored citizens smash them with Duomo statues.
Of course, through these volunteer organizations you can explore the whole underground thing in Italy virtually. Try Napoli Underground for example. One of its members is Larry Ray. I bet you can’t guess what Larry does. He’s a Gourd Artist. As someone who’s lost his gourd years ago, I can dig what Larry does. Besides making some incredible art out of inedible squash, Larry has written the history of some of the stuff that gets discovered under Naples. Check out Larry Ray’s Site then read the stuff Larry has penned about the underground history in Naples, Italy
There are some mighty fascinating people in the world. You should go visit them. They tend to live in some interesting places. To hell with the dollar. Just go.