At one end of our Piazza there is a church – La Santa Croce. At the other end is the ‘Commune’ (The government building) The church is about 200 years old. The locals tend not to get married in the church nowadays – they go to the ‘Commune’ instead. However Baptisms, Confirmations and Funeral proceedings still win the day in the Santa Croce. I don’t know how the locals behave with the Friday meat question, or the Confessional thing and “sins below the belt” in these times. My Italian is not good enough to understand their answers, if I were to ask. One thing I did understand was: last night, the Church hosted a concert. (See photo above) About 30 singers from America, the Symphonic Orchestra from Florence…three pieces of Mozart with an encore Mozart piece were performed that would make a grown man weep. All for FREE. The church was packed by Locals and the 9:00 concert started the customary 40 minutes late. Imagine such a thing in this time of need and greed. After the concert was over I went home and turned on the TV to catch up on the news. There was a piece about how the White House is hosting an Ultimate Fight Club event on the President’s birthday, right there on the front lawn. The event will cost somebody millions of dollars. The Secretary of War has said some U.S. soldiers, if they are fit enough and can afford to pay their transportation, can come and watch for free. And I thought one of my two worlds is approaching Beauty and the other has gone towards a certain Crassness. But maybe it’s just a mood I’m in.
