Saturday 10 May: Archaeology, absinthe, and glass

I did some more work at the Theater of Marcellus and Temple of Apollo today, looking for specific iconographic motifs that might be visible on the exposed ruins. They’re still working on parts of the Portico of Octavia, which was a huge complex. There could be some promising stuff waiting to be found there. I hope so; it will be another excuse to come back to Rome!

On the way back, I stopped at a caffè in Trastevere and struck up a conversation with two American college lads. John Cabot University is in Trastevere, right around the corner, and students come here and study for a semester, a year, however long they can convince their parents to fund them. These guys were bewailing their terrible absinthe hangovers. There is no drinking age in Italy, at least none that I have ever seen enforced, and it is not unusual to see teenagers (and younger), usually American, taking advantage of this. Also, absinthe has made a big comeback in Europe. Most EU countries lifted their bans on it in the ‘90’s. Now, there are a lot of myths and half-truths about absinthe. First, it has never been illegal to possess or drink it in the USA; only illegal to sell it (this is no longer true). Second, the hallucinogenic and narcotic effects of its primary component, artemisia absynthum or wormwood, have been greatly exaggerated. The real reason people become so ill from absinthe is the alcohol content: usually at least sixty percent, and sometimes as high as eighty. That’s 160 proof, worse than 151 rum. Of course you will become ill if you do several shots of it, and these two young scholars apparently drank a bottle each. They asked me for a hangover remedy; I recommended caffè corretto, with a shot of grappa. In their condition, I figured it couldn’t hurt.

Out for a walk around the ‘hood in the afternoon, I came across W&T Arte, a great little store selling handmade glass. It features lamps, light fixtures, jewelry, and other items made of blown glass and glass beads. The stuff is absolutely beautiful, and there are several lighting fixtures with glass beadwork in teal, turquoise, and sea greens and blues. One of these would look fantastic in our living room. I think I have discovered the perfect souvenir! Take a look at the shops website at http://wtarte.tripod.com/.