Verona on the Potomac

I don't know what made me think of Verona yesterday, but something reminded me of ~~~ 

~~~ One day many years ago, I was walking in downtown Verona, Italy. I don't really know the city, so I had a street map and I was intently following the route to my destination when I looked up and saw that I was walking right alongside the city's Roman amphitheater, built in the first century C.E. ~~~

~~~ For many Veronesi (and for people in some other cities throughout Italy and southern France [like Nimes and Arles]), this brush with the works of ancient Romans (and their slaves!) is an everyday occurrence. But for someone from the "New World" to suddenly and accidentally come upon a huge Roman colosseum is jarring -- and thrilling. Opera season ended last month, but it seems "Aida" (a pumped-up Romeo-and-Juliette story itself) plays in the Verona Arena almost every summer, and it often looks -- and sounds -- a lot like this: 

      ~~~ As for us, every 250 years, with 2026 being the inaugural year, we have cage matches in the Dear Leader's back yard: ~~~

 

And sponsors! ~~~

 

Oh, and gladiators. And a stupid, useless, cruel dictator: ~~
 

     ~~~ So it's back to the Romans, after all. The Verona amphitheater was built as a showcase for gladiator fights. The difference is, the Veronesi got a lot more civilized over the past 2,000 years. We, on the other hand, are regressing. Fast.

As for our own antiquity, we don't have much. But when we find it, we bulldoze it, particularly if it lies in the path of one of the Dear Leader's vanity projects. ~~~

Satellite image of the Las Playas Intaglio -- Before Trump.

~~~ Suzanne Gamboa of NBC News (September 29): “An ancient ground carving that was severely damaged by the administration’s border wall construction was created before Stonehenge and Egypt’s oldest pyramid, according to recently publicized research. The Las Playas Intaglio, a giant fish carved into the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, is now considered the oldest example in the Americas of a geoglyphic, the ancient art form that is carved into or drawn on the ground. In April, contractors hired by the Trump administration to make way for a second wall along the Arizona-Mexico border 'scraped' a 50-foot swath through the ancient carving, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, which documented the damage.” Thanks to RAS for the lead.