Seeing religion in a fresh light, sort of speak, has opened me up to a new way of looking at this little medieval town. Maybe Roberto Benigni was right, religion can be sexy; at least, someone else must have thought so as well since next door to the National Gallery, a desanctified medieval church has been converted into a lingerie store.
In the display window, directly beneath a sculpted stone cross, two headless mannequins sport La Perla bras and see-through panties.
Photo by David Lansing
Next door is a jewelry shop. When I go inside, two English women are examining a stunning antique diamond ring. “If my husband gave that to me,” says one of the women, “I’d know immediately that he’d been very, very bad.”
“Yes, but would you forgive him?” asks the other woman.
“Of course.” Long pause. “After making him do a little penance.”
The two women giggle at their naughtiness.
So how is this different from the religious medieval art I looked at yesterday, most of which was commissioned hundreds of years ago by very, very bad men? Back then, bad boys paid Pintoricchio or Perugina to paint a portrait of the Madonna and Child for the church to buy a little forgiveness; today they would buy an antique diamond ring.
Sin, sex, god; in Italy it’s an age-old trinity pre-dating Christianity.
-
I had this crazy landlady who had been married five times. She was suing her last husband for attempted murder – he was a police psychologist. Marilyn always maintained that men were so stupid when it came to having an affair.
Their greatest stupidity was being cheap and bringing the mistress into the house when the wife was away. “The moment you cross the threshold you can tell when another broad has been in your house. They never use the same hairspray as you…”
Other telltale signs where when a man did the laundry, changed the sheets or bought new underwear for himself.
I learned a lot from Marilyn.
Comments are now closed.
Loading ...
Jamaica
Vanuatu
Scotland
1 comment