"We have a view." (taken as movie, see if you can play.

Venice piazza, children and chalk

Man on Horseback by Mariano Marini at guggenheim

at the Peggy Guggenheim Museo of 20th century art

Breakfast in the room

and wine in the evening.

view from our window of grand canal and Palazzo di Arte e Culturale

vegetable and fruit boat in Venice

Verona. view from shrine to lady of lourdes

Arriving in the roman arena in Verona just as rehearsals were beginning for Nabucco. We watched until rain shut it down.

Angela presented her poem to Barilla corporation

To understand the next bunch of photos, you have to know the history:

1. Barilla the Italian food conglomerate took an ad in the Ravinia Music Festival program quoting Leonardo da Vinci to the effect that music was the highest of the art forms, higher than lowly poetry.

2. Ron Offen, editor of Free Lunch, a national poetry journal, objected and somewhat tongue in cheek threatened that poets would picket Barilla, with signs saying "Barilla unfair to poets!"

3. Sergio Pereira, U.S. marketing VP of Barilla, made peace by offering to co-sponsor with Ron a poetry contest of poems on Italian cooking.

4. Out of some 400 entries, Angela's poem, "Let the Tomatoes Come to You" was chosen as the winner.

5. Angela was invited to Barilla headquarters in Parma, Italy, to visit and to present her poem.

6. Barilla Vice President, Luca welcomed us to the company, gave us a tour and took us to lunch. After hearing the poem, the Vice President of Communications requested permission to reprint it in the company newspaper.

Rewards and Spoils of poetry!

more rewards from poetry

Poetry 'Just' doesn't get anybetter than this!

Our friends and a very famous and significant Italian painting -- something like Design and the Sewing Machine.

Luca Barilla the vice chairman, Angela Just the poet, and Picasso (an original) -- in the board room where she presented her poem

Sterilized for the tour of the Barilla pasta plant

Swimming at the free beach in the bay of naples. Water is cold.

So Leopold Stokowski romanced Greta Garbo here at Villa Cimbrone.

Villa Cimbrone at Ravello, high up on the Amalfi coast has a mysterious, otherworldly beauty.

An ordinary bicycle with the volcano behind

Angela and Vesuvius

Mt Vesuvius has an incredible prescence.

The Suors at Bambino Gesu doing dishes.

Angela conferring with the men of Naples. She seems to feel at home.

Firenze

Beautiful pictures to show and somehow the computer doesn't want to look at them. Angela is in the Tuscan hills sunning, writing and strolling through the day. So I have been off to the city on trusty little bus no. 43b which has to honk and get the opposing cars to back up at every turn. such flexibility on our road ways would do us a lot of good. I have been to the Museo San Marco which is a little out of the mainstream and lightly attended with its incredible collection of frescos -- one in each monk's cell. Most famous is an annunciation and the noli tangere scene with mary magdalene and the recently risen christ. I went to see the cells of the charismatic and fiery monk -- Savonarola who criticized the short comings of the church, got the medicis kicked out and eventually instituted a democratic governement before he was hanged in piazza signorini. when the political fires erupted, he with drew to his cell for prayer and contempation where still today is preserved his hair shirt, flagellation stick and blue cape. the simplity of it all was quite touching to me. outside the botanical gardens are all in bright bloom. so nice. ciao. d & a

Sorento, Bambin Gesu convent, our room with seven beds

Angela in a Pompei garden

dwight using angela's to become Pompei Pizzeria Man

Angela on pedestrian crossing at Pompei

Sorrento, Piazza San Giovannni on the

Isola Bella, Taormina, Neptune rising from the sea at the public beach

At Pippinitto, view of the lemon orchard.

Back in Sicilia for Mount Etna rehab program, Dwight bicycles to find Angela after returning from 2 hour run to the sea.

Sorrento, Vesuvius in the background, at the Grand Hotel Vittoria, Angela and friend.

Serendipitously, we arrive at the very ristorante featured in Godfather I. Visited all the church where Al Pacino was wed.

A day trip with Jutta and Jorgen through the hills of Sicilia.

Dwight and Jutta select seafood for this evening's paella in Santa Venerina.(Jutta's Spanish heritage takes over!)

View of the Mount Etna from Cesare's Pippinitto.

Sicilia. This is a country for old men!

Catania, Sicilia . We ask directions from "nanny" who turns out to be Russian mother, in second life with Napolitan father of darling baby. They take us to breakfast, give us cell phone to call should we need any further help. Va Bene!

A typical dinner at Pippinitto with our new German friends, Jutta and Jurgen -- how lucky for us to share our delightful country kitchen and some cooking times with them.

Santa Venerina -- a typical after dinner time with sweet Sicilian light and Cesare's dogs, Schiva and Pepe.

Santa Venerina, Sicilia -- our host Cesare saves us from buying bad wine at supermercato and rushes us here for the good stuff -- "will 5 liters be enough?"

Santa Venerina, Sicilia, rural hospitality at Pippinitto with our host Cesare "In this moment have arrived more eggs. You must have talked to the chickens!"

East coast of Sicilia, first sighting of The Mt. Etna

Sciacca, sicilia, <<<<<<<"Dolce Far Niente!" (how sweet to do nothing!)

Dwight in an average moment

Sciacca, Sicilia, where English couple, our hosts bought land and built prima casa

Sciacca Sicilia in hills where acres and home will cost euros 30,000

Sciacca, Sicilia, Belvedere bar near bus station where Angela found the bus driver who took us to the dinner where we discussed pope ratzinger

Angela in Agricento near the temple of Demeter