Yesterday, I promised Satan munching on human snacks. The day has come. The Satan pic is directly below the Jesus picture in the upper right corner of the mosaic below. Enjoy.

When as I was going through these pictures, I was reminded of how much I admired the craftsmanship on display at all of the places we visited in Italy. And… it reminded me of how little we strive to make things beautiful in the United States. This seems particularly striking to me while I was driving down Colerain Ave. in Cincinnati. It’s a massive 4 lane road, that somehow also manages to be monstrously congested, and lined with oceans of dingy strip malls. It’s at once boring and chaotic, and particular mix that seems difficult to achieve. It’s disgusting.

And it’s not hard to see why Americans don’t value place. It’s because all the visual queues tell them those spaces are throwaway. The roads and parking lots are made for cars and not people. The buildings are constructed in the cheapest possible way. Construction from the 90’s is already looking dilapidated. Everything thing about this space is constructed for the maximum extraction of value.

I suspect that this is really just an offshoot of a larger truth. Italians value history over progress. They value quality over quantity. They value people over capital. America is in contrast on each of these. And seeing a culture that has chosen differently, reminds me that these are choices rather than forgone conclusions.

This was the ceiling of the Baptistry of the Duomo.

Satan munching on humans! It’s unfortunate that the scaffolding is obscuring him a bit.

St Sabastian is really not having a great time here. I assume this is St Sabastian. Honestly, don’t take my word for it.

This isn’t creepy at all.

I shot this to illustrate how much they need to work on this building. I suspect air pollution causes this, and cleaning it off requires loads of money.

This is Adam having a sad.

And this is Eve shamefully covering her face. It was hard to see that mostly because 100s of years later, women still get paid around 75 percent less than men.

Statues on the facade of the Duomo

This is a particularly resigned pope.

This was the altar in the sanctuary of The Duomo. As I have said elsewhere, the Duomo was not as ornate as I was expecting it to be considering how elaborate the exterior and the inside of The Baptistry are.

You’re welcome Kathy and Claire.

It’s all painted – this is a quote from our tour guide in The Vatican. More on that in future posts. This is the steeple of the Duomo, and it is literally painted.

This mosaic work was stunning.

The craftsmanship in these floors is remarkable.

The deli that we visited in gathering picnic provisions.

Bobby is currently making excellent choices for the meats we enjoyed at Michelangelo park.

Ponte Vecchio from afar.

That’s the old city wall.

The Duomo from afar.

That’s the Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi is there too, but not as recognizable.

Ponte Vecchio a bit closer.

Sunset.

The Duomo at sunset.

Ponte Vecchio at sunset.