Author Archives: Uncomely and Broken

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About Uncomely and Broken

I am a classicist in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Inscriptions in Sutri

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

In the town hall of Sutri, one sees many an ancient inscription cemented into the walls. Somewhere, sometime, somebody on the world-wide web will care about these, and so, my friend, this is for you.                     

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Facing Demons in Etruria

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

Out to Fiumcino airport I went, thinking it would be easier to deal with a car rental there and get on to the E80 to Cerveteri and Tarquinia to look at the Etruscan tombs. Alas, Avis at FCO was an … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Boston, Cemeteries & Funerals, Classics, England, Italy, Language & Etymology, Music, Mythology, Oxford, Poetry, Rome, Sports & Games, Time | 1 Comment

The Most Dantean Thing I Saw in Florence

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

… was not Dante’s house, although I admired that it was on Via Dante Aligheri, and appreciated that the quotations from the Commedia carved in stone and set into the nearby buildings. Inside the Casa is a Museo that, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Florence, Italy, Music, Poetry, Saints, Statues & Monuments, Time, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Through Transpadene Gaul by Rail

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

I was on my way to Lausanne from Milan by train, and instead of reading the book I had with me, decided to look on the window instead. There’s not too much to see at first.  The trainyard isn’t all … Continue reading →

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Some Gestures Observed

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

As everyone knows, Italians have a lively language of gesture. A few I observed, in context, during this recent trip: 1. Get Lost Hand Chop. I was on a train when a woman got on and systematically handed out pieces … Continue reading →

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A Foot and a Finger in Milan

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

Finding myself with a few hours in Milan between trains, I made a bee-line for the famous cathedral. Out of the subway I came and… Ecce Duomo!   It’s an astounding place, it’s white marble exterior covered with sculpture, and its … Continue reading →

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Protected: Traces of Galileo 

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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Uh huh, Cellini’s Perseus

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

Me and Doctor Freud know what you’re up to with the position of that harpe, Benvenuto!      This sight of Medusa’s head makes the spectator stiff with terror, turns him to stone. Observe that we have here once again … Continue reading →

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Theodore Parker’s Grave, 2015

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

I went up to the English Cemetery on Piazzale Donatello this afternoon to look at the tombstone of Theodore Parker. It’s a bit of a misnomer, Cimitero Inglese, as it’s really a graveyard for Swiss Protestants. But it is the … Continue reading →

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Notes on Florence

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Uncomely and Broken

A Room with a View … and Voices I’ve arrived to the Istituto Gould, where I’m staying in Oltrarno. It is a Waldensian institution, that is, a pre-Reformation Protestant sect that was mercilessly treated by the Church, despite their piety … Continue reading →

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