Italia and other thoughts ...

I'm trying my damnedest, as many others are, to avoid plunging into the treacherous waters surrounding the current state of affairs in this country. I just don't feel as though adding my voice to the argument will amount to squat. But I'm hurting. These are deeply disturbing times. The only time I can ever remember feeling this unsettled was in Iraq. I didn't care for it then; I don't care for it sixteen years later. I heard a good analogy a couple nights ago used by Hassan Minhaj ... "Too many tabs open." I definitely have too many tabs open. Closing them and not reopening them is the tough part. But I must try.

To that end, Italy ...

This magnificent watch tower is located above the hill town of Brisighella. It's the lowest of three structures situated above the town, the second being an actual fortress (the Rocco Manfredi). The third is a church. And in End of Days (the sequel to Vendetta), this particular watch tower plays a fairly pivotal role in derailing the (relative) peace and tranquility of Angelo Anchioni and Stuart Heton. Of course, it probably didn't look like this in 1377. But it's historical 'fiction,' so I get a little leeway.

Brisighella is in the Emilia-Romagna, a few miles south of Faenza. If you ever find yourself in that part of Italy, go visit. It will not disappoint. The weekend we happened to be there coincided with a festival celebrating a very old breed of local pigs (Romagnola, maybe). It turned out to be a stunning display of poor planning and crowd control. At one point --when we had finally found a place to sit -- a local lady looked at me, mopped her brow, and said, "Quel disastro!" But the food was magnificent ...