calvisson-leblon

However, the party did not last long, because these beautiful people had unintentionally built their posh spa resorts and dream villas on an active super-volcano.   The upheaval of the Phlegraean Fields may be regarded as a harbinger of the down-fall of the Roman Empire.   I was only vaguely aware of the archeology and volcanism of the Phlegraean Fields until I paid a visit.   In May 2024, the international press had reported that hundreds of mild earthquakes had frightened the population of Naples.   At present, one million people live on an active volcano that they do not see!                                            Geological map of the Campi Flegrei Caldera  Located west of Naples, the Phlegraean Fields form a volcanic arc which encompasses the sinister Mount Vesuvius, and the idyllic island of Ischia.   The 39,000-year-old caldera of the s...

  Without horses, English and a pair of scissors, Coco Chanel (1883-1971) would never have been the successful entrepreneur and the fashion icon she is hailed today.   In her early life in Auvergne, she dated a rich cavalry officer and learned to ride and love horses.   As a matter of fact, the French “mettre le pied à l’ é trier (put one’s foot on the stirrup) means winning one’s spurs and getting started in life.   She was also a committed Anglophile, she opened her business horizon by learning to speak and write English, an uncommon feat for a female orphan from central France.   Last but not least, Coco had always a pair of scissors hanging from her neck.   She neither sketched nor designed her clothes (she could not draw), instead, a model was made based on her recommendations.   Since it seldom pleased her, she took her scissors to remodel it to her taste in an act of destructive fitting.   She also enjoyed to cut down to size her rivals ...

“Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt”, wrote Juvenal, a farsighted poet of Ancient Rome.   Kings, emperors, political leaders, and autocrats of many hues have used this pork-barrel stratagem to keep peace and stay in power. Wheat to make bread is no longer distributed in the streets of Rome.   Now, in Italy and in a large number of countries, it has been replaced by more sophisticated welfare handouts like food stamps.   Consequently, these social benefits have become entitlements.   During the Roman Republic, Ludi romana were public games which took place in circuses.   Initially religious offerings quickly morphed into political events paid by rich sponsors intended to share their wealth with the populus or politicians who sought forgiveness from them.   Brutus, Julius Caesar’s assassin, organized annual games to endear himself to the Romans.   He was soon upstaged by the grandiose games sponsored by Octavian/Augustus to celebr...

Forgery has always been an integral component of the art world.   As a matter of fact, it gives art an energizing roguish dimension.   In the matter of art fakery, the city of Arles in Provence has reached a new level.   Vincent Van Gogh spent over a year (1888-89) in Arles where he produced some 200 works.   S everal sites of his iconic paintings no longer exist.   The city was heavily bombed in WW2.   The house where Van Gogh and Gauguin had lived was flattened, so was the café where he got high on cheap absinthe and chatted up prostitutes.   The café, painting of which is titled Terrace of a Caf é at Night ( Café la Nuit ) had stood on Place Lamartine.   Van Gogh also painted its interior Café at Night . This destruction gave ideas to three creative local entrepreneurs who made an identical replica of the café on the Place du Forum, the most central part of the city.  The fraud paid, tourists flocked to see Vincent’s caf é , business ...

  Since I began paying attention to paintings, stimulated by my aunt who offered me art books for Xmas, I took a liking to the Flemish masters.   I was impressed by their color-photo-precision quality and the balance between cheerful realism and mythical symbolism.   One painter in particular fascinated me: Johannes Vermeer. His canvas inspired meditation.   His serene female sitters, and the purity of light of his city and interior scenes were very distinctive from those produced by other Flemish painters.   For me Vermeer’s painting style was fresh and a world apart from that of the period.   The Girl with a Pearl Earring (c.1665) was my most beloved painting.   The beauty and mystery of the girl had an overpowering effect on me.   The painting was lost for 200 years but reappeared in 1902 when it was purchased for a few guilders.   Tracy Chevalier gave flesh to The Girl , the historical novel captivated me and started the craze. But ...

People commonly say that “Brazil is not for beginners”.   It means that there are such bizarre and unique situations in which only a native can understand and deal with it.   In terms of Brazilian oddity standards, Rio beats all the other cities.   The reaction of its inhabitants is typically a blasé shrug.   Lately, the catalogue of attention-grabbing news has unexpectedly outraged or amazed the Cariocas. A major happening was Madonna’s Celebration Tour concert.   An estimated 1.6 m revelers flocked to Copacabana Beach to wish the Material Girl a happy 40 year-long career anniversary.   I was not one of them, I went to bed early.   Not only was the concert free, a milestone in the entertainment business, but it took place peacefully in a city notorious for its commonplace violence.   Rumor has it that Madonna was paid a US$ 3.3m fee; Itau Bank sponsored the concert (US$ 12m, an estimate), with the states and city of Rio providing a tenth of tha...