Aventine Hill (Latin, Aventinus; Italian, Aventino)
Caelian Hill (Caelius, Celio)
Capitoline Hill (Capitolinus, Campidoglio)
Esquiline Hill (Esquilinus, Esquilino)
Palatine Hill (Palatinus, Palatino)
Quirinal Hill (Quirinalis, Quirinale)
Viminal Hill (Viminalis, Viminale)
"Italy is strange but also familiar. With its crucifixes, candles, incense,
priestly vestments, carnivals and saints days, Italian [Roman] Catholicism
may seem a bit exotic."
To Garibaldi even! Not to mention Verdi!
As Geary notes, one has to distinguish between the Papal States, and the
rest of Italy! Note that the Vatican, according to Geary, is no longer in
Italy!
A conceptual analysis of this will shed some light. Strictly, The Vatican
refers to the mount, and the mount is in Italy. What Geary is talking about
is the 'spiritual' side, w3 in Popper's parlance.
And so on.
Most of what Italians regard as culture has nothing to do with the Pope,
and of course, they don't see it as exotic!
What SOME found exotic is that the ancient Romans would worship Apollo,
such an exotic god!
While Garibaldi and Verdi may count as 'Republican' (not in the "American"
usage of this), it may well be that for most of its history, Italy was a
conglomerate of different kingdoms (and republics) where the Papal States
never featured THAT large, did they?!
Saints days are also popular in Britain: there's mainly four: George for
England, Patrick for Ireland, Daffidd for Cymru and Andrea for Scozia, the
setting of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor". The Cornish once fought to have
their own saints day, but they lost!
Verdi especially disliked the Pope, and he appears as the Inquisitor in
"Don Carlo," but then it's set in Spain -- THAT'S "Roman" Catholicism forya!
And ultra-exotic to boot, unless you are a Spaniard!
Cheers,
Speranza
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html