Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Marcus Aurelius

(Bull)fighting all the way from (Roman) History times..


the Roman arena in Nîmes



A recent trip to Provence confirmed the obvious. What modern use can be made out of almost intact Roman arenas? Operatic summer festivals? No, the answer of Verona does not strike the purists as a credible one. Open air museums of Roman Antiquity, with thousands of shorts-wearing tourists? Too gross, I'm afraid. The mathematical beauty of the buildings and a sense of Tragedy that can be still felt on those stones demand more. What can better a real life&death struggle between a gladiator in Traje de Luces and a horned black beast? Nothing indeed.
Enjoying a three-courses installment of the Mediterranean Diet followed by a bullfight in a Roman arena is the closest you can ever get to "Pane et Circensis"...

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