Ever since I first started having guests at Bellaugello Gay Guest House I have wanted to get to the Foro Italico in Rome and see the huge marble statues erected on the orders of Mussolini in 1933.
Rome is a great entry or exit point to Italy a choice of airports, good train connect is, a historic city to visit, I really do not need to tell you all that… and so it’s a great arrival point to Bellaugello. This morning I went on public transport and took the bus which leaves the road end very early, I was up with the lark.
My interest in the Stadio stems from a couple of Canadian guys who were touring the world and happened to stop off on their way through Europe at Bellaugello. Not only were they real great guys, handsome, cheery and full of life, but one of them was a painter. Now I never discovered if he was a painter as in pictures or a painter as in houses… However he did make an offer, which I accepted and during their stay he helped paint the living room of one of the suites! Add to that his love of photography, he enthused and inspired, and I was hooked on his tales of the lifetime ambition to get to the Stadio dei Marmi.
It has taken me a long time to follow in his footsteps, today was the day when I gazed on awe at the huge muscular marble statues that encircle the stadium. They are all different, some clothed, most naked, all muscular, huge feet and hands, and many with divine bubble butts. Each is named after a city in Italy, and represents a different sport, and hence a different pose. I must admit to having a penchant for 1930s architecture and design and for the nude male form 😉 and today in the hot sunshine the men did not disappoint
It just happened to be the Italy – England rugby international so the guys had all come to see the rugby. I, on the other hand came to see the guys….
and the statue of Perugia our local provincia
