Sunday, May 24, 2009

Holiday Weekend

What do Eat, Pray, Love, the movie, Angels and Demons, and the musical, Giant, all have in common? You'll never guess, so I'll just say... it's the Fountain of the Rivers. Sculpted by Bernini and located in Rome, this fountain is mentioned in all three of those works.

I saw Angels and Demons yesterday, and a pivotal scene takes place in the Piazza Navona, or rather more accurately, in the fountain itself. I found the movie more than a bit ludicrous, and therefore, disappointing, which is probably why, in the middle of what is supposed to be a very exciting part of the story, I was thinking, didn't Elizabeth Gilbert write about that fountain in her book?

Then, today, a family friend invited us to see a performance of the new musical, Giant, based on Edna Ferber's book, which is itself most famous for the movie version starring James Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. This production is lengthy-- we're talking four hours, with two intermissions-- and I guess sprawling might be accurate. And did I mention, it's a musical? Anyhow, again in a rather dramatic scene, one of the characters refers to that fountain, she might even sing about it. Coincidence? Yeah. But I noticed, even though I was fading in and out a little from Texas musical fatigue, and then I remembered to check on the Eat, Pray, Love reference when I got home, and sure enough, there it was on page 74.

Why this synchronicity of Fontana dei Fiumi I wondered. What significance might it hold for me? So I thought a little, read a little, wrote a little, and... when I figure it out? You'll be the first to know.

1 comment:

  1. Have you been there? It's a terrific place. I spent more time there while in Rome than anywhere else, memorizing the bus routes home to the hotel to meet the Mr. after his day of meetings.

    It's an idyllic place--great scultpure, great gelato, and great people-watching.

    E.

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