So apparently while we were in London, the Italian government collapsed. The House and the Senate called for a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister and his cabinet, which he lost. If you can imagine the president and all his administration being voted out of Washington in a single day, that's pretty much what happened. The President of Italy, who is just a figural head, had to calm the Senate and the House down and has set up an interim government to reform electoral laws in the meantime. And the funniest part of it all? It didn't affect the Italians whatsoever; a corrupt and failing government is something they've come to live with.
I've got a little less than a week to go on my current project. My studio is working on designing kiosks and subway stations for the new Rome subway line so that we can present something that actually fits the character of the city. I've designed a maintenance access/ventilation building, an underground parking structure/entrance, a new garden, and I've replanned and spruced up an existing park. Good times.
I've also made time for some nice studio breaks. The London trip was a big one. I went to the AS Roma v. Sampdoria soccer match at Stadio Olimpico this past Tuesday. I realized last night that I had never climbed up to the top of the dome at Saint Peter's Basilica, so I made it up there early this morning before all the tourists showed up. You might notice the new panoramic picture at the top of this page. Pictures from the soccer game and the dome can be found under "view all my photos" and then by clicking "Rome, Italy - AS Roma" and "Rome, Italy - Dome of Saint Peter's."
Ciao for now,
Brian
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