I’m leaving Italy today… Between meetings I had time to explore around with my camera and iPod in overdrive. I saw a lot of interesting faces, so I collected a series of portraits that I have collected into a little portfolio set on Flickr called “What they Dream and What they Do”. If I ever saw someone with an interesting face, I thought perhaps they might have an interesting story too, so I’ve organized the set by the motif of what people do with their lives. Here are the first eight pictures from the series. I will probably add to this collection in the future, or at least until I ask to take someone’s picture and they punch me in the face.

This is Vespucci

This is Vespucci.

Vespucci’s dream is to find his son and tell him important things. He twists his head quickly at me with a lost and quizzical look, and then he returns to a thoughtful gaze.

Vespucci is currently homeless and cannot remember where his son is.

—

This is Skye.

Skye’s dream, she says with a stalwart demeanor, is to be a successful dermatologist.

Skye is currently modeling in Milan during summer break from medical school.

—

This is Paola.

Paola’s dream, she pauses, she can’t remember them any more.

Paula is currently poses as the Statue of Liberty on the Spaccanapoli in Naples.

—

This is Claudio.

Claudio’s dream is to help people and to seek the truth. He squints at the crucifix in the basilica.

Claudio is currently living out his dream and has peace.

—

This is Maurizio.

Maurizio’s dream is to captain a boat in the bay of Naples and to protect the habitat around Pospitillo and the Amalfi Coast. When he shakes hands, his grip is of old rope.

Maurizio is currently living out his dream.

—

This is Astia.

Astia’s dream was to see her son to rule the Roman Empire.

Astia died never seeing it happen.

—

This is Manea.

Manea’s dream is to go back to Romania and find his mother. He smiles inside his beard, looking upward.

Manea is currently homeless and thinks his mother may be dead, or worse, she may not remember him.

—

This is Maria.

Maria dreams of being a songwriter and singer. She often looks down and nods her head, thinking about deep waves.

Maria is currently teaching scuba diving in Naples and writes songs at night.

This is a gift from the people of India to the People of Rome. It’s a HUGE statue of Mother Theresa that is kind of hidden away in front of a church somewhere between the Circus Maximus and the Baths of Caracalla.

This was a spooky and moody place; a tiny chapel underground with very low ceilings. The structure had three corpses laid out in the front of the altar, reclined in iconic expression.

Here was an unusual stained glass window I found in a basilica in Rome…

Here is the Ancient Roman Forum about midnight. In the distance, you can see the Colosseum.

As luck would have it, all the taxis went on strike last night about midnight. Over 300 taxis rolled into the central area around the Vittorio Emanuelle II monument and turned off their engines.

I had just finished dinner at a friend’s villa near the colosseum who is a famous Italian actor. I should not say his name, but we have recently become associated in some business I am doing in Rome. Anyway, he had a beautiful villa and owned the top four floors of a fabulous 600-year-old building. He had two level verandas, the second one occupying the entire roof with a 360-degree panorama of the city. He had a servant that brought out wine, appetizers, dinner, everything. At the end, he even brought out three flavors of homemade gelato that we all ate while staring out the night-lit city of Rome… It was really something else.

Anyway, after leaving, I found out about the strike. Walking around, quite far from my hotel in Esquiline near the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, I found a nice man on a motorcycle and I offered him ten Euro to take me back to my hotel.

He said he refused payment and would absolutely give me a ride. We waited on his wife to come out of the restaurant and she let me borrow her helmet, while she used her daughter’s that was stashed away. I tried to pay her since her husband refused, but she also refused, stuffing the money back into my pocket which appeared to the casual passerby as some kind of surreal fight where two people are gesticulating wildly while stuffing money into one another’s pockets.

I got on the back and this guy floored it… He was like the Italian Evel Knieval as we whipped around corners on almost totally empty streets, since they were bereft of the normally clogging taxis. His wife flew along beside us with a pleasant smile on her face. After I got off, I snapped this picture and tried to offer them money again. They refused so I gave them my card to buy them dinner if they ever come to Texas.

These are the best preserved and most grand baths from the ancient Romans. They were built between 212 and 216 AD and could supposedly hold up to 12,000 bathers at a time. Some places say 2-3K, the signs there said 8K… but the baths themselves included gymnasiums, a library, etc., and after being there, I think the 12K figure for the thermae area itself is more correct.

I ventured not to get the “usual” shot of the colosseum. By pure luck, I had a full moon so the light at dusk (or, when in Rome, lusco fusco) was rather unearthly.

Tomorrow, on 7/7, which is coterminously my birthday and a hot-date for Islamo Facism bombing activity (7/7 London Tube Bombing), I am flying to Milan for about 10 days or so. It’s a long flight, so I will be taking breaks from playing my DS Lite to check my fellow passengers’ Islamo Beards for boxcutters.

It will be fun to be in Italy during the World Cup game, and I will try to hook up with some local friends in Milan to watch the festivities. Besides Milan, I’ll be visiting Rome and Naples several little bits of Roman ruins in between.

Here are a few B&W treatments from my last trip.