Today's Carpe Diem Snapshot: Believe it or not, this snapshot is about more than just me finding a "cute dragon" to hug, and a student capturing my glee at the discovery (thanks, Therese!). This rather adorable "dragon" was spotted on the facade on the church of San Luigi dei Francese during Art and Architecture class yesterday. With a little bit of research, I discovered that the creature is actually a salamander, and that salamanders were the adopted symbol of King Francis I, the patron of Leonardo da Vinci, who spent the last years of his life in France. His motto, illustrated by this image, was "Nutrisco et extinguo" or, "I nourish and I extinguish". Since the first description of the seemingly miraculous ability of the salamander to survive fire by Pliny the Elder, the salamander has been symbolic of fighting evil and vice while drawing virtue and strength from that battle. A fitting message on the eve of Ash Wednesday!
In an example of "everything matters because everything is connected somehow," I first learned about the symbolism of salamanders from Bruni the fire spirit in Frozen II! And here's a related discussion of the symbolism of dragons on Jonathan Pageau's "Symbolic World" podcast.
"...all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change."
Human: Carnevale/Martedi Grasso in Rome! Today the Art and Architecture class headed to Piazza Navona, that great outdoor living room of Rome that is often the main stage for Carnevale processions and Commedia dell'Arte performances. Since it was a weekday morning, most shows took place during the weekend, which was unfortunately a cold and rainy one this year. We did, however, enjoy a brilliant blue sky, and caught a small school group celebrating the day the traditional way there, with costumes and confetti (photos on Instagram).
Natural: Recipes and more to celebrate this day with festivity and meaning
Quote: "A Carnevale tutto il mondo è giovane, anche i vecchi. A Carnevale tutto il mondo è bello, anche i brutti." -Nicolaï Evreïnov
"L'Epifania tutte le feste porta via, poi viene il Carnevale e le riporta." (proverbo Piemontesi)
"Quando il padre fa carnevale i figli fanno quaresima." (proverbo Piemontesi)
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