Michele’s Musings
Traveling
Research in Venice
GONDOLAS (Written October 2, 2013) This morning, while fixing breakfast in our apartment, I heard a gondolier singing, not an unusual occurrence in Venice, but his voice sounded like it was in the next room. I pulled back the curtains and shutters, and a gondolier was...
BONUS POST FOR MY SHOPPING FRIENDS
Although I do not particularly enjoy shopping, I thought my serous shopper friends might enjoy pictures of the shops and markets in Positano, Italy. The colors were almost enticing enough to convert me to their passion.
Venice, The Watery City
Venice is built on a lagoon, its homes whose weight is borne under the water by heavy beams arranged in circular patterns, appear to float on its surface. Its wealth and power extended for almost one thousand years because of its facility in using...
NAPLES AND RANDOM THOUGHTS
NAPLES This is Gary entering our hotel. Truly! I wonder what tall people do? And this is the most important historical sign in Naples: ` TRANSLATION: Here one hundred years ago the Pizza Margherita was born. INTERSECTION OF NATURE, GOD AND MAN There...
ITALY’S PARADISE
The area of Italy called Campania is in Southern Italy on the Western coast and includes Naples, the enormous bay that spreads out from Naples at its northern tip, and the Amalfi Coast with its winding roads, royal blue water, and towns stuffed into breathtaking...
THE GREEK ISLANDS
Greece is a country with 1,400 islands, 227 of which are inhabited. We visited two of the largest. RHODES I was standing in a narrow street in the city of Rhodes, my hair as wet as if I had just emerged from the swimming pool at our hotel. As...
ATHENS
Parthenon at Night We were told that a couple of days in Athens would be enough—and it is, because there is little beyond the Acropolis with its hovering Parthenon, to intrigue visitors. The Parthenon, however, can fill a significant amount of...
Roots
During the first two weeks of our Grand Tour, the sunshine has been endless. It has bleached my hair almost white-blonde, which pleases me because, the blonder my hair, the less obvious my gray roots will be as they grow out. This report, however,...
“Impressions” of Paris
"Impression" from our Hotel Room Paris, Style, Art. I wonder if the words are synonyms. As soon as we landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the graceful architectural lines of the mega-terminal astounded me. Even the public restrooms had a simple but elegant design.Our...
Different Women?
At first glance you notice our differences. Her dark, straight hair peeks out from her headscarf. My blond hair curls toward the sun. She wears a long-sleeved knit shirt and peasant skirt. I wear a shiny purple blouse and slacks. She is an innkeeper’s wife, I a woman...
After Italy
The Words that Started our Adventure While in Italy, we went to Ravenna to meet the journalist and historian Andrea Casadio. His curiosity was piqued when he read an entry in a guest book at Dante’s tomb from 1910: “Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Beck, Ravenna Park, State of...
Venice – So Easy to be Lost, So Easy to be Found
VENICE – So Easy to be Lost, So Easy to be Found An Italian Balcony Each time we travel, I send observations to my readers at the end of the journey. Here are some random thoughts about our 2011 trip to Venice along with some of my photos. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE...
Another Powerful Woman (written from Seattle)
I rose this morning and checked the weather before I decided what to wear. My computer said it was 61 degrees and would go up to 67. After dressing, I went out to get the paper. It seemed much colder than 61, but I was still sleepy and had not...
Two Gentlewomen and Verona
TWO GENTLEWOMEN AND VERONA We took two side trips last week: one to Verona to see Juliet and another to Padua to learn more about Elena Piscopia. VERONA A Modern Juliet My husband Gary has a genealogy client in California whom he had met only over Skype. Since the...
Searching for Elena
Searching for Elena Elena Piscopia Cornaro was the first woman to receive a university degree (in 1678). There have been several biographies of her life so I know the facts; but I want to know more about her thoughts and desires and heart, so I am searching...
Reading
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Reflecting
A Lesson from Eudora Welty
“When do I stop doing research and start writing?” That question plagues writers of historical fiction. When you are working on a Ph.D. professors often answer that question this way, “When you pick up a book on your topic and you are...
Fanny Mendelssohn, Another Talented Sister
Felix Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony plays in my office, and I can imagine the joyful violins heralding spring’s plum blossoms outside my window. As I have been researching Felix Mendelssohn I discovered that he—like Mozart—had an equally talented sister. (Once...
Women in the Lives of Musicians
I am spending time with the lives of Claude Debussy, Ludwig van Beethoven and Dmitri Shostakovich as I prepare program notes for an upcoming concert by the Lake Union Civic Orchestra. The composers are from different eras: Beethoven is the paragon of the Romantic...
Connecting with the World
My laughter was spontaneous when Lynne Rossetto Kasper closed her recent “Splendid Table” program with a quote from Erma Bombeck: “No self-respecting mother would run out of intimidations on the eve of a major holiday.” It bubbled up from that self-recognition...
Elena Piscopia’s Mother
There is an adage that “History is written by the winners.” This might be more precise if we added that the winners were men of means. I am in the midst of drafting a novel centering around Elena Piscopia, the first woman to receive an academic degree (in 1678)....
Traveling to Venice in Comfort
This year summer clung to Seattle like a shy toddler, refusing to relinquish its hold. In ten days November will arrive and only now is it 37° outside. Fortunately, I rescued the last of my rosebuds two days ago and brought them into my warm kitchen where they could...
Standing with the Sisters
Last month demonstrators marched down the streets of Seattle to show support for Catholic nuns who are being investigated by the Vatican for their feminist views. When I heard about the march, I counted back. It had been more than three decades since my last...
Connected Women
One woman leads to another and all women flow in a circle. I am drafting a historical novel about Elena Piscopia, the first woman to receive an academic degree and she was on my mind when I was reading Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt. When he referenced Hypatia I saw an...
Connecting Elena Piscopia and Hypatia
After reading about her in Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, I have been pondering the story of Hypatia. Sensing some parallels between Hypatia’s life and Elena Piscopia’s, I researched further to clarify my suspicions. Many of the facts of...
Ann Dunham Was the Mother of . . .
On the cusp of the women’s movement, a young anthropologist, an idealistic woman from Kansas and other parts of the country, travels to Indonesia. She studies textiles and blacksmithing in small villages. She creates microcredit programs while working for the United...
Elena Piscopia and an Irony of Sainthood
An Irony of Sainthood Elena Piscopia intrigues me because she was the first woman to receive a doctorate. In my research I also learned that she was known during her lifetime for her religious fervor. She took a vow of chastity at age eleven, unbeknownst to...
Writing Caterina Cornaro’s Life
My novel The Last Queen of Cyprus is a fictional account of the life of Caterina Cornaro. In the fifteenth century, the Republic of Venice selects fourteen-year old Caterina to marry the king of Cyprus. When the king and his son die under mysterious circumstances,...