Dear Harold (in Italy; a classical music reference for the benefit of you
young Pinheads who listen to too much Boogie-Woogie),

If you're Al Italia, is your wife's name Jen?

Thanks for the travelogue.  Contrary to my usual practice, I shall confine my
remarks to my areas of expertise (yeah, right).

What means "grosso buffo" in English/NewYawkese?

Was there an indoor air quality problem at San Vitale?

I'm working on the relationship between anodized bronze plastic and
structivorous vines.  Is it possible the Eyetalians have used the fancy white
Kraut replacement windows instead of our cheesy ones?  The vines growing all
over the place is obviously an indication that their buildings are so ugly
they plant growies to cover them up.  Let's just hope the planted bldgs are
new.  Didja or dincha see ivory on the Colosseum, or  St. Marks, or any of
the important buildings?

No disagreement with your preference for living with AC and not looking at
the units, rather than living without AC and looking at armpit hair.

Re: lack of Gothic arches in Venice Ghetto, I should think this is a function
of chronology rather than taste-- I'm quite sure the Ghetto wasn't Jewish
(and maybe wasn't even occupied at all) in Gothic Days.  In fact, I just
looked it up, and see that the Ghetto wasn't established until 1516, and
before that the few Jews there were lived in the Giudecca.   However, the
number of actual Gothic period synagogues is very small--maybe just the
Altneuschul in Prague-- and I don't know of any others offhand that are
stylistically identifiable as Gothic.  Because of the ecclesiastical
connections of the original Gothic, there aren't (and weren't) a whole lot
more Gothic Revival synagogues, either.  I wasn't the foremost authority in
Arizona on European Synagogue Architecture for nothing,  in the days before I
became Humor Czar.

What, no crickets in Italy, or do they export them to France as a staple?

Ralph