Postcard from Rome, Italy: Springtime

“Cupid and Psyche,” ceiling fresco by Rafael (1483-1520) in the loggia of Villa Farnesina

April has been dry in Rome, meaning, for a pair of flaneurs, it approached perfection.

One would think flowers feel differently about it. Yet bright pink blossoms defiantly cover the trunk of a tree maimed by an errant trimmer, and tiny flowers force their way through seemingly inhospitable cracks and crevices of ancient walls.

May Day arrives with showers, so no telling what blossoms will spring forth tomorrow.

Perhaps, instead of wandering afar, these boulevardiers need to devote part of the drizzly holiday admiring the greening of the thirsty plants around the patio, toasting the workers’ day off with a refreshing spring dose of Campari and tonic.