How to display body part art: then and now

We spent most of today on our little tour bus, visiting a couple of small towns. Before we set out, we stopped in at the Lecce Jewish Museum and I stumbled upon this piece of art, called No Storm in Sight. The museum curator plugged it (the art!) in for a moment and the ears started vibrating and shimmying, but then she shut it right back off, telling us electricity is expensive. They saved a lot of money on the art display (i.e. thrown on the floor) but I guess money was still tight.

Having appreciated the ear art and the “modern” approach to showcasing art, we moved on to Galatina, population 27,000 and about 12 miles from Lecce. Galatina is famous for the Basilica of Santa Caterina, built in 1384, specifically to house a relic of St. Catherine of Alexandria. The “relic” to be housed was St. Catherine’s finger – the Franciscans built this entire place to house this gold finger:

Here’s the outside:

The best thing about the Basilica was the frescoes from about 1435. They are in incredible shape with vivid colors and share a cycle of seventeen subjects, including scenes of the Apocalypse, Noah’s Ark, Genesis, the life of Jesus, the four evangelists, and scenes of life Saint Catherine of Alexandria. My assessment is they were generally conveying the same artistic/historical message as the ears on the floor.

Right across the street from the Basilica was this tiny single table restaurant:

And then here is the Church of St. Peter and Paul, from 1633, with a random merry-go-round plopped down in front. If you’re the church in town without the famous frescoes, you need to market yourself in a different way:

From Galatina, we headed over to Gallipoli, population 20,000, for a quick walk. I especially like this photo of me overlooking the harbor because Ron (highest possible degree of photography skills) managed to capture a hunk of my hair, buffeted by the wind:

Here’s that same harbor:

Here’s a couple of pics from walking around Gallipoli:

I’ll leave you with this. What saddens me most is that – although you can’t see it – I am standing on a huge curb in this picture and I’m still looking this short: