Among Pasquino's earliest messages was "Quod non fecerunt Barbari fecerunt Barberini (What the Barbarians did not do, the Barberini did)." The message was addressed to the Barberini Pope, Urban VIII, who was accused of plundering Rome's artistic heritage for his own grandiose projects. By the mid-sixteenth century, the caustic messages on the statue carried such strong anti-papal tones that religious leaders suggested dropping the statue into the Tiber River. But the trend of pasting messages on statues had already taken root. Circulating like underground newspapers, the acerbic commentaries spread to other statues in Rome, including those depicting Marforio, Il Facchino ("the Porter"), the Abbot Luigi, Il Babuino ("the Baboon"), and Madame Lucrezia. Today dozen of messages are attached to Pasquino, with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi often a target. Di Capua explains the point of the cleanup project is to protect Rome's art and not necessarily to silence Rome's satirical voices. "We are going to remove all the satirical notes from the statues. Our goal is to make people respect Rome's huge artistic patrimony. As for the pasquinades, we are setting up a Web site where the Romans can freely make their feelings known," Di Capua said. But the aim to keep the statues clear of postings may be overly ambitious. At the house of Juliet in Verona, a similar attempt, aimed at replacing scribbled love notes with text messages, failed miserably. People continue to plaster love notes to the house. Frank Korn, professor of classical studies at Seton Hall University and the author of "Hidden Rome," told Discovery News the statue message posting "shows the wry wit of the Roman people." "The Romans have long had a penchant for satire, especially when its target is the government, the church hierarchy, the papal court, and the aristocracy. Even now in the 21st century pasquinading remains an immemorial Roman sport," Korn said. Related Links: |
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