Published: 02.07.2022
The pandemic took away globalization, brought fear, awakened a certain taste for the bucolic and highlighted, among other things, what was already hidden among the crowd of peoe —almost 30,000 peoe— who visited the Vatican Museums : Mielangelo's gay eros, what tools and techniques were used in the painting of the sistine chapel.
I remember that two years ago I did an interview with Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums. "What we are doing this year with our guides are refresher courses, where we also encourage them to take their groups to other parts of the museums to avoid excessively crowded corners," she added. It was not necessary, because in the entire month of July approximately 70,000 peoe visited them, a figure that does not satisfy the need to raise cash, but it does provide greater clairvoyance to see the paintings in greater depth, with anthropological, sociological, psyological and mythological. A look devoid of ideologies, prejudices... and peoe.
Thus, the emphasis that Miguel Ángel aced on male bodies is rediscovered and the strong eroticism that the paintings of El juicio final, induciendo a una lectura no estrictamente religiosa o espiritual sino human, sensual and wild. Full of testicles, phalluses, snakes... Abundant in slender bodies wrapped in a mass of muscles. An inspiration that the Renaissance genius found, according to Elena Lazzarini (researer at the University of Pisa), in thermal baths and brothels. In saunas and Turkish baths, aces of homosexual encounters, promiscuity and prostitution.
It is true that the Chur, centuries ago, condemned and ordered to cover many of these male nudes. But there is no doubt that, along with the prominent breasts of Eve in The Creation and the sibyls in The Final Judgment, there is a prevailing presence of saints who rise and the damned descend, including Minos, a womanizing monar (son of Europa and Zeus) who also appeared in Dante's Inferno. “I wanted to give him the face of Biagio da Cesena”, a master of ceremonies who worked for Pope Paolo III, “known to be a violent sodomite”, the painter went on to say.
Perhaps it shouldn't be news to talk about homosexuality in the 21st century, but Rome lives a different reality. It is beautiful, contradictory, anaronistic and confusing, and has a Quiiky headquarters, the first Italian gay friendly tour operator. “There is not mu foreign tourism, but yes, we continue to organize the visit to the Director exains her influence on the Sistine Chapel