Thursday, April 22
Of the Capitoline Venus and her Capacious, though Presumably Still Beautiful, Waistline
I thought she was kind of cute, for a libertine nudist, but at least one of my fellow Whapsters was unimpressed. We seem to have good reasons for both our opinions, as the inimitable H.V. Morton writes in his equally inimitable book, A Traveller in Rome (1957):
"...She is one of the most beautiful of all the statues of Venus, though it is evident the waist was not admired in ancient Rome and was a creation of the corseted Middle Ages. When Prince Prospero Colonna was Mayor of Rome during the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II during the early years of [the last] century, a grand reception was held in the Campidoglio and afterwards the royal guest was conducted round the museums. The newspapers noted the interest shown by the visiting monarch in the world-famous masterpiece. What really happened was that as the Mayor of Rome and the Kaiser approached the Capitoline Venus, Prince Colonna said, 'Your Majesty, may I present my official wife?'..."
![[SMMMHDH]](http://www.mgilleland.com/music/smmmhdh.png){kind=small}
