---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Steve Ruggieri <s.ruggieri54@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 16:08
Subject: My emails to you from Europe in 1999
To: Ron Ruggieri <radicalron72647@gmail.com>
From: Steve Ruggieri <s.ruggieri54@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 23, 2025, 16:08
Subject: My emails to you from Europe in 1999
To: Ron Ruggieri <radicalron72647@gmail.com>
This seems like a lifetime ago! ...
Emails to Ron from my 1999 European Trip
From: Steve Ruggieri <sruggieri@earthlink.net>
Date: January 29, 1999 9:13:27 PM EST
To: ronald.ruggieri@mailexcite.com
Subject: Greeting from Frankfurt Germany!
Reply-To: sruggieri@earthlink.net
Hi Ron,
It is 2:45 am and I am in my room at the Sheraton Hotel in Frankfurt
Germany. I have FINALLY been able to access the internet through my
laptop. I depart in about 4 hours for Florence Italy where I will
begin a period of adventure ending in Rome on Feb 3rd. I have booked no
rooms because I desire to go by my wits and instincts and let it lead me
wherever. I enjoy the luxury of being on my own.
I've attached a couple of photos. One of me in front of the Shroud of
Turin at the Basilica of San Giovanni in Torino Italy, and another of
me in the ancient city of Wetzlar Germany, famous for the german poet
and philosopher Goethe and Herman Hesse. A fabulous city- oozing with
texture and history (the romans came through there!)
Interestingly, I found the Church in Turin that holds the "shroud" to be
void of any mysticism. It actually appeared tired of itself. On the
other hand, while in Torino I had an opportunity to view an exhibition
at the Biblioteca Regionale of an important and rare collection of
Leonardo DaVinci's drawings of his studies of birds in flight and also
his famous self-portrait as an old man (I will mail you a post-card of
each) It was truly awesome! How ironic-- I went to see the Shroud of
Turin and found a tired joke and an absent god- but while gazing into
the sad eyes of Leonardo's self-portrait I had the distinct impression I
caught a glimpse of the divine!
I'm off to Florence and life is good!
My love to all. Please forward this to Robert in Miami.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
From: Steve Ruggieri <sruggieri@earthlink.net>
Date: February 2, 1999 3:56:18 AM EST
To: Ronald Ruggieri <ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov>
Subject: Greetings from Florence!
Reply-To: sruggieri@earthlink.net
Ron,
I need new words to describe the visual splendor of the Tuscany region
of Italy. Even in the bitter cold of winter, these rolling hills and
valleys appear to resist death by stealing whatever warmth they can from the sun, creating something that I can only call "eternal green"-
half-color/half-promise. The place is a virtual wine label.
I need new words to describe the art and architecture that has defied
death for centuries as it grabs hold of us, the living -drawing from
whatever light we have so that it can endure. I am now convinced that
this is faith- deep and profound- transformed into splendid matter.
I need new words to reconcile my mind with my heart. How can I describe
my feelings yesterday while in the Baptistry of Santa Maria del Fiore
which dates back to the 4th century and is where Dante and other famous
Florentines were baptised. When I visited the Shroud of Turin back in
Torino I felt lonely and isolated, convinced that the god that moved
these people abandoned the place long ago. There was nothing for me
there. And now I know why. The "Shroud" was a dead thing to begin
with. It's a perfect example of how our western minds desperately cling
to the material -afraid to let go. Christ himself said "Why do you look
for the living amongst the dead?" So we cling to the smelly slimy
afterbirth and the baby gets away!
Here in Florence, every attempt I make to rationalize and detach myself from the FOCUS of these works of art -to waive it off as the folly and
amusement of a ruling class toward a quaint and dead god, is obliterated
by the sheer magnitude of the creations. Whatever moved these people,
is what moves scientists today! I don't know what to call IT, and never
got IT - even after seeing these pictures in books for years. But it
lives and has an energy and is relevant even today. It's as potent as
jet fuel - and I am certain that these same minds, untethered by the
beliefs of their day, would focus their genius on the possibilities
beyond the planet earth. I wouldn't have known it unless I came here.
I'm going back out shortly to the Church of Santa Croce where
Michelangelo and Galileo are entombed and hope to see the Accademia del
Cimento where among other things are displayed Galileo's telescopes and
the lens he used to make his discoveries.
The food here is also an art. I stopped into a cafe to escape the bitter
cold and ordered a bowl of vegetable soup, a dish of ravioli and a cup
of coffee. Simple enough I thought. I could predict the taste. I
thought. After all I'm Italian. I know what good food should taste like.
I thought.
What was presented to me was an experience of exquisite flavors and
textures, the likes of which I have never known. I must say that even
in Torino the food was this way. Food is not merely sustenance
here. It is a splendid ceremony. Even I could learn to eat slower here!
So the real question is- what is it here, do these people have a fucking
hotline to heaven?!? É bello, é sensazionale!!!!
My room is a tiny old cell with a very, very high ceiling. Like a monk,
I have a small bed and bare walls. So even in my hotel room I feel
dwarfed by the magnificence of Florence! I have one tall narrow window
with old heavy shutters that open out two stories above an ancient
street where fresh new red graffiti screams out for attention on an
old stone building. Strangely, it doesn't seem to matter. Like wise old
Italian men, the buildings take it with dignity and like a wise old
Italian man, it might whisper philosophic comforts under its breath like
"Eh- this too shall pass!"
I have attached a couple of photos. One of me at the top of The
Campanile Tower overlooking Florence. It's almost 300 ft high and I had
to climb over 300 steps to the top. You have to be in good shape for
the climb. Another picture shows me in front of one of Ghiberti's
Bronze Doors which took him 21 years to create. They were commissioned
in 1401 to mark Florence's deliverance from the plague. They call it
"The Gate of Paradise" after Michelangelo remarked upon seeing it that
"it is worthy of Paradise!"
I leave for Rome tomorrow. How can it top this?
Arrivederci!!!
Steve
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
From: ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov (Ronald Ruggieri)
Date: March 15, 1999 12:40:09 PM EST
To: sruggieri@earthlink.net
Subject: Call it Epiphany!
Reply-To: ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov
Hi Steve. I am communicating to you from the comfort of the
URI Library in Kingston . My RIPTA bus pass now makes ESCAPE
from the Greater Providence Ugliness an everyday possibility.
What a relief ! Perhaps we can have lunch together sometime
this week. What you experience in Europe , I recognize, as an
Epiphany. Once in a lifetime experience !
Take care
From: Steve Ruggieri <sruggieri@earthlink.net>
Date: January 29, 1999 9:13:27 PM EST
To: ronald.ruggieri@mailexcite.com
Subject: Greeting from Frankfurt Germany!
Reply-To: sruggieri@earthlink.net
Hi Ron,
It is 2:45 am and I am in my room at the Sheraton Hotel in Frankfurt
Germany. I have FINALLY been able to access the internet through my
laptop. I depart in about 4 hours for Florence Italy where I will
begin a period of adventure ending in Rome on Feb 3rd. I have booked no
rooms because I desire to go by my wits and instincts and let it lead me
wherever. I enjoy the luxury of being on my own.
I've attached a couple of photos. One of me in front of the Shroud of
Turin at the Basilica of San Giovanni in Torino Italy, and another of
me in the ancient city of Wetzlar Germany, famous for the german poet
and philosopher Goethe and Herman Hesse. A fabulous city- oozing with
texture and history (the romans came through there!)
Interestingly, I found the Church in Turin that holds the "shroud" to be
void of any mysticism. It actually appeared tired of itself. On the
other hand, while in Torino I had an opportunity to view an exhibition
at the Biblioteca Regionale of an important and rare collection of
Leonardo DaVinci's drawings of his studies of birds in flight and also
his famous self-portrait as an old man (I will mail you a post-card of
each) It was truly awesome! How ironic-- I went to see the Shroud of
Turin and found a tired joke and an absent god- but while gazing into
the sad eyes of Leonardo's self-portrait I had the distinct impression I
caught a glimpse of the divine!
I'm off to Florence and life is good!
My love to all. Please forward this to Robert in Miami.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
From: Steve Ruggieri <sruggieri@earthlink.net>
Date: February 2, 1999 3:56:18 AM EST
To: Ronald Ruggieri <ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov>
Subject: Greetings from Florence!
Reply-To: sruggieri@earthlink.net
Ron,
I need new words to describe the visual splendor of the Tuscany region
of Italy. Even in the bitter cold of winter, these rolling hills and
valleys appear to resist death by stealing whatever warmth they can from the sun, creating something that I can only call "eternal green"-
half-color/half-promise. The place is a virtual wine label.
I need new words to describe the art and architecture that has defied
death for centuries as it grabs hold of us, the living -drawing from
whatever light we have so that it can endure. I am now convinced that
this is faith- deep and profound- transformed into splendid matter.
I need new words to reconcile my mind with my heart. How can I describe
my feelings yesterday while in the Baptistry of Santa Maria del Fiore
which dates back to the 4th century and is where Dante and other famous
Florentines were baptised. When I visited the Shroud of Turin back in
Torino I felt lonely and isolated, convinced that the god that moved
these people abandoned the place long ago. There was nothing for me
there. And now I know why. The "Shroud" was a dead thing to begin
with. It's a perfect example of how our western minds desperately cling
to the material -afraid to let go. Christ himself said "Why do you look
for the living amongst the dead?" So we cling to the smelly slimy
afterbirth and the baby gets away!
Here in Florence, every attempt I make to rationalize and detach myself from the FOCUS of these works of art -to waive it off as the folly and
amusement of a ruling class toward a quaint and dead god, is obliterated
by the sheer magnitude of the creations. Whatever moved these people,
is what moves scientists today! I don't know what to call IT, and never
got IT - even after seeing these pictures in books for years. But it
lives and has an energy and is relevant even today. It's as potent as
jet fuel - and I am certain that these same minds, untethered by the
beliefs of their day, would focus their genius on the possibilities
beyond the planet earth. I wouldn't have known it unless I came here.
I'm going back out shortly to the Church of Santa Croce where
Michelangelo and Galileo are entombed and hope to see the Accademia del
Cimento where among other things are displayed Galileo's telescopes and
the lens he used to make his discoveries.
The food here is also an art. I stopped into a cafe to escape the bitter
cold and ordered a bowl of vegetable soup, a dish of ravioli and a cup
of coffee. Simple enough I thought. I could predict the taste. I
thought. After all I'm Italian. I know what good food should taste like.
I thought.
What was presented to me was an experience of exquisite flavors and
textures, the likes of which I have never known. I must say that even
in Torino the food was this way. Food is not merely sustenance
here. It is a splendid ceremony. Even I could learn to eat slower here!
So the real question is- what is it here, do these people have a fucking
hotline to heaven?!? É bello, é sensazionale!!!!
My room is a tiny old cell with a very, very high ceiling. Like a monk,
I have a small bed and bare walls. So even in my hotel room I feel
dwarfed by the magnificence of Florence! I have one tall narrow window
with old heavy shutters that open out two stories above an ancient
street where fresh new red graffiti screams out for attention on an
old stone building. Strangely, it doesn't seem to matter. Like wise old
Italian men, the buildings take it with dignity and like a wise old
Italian man, it might whisper philosophic comforts under its breath like
"Eh- this too shall pass!"
I have attached a couple of photos. One of me at the top of The
Campanile Tower overlooking Florence. It's almost 300 ft high and I had
to climb over 300 steps to the top. You have to be in good shape for
the climb. Another picture shows me in front of one of Ghiberti's
Bronze Doors which took him 21 years to create. They were commissioned
in 1401 to mark Florence's deliverance from the plague. They call it
"The Gate of Paradise" after Michelangelo remarked upon seeing it that
"it is worthy of Paradise!"
I leave for Rome tomorrow. How can it top this?
Arrivederci!!!
Steve
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
From: ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov (Ronald Ruggieri)
Date: March 15, 1999 12:40:09 PM EST
To: sruggieri@earthlink.net
Subject: Call it Epiphany!
Reply-To: ar803@osfn.rhilinet.gov
Hi Steve. I am communicating to you from the comfort of the
URI Library in Kingston . My RIPTA bus pass now makes ESCAPE
from the Greater Providence Ugliness an everyday possibility.
What a relief ! Perhaps we can have lunch together sometime
this week. What you experience in Europe , I recognize, as an
Epiphany. Once in a lifetime experience !
Take care
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Ron