XLVIII
An Italian’s Italian, and that’s that.
And any time a foreigner comes to Italy,
Even if he’s toured the world completely,
When he gets here, he’s got to tip his hat.
Here we have Da Vinci, Pincio Museum,
Trevi Fountains, St. John Lateran,
Rotunda, St. Peters in the Vatican,
Tasso, Metastasio, Raphael, Colosseum,
Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante, Boccaccio....
Look, if you’re interested, I don’t plan
To recite the whole long list. Why not go find
Them all at the Pincio. But keep in mind:
Each of the statues, before it was a statue,
Was a living, breathing, real Italian man.
(Translated by John Du Val)