Cheese and Pepper, Pt. 2
Cucina del Teatro
I had a second opportunity to try cacio e pepe towards the end of my time in Rome, and it was no less delicious than the first. The Cucina del Teatro even has a gelateria next door called Gelateria del Teatro, and they serve, wait for it, ginger gelato. I have never fallen in love faster.
I was so happy to catch this in the wild, and I did so almost accidentally, as it was hidden behind a menu sign for a restaurant. This is the work of Alessia Babrow, and is part of a series called “Just Use It,” which began in 2013 and has used images of Christ, Ganesh, the Virgin Mary, and Buddhas, and which are all over Rome. This particular image, which uses an original image of Christ created by Heinrich Hoffmann in the 19th century, was made by Babrow in 2019. The following year, it came to her attention that the Holy See had been using this image for its 2020 Easter postage stamp without her permission. It seems that the artist tried to reach out to the Vatican directly, but was unsuccessful, and so she decided to sue them instead for using her creation without her consent and for going against its original intent. I unfortunately can’t find any articles about it post 2021, when the news first broke out, so I’m not sure if there were any further developments. Still — wild, right?
Gold Colored Fox 