FAI on you! And some sirens, too.

Can't resist a good pun, and this weekend in Italy it's "FAI" weekend...Fondo Ambiente Italiano, which means the fund for the Italian environment...but they take care of not just gardens and wetlands, but lots of important historic buildings and collections, too....More......

Every spring, FAI sponsors a weekend of Open Days (link only in Italian, I fear) for some of their own properties and properties that aren't theirs. Find something open in a city near you and just show up. If you're a member, you get to stand in the fast lane to get in. If you're not a member...become one! It costs really very little (something like E. 45 a year) to make a small, but important contribution to preserving Italy's patrimony.

And in these days of crumbling walls at Pompeii, the topic couldn't be timelier.

I took this snap of the 1782 fountain of the sirens that Piermarini's favorite sculptor, Giuseppe Franchi, installed in front of the architect's new façade for the archbishop's mansion. The piazza, right behind the Duomo, is now called "Piazza della Fontana" (Fountain Piazza). The lovely sculpture was just cleaned.

If you're in Milan for the StraMilano marathon tomorrow morning, Sunday, March 24, why not swing by to see it?

I took this snap just a few days ago for your personal non-commercial pleasure.

Enjoy!