The Great Cover-up

Perhaps it's because I have just been reading an interesting book entitled Towers of Deception which suggests an official cover-up surrounding the 9/11 demise of the Trade Centre Towers or maybe because of the unusually cold weather we have been having, but for whatever reason, my mind has been going back to a great cover-up I experienced in Europe a few years ago. We were looking around Europe and with my Box Brownie polished and loaded I had planned to take some great photos.
We flew into Rome; not that we particularly wanted to see Rome again, but that's where our flight landed. As you know, all roads lead to Rome! We couldn't get an international flight to Orvieto. To where? ORVIETO. Orvieto is a hill-top village in Umbria where we planned to stay while exploring the surrounding vineyards. Actually, I don't believe any plane could purposely land in Orvieto for it is perched on top of what appears to be a volcanic plug.
I wanted to visit the cathedral there, a "glittering enchanted vision rising up skywards". The facade of this building was said to be particularly noteworthy with an especially beautiful arrangement of mosaics, bas-reliefs, marble and bronze statues and magnificent bronze doors at the centralportal. Yes one of the most beautiful facades....
But that was the next day. First a spare day in Rome. And hey! who can resist a day strolling through old Roma? Ah, the marvels of modern travel - Brisbane one day and on the next, one can alight from an international flight, stretch, struggle into an underground system, stop at an appropriate station, stumble up a few steps to be transported back to the time of the gladiators and the Colosseu... Oops! A colossal construction site!! But this was Rome and Rome wasn't built in a day.



Vino bianco, una pizza and then on to Orvieto. Up the steep tufa cliff face onto the plateau, through the narrow medieval streets following the Duomo signs, into the Piazza Duomo and .... Oh no! A facade of scaffolding and sheeting covering up what I had come to photograph. There was no doubt. This was a deliberate cover-up. The photos in the brochures never had scaffolding. OK, I suppose upkeep and restoration are necessary. And to give them credit the authorities are mindful of the inconvenience and always ask for patience and consideration; or at least that's what I believe the signs said.
A business hint: Get into scaffolding in Italy