| Michelangelo nips out of the Vatican for a break. He goes into Bar Delle Grazie in the street of the same name. |
| M: |
Morning, Davide. |
| D: |
Morning, "Divino". |
| M: |
Come on, I told you that was over the top. Call me Miche. |
| D: |
OK, Miche. Fancy a grappa? |
| M: |
No thanks, just a double espresso. You know I don't drink. |
| D: |
To be honest, I find that quite weird. With all the stress. |
| M: |
It just makes it worse. Particularly when you're up a ladder. |
| D: |
Indeed. What are you doing over there? |
| M: |
Working on a big mural. All the usual suspects: Jesus, saints, souls heading for heaven or hell. |
| D: |
Are you enjoying it? |
| M: |
Mostly. I like the painting, but not the politics. Pope Paul is always on my case. Wants it done yesterday. |
| D: |
Tough. |
| M: |
Yes, but not as bad as the last job. |
| D: |
I remember that. You were in a right state. |
| M: |
Up that scaffolding, which wasn't good with my vertigo. On my back all day for four long years. All those fiddly bits, like the touching fingers. |
| Davide attends to another customer, a priest in a red cassock and biretta. |
| D: |
So, Miche, anything else? |
| M: |
I'm getting a bit of pushback on what I do. |
| D: |
How's that? |
| M: |
The powers-that-be don't like the ... rude bits. Want to cover them up. They're using words like depraved. |
| D: |
That's nonsense. |
| M: |
Too right. It's not just here in Rome. The Fiorentini are beginning to complain about your namesake in Piazza della Signoria. |
| D: |
But he's beautiful. |
| M: |
I agree. |
| D: |
I wish I looked like him. |
| M: |
I don't get it. What's wrong with a bit of boy's wedding tackle? Half the population have it. |
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