In Rome, I discovered this painting by Vouet.  It was painted in 1624 for the wealthy patron, Marcello Sachetti.  It’s title is Allegory.  In it you see a woman named Intellect with fire coming out of her head, the bare-chested and winged Will in the middle and cloaked in red, two-faced Memory.  It grabbed me as a launching point for a play or in the very least, a playwriting exercise.

Pompeii was another sight that made the writer in me come alive.  I found it haunting, provocative and theatrical.