And when you aren’t looking up and out, your nose is pointed downwards at the incredible mosaics that cover so much of the public spaces, and quite a few private homes too. (Was the mosaicist who added color ostracized or acclaimed as a genius!?)
No matter what, it is nice to see this much attention given to elegance and graphic design. The mosaics cover everything from general decorative motifs, to the underfoot equivalent of street signs.
For example, as you walked under the portico that constitutes the large piazza delle corporazioni, you would look at the floor mosaics… if you were in the market for wood, you would want to find the office with the mosaic out front that read Naviculariorum Lignariorum (Wood Shippers Corporation).
Or if you were in need of shipping to or from what are now the areas of Languedoc and Provence (so called because the Romans named their first transalpine permanent conquest Provincia Nostra or Provincia Romana), you would obviously transact the deal with the good folks over at Navi Narbonenses (the Narbonne Shippers/Line).
