If persurf you land upon the site of the Portuguese Embassy in Rome you’ll read a protest against the misuse of the word “Portuguese” in Roman street slang. The appropriation dates from around 1718, when Portugal’s Papal Ambassador, the Conte di Galveias, had his residence close to the Teatro Argentina. (The theatre is still in use but the original building’s long gone.)
The Conte was known to stage opulent festivities at the Theatre, to which all Portuguese in Rome were welcome,
“Therefore, with their characteristic cunning, Romans who wanted to enter a show without paying pretended to be Portuguese.”
Hence, Fare il Portoghese, “pulling a Portuguese,” meaning: getting in for free.
Today, when the standard museum admission in New York is $30.00, we take a patrician’s pride in scrocconismo, the Science of Freeloading. To that end I have set up a new section to address the myriad ways to not pay exorbitant admission fees at museums.
As any Roman knows, Scrocconismo requires constant vigilance and care. For instance, most major museums in New York make various promises in exchange for City funding and support, offering special discounts and free admissions to marginalized communities, on paper. Then they (the museums and the City) forget about it til next time, and the offers are buried somewhere, maybe on the website. The fact that you’re entitled to them doesn’t mean you’re going to get them. That’s where we come in.
This is a collaborative endeavor. I’ll let you know, you let us know your own experience.
SCROCCONI OF THE ART WORLD, UNITE!
WOID XXIII-25
August 27, 2023