Cinema Paradiso

Here, they don't tear down or shutter their grand old theaters--they use them. So, I get to go to a gilt palace called the Odeon, near Piazza della Repubblica in the center of town.

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong played the house in their day.

Now, it's one of two theaters where you can see American films in English on Mondays and Tuesday nights. Early shows are $10. A glass of chianti in a glass glass is another $10. There's still an intermission halfway through the show. And the orange velour seats feel as good as stadium seat

ing....