Well, it happened. I haven’t learned the language yet, I don’t know the pledge of allegiance (or even if there is one) and I can only name about 5 of the 21 regions in Italy (hey, at least I know there are 21) but I’m a legal resident and no longer clandestino. On Monday I picked up my Permesso di Soggiorno from the Questura. I now have my permit to stay.
It’s a big deal. I don’t know why exactly, but it is. Maybe it just means they know where to send the tax bill or that I have another card to carry in my wallet. I do know it means I can get a full-service bank account, health care (it's free and universal, like America!), and access to other social services (state funded day care for instance). On a personal level, it means I conquered their bureaucracy. Well, conquer probably isn’t the right word. That’s like saying the guy who is helicoptered to base camp conquered Mt. Everest. Considering the number of offices we had to go to (six), the number of people we spoke to (umm, lots), and the different forms and applications involved (umm, lots) I guess I can declare a moral victory. I fought bureaucracy and bureaucracy won but I can feel good about losing.
I just can’t seem to let the lucchetti go. Tiziano Ferro is an immensely popular singer in Italy, maybe in all of Europe. At least that's what I'm told. I haven't found anyone besides a certain German female who admits to liking him. Perhaps he's Italy's version of Celine Dione. I don’t know, and I’ll leave the music criticism to someone else for now. Anyway, Tiziano sings the title track in a movie taken from a book by Federico Moccia with the same name Ho voglia di te. In this fabulous video, the lucchetti, the Ponte Milvio, Tiziano, and the film’s main actors Laura Chiatti (steamy!) and Riccardo Scamarcio (dreamy!) all feature.
And in our second installment of Italian culture for today, the tourism board of Marche, the region in Italy where I happen to live recently released this spot as part of a promotional campaign featuring Dustin Hoffman. I happen to like it; it shows some of the prettier parts of the region including the inside of Ancona's opera house as well as another American struggling to speak Italian.
But those same struggles have stirred up a bit of controversy as well with people saying his accent and pronunciation are insulting to Italians and the money could have been spent making a more effective ad. (Although the whispers coming from polite society say most of the criticism is coming from Robert De Niro who was allegedly passed over for the part in favor of Dustin.) Everyone's a critic. Boring educational bit follows...
In the video, Dustin is reciting a very famous poem called L'infinito (The Infinite) by Giacomo Leopardi (born in Marche) one of Italy's greatest poets. It is from the 19th century, when poetry was like rap but with better metaphors, and is required memorization for all Italian school children.
L'infinito
Sempre caro mi fu quest'ermo colle,
E questa siepe, che da tanta parte
Dell'ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude.
Ma sedendo e mirando, interminati
Spazi di là da quella, e sovrumani
Silenzi, e profondissima quiete
Io nel pensier mi fingo; ove per poco
Il cor non si spaura. E come il vento
Odo stormir tra queste piante, io quello
Infinito silenzio a questa voce
Vo comparando: e mi sovvien l'eterno,
E le morte stagioni, e la presente
E viva, e il suon di lei. Così tra questa
Immensità s'annega il pensier mio:
E il naufragar m'è dolce in questo mare.
The Infinite
It was always dear to me, this solitary hill,
and this hedgerow here, that closes off my view,
from so much of the ultimate horizon.
But sitting here, and watching here,
in thought, I create interminable spaces,
greater than human silences, and deepest
quiet, where the heart barely fails to terrify.
When I hear the wind, blowing among these leaves,
I go on to compare that infinite silence
with this voice, and I remember the eternal
and the dead seasons, and the living present,
and its sound, so that in this immensity
my thoughts are drowned, and shipwreck
seems sweet to me in this sea.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
A Northern Adventure - Venice
For me, Venice is a city, like Paris, that lives up to its hype. It's iconic in a way that doesn't disappoint even after you leave the train station and see the Grand Canal for the first time. In person it looks exactly like all of its photos and feels like all its descriptions. It's almost overwhelming. I felt the same mixture of uncertainty, excitement and awe as I did when I was on the Metro in Paris and came out of a tunnel and saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time. The sudden realization that it exists in more than just a picture or the imagination.
Mary McCarthy, in Venice Observed wrote: "Nothing can be said [about Venice] (including this statement) that has not been said before." And it's true. We arrived in Venice on 4 January during the period between New Years and the start of Carnival when the biggest crowds have gone and the tourist Venice that mostly sustains the city closes down and the one the people who live there inhabit takes it over. It was cold and snow was falling the day we were there, creating the perfect back-drop for seeing the almost totally silent city.
Venice has an interesting relationship with us. We sustain the city as there are few jobs that are not somehow related to the tourism industry, but we are also one of several contributors to the slow decay of the city along with time, flooding, and the deterioration of the lagoon. Every guidebook and travel blog tells the reader to see the "real Venice" by "getting lost" and "observing the locals" going about their day as if the city is an amusement park built to entertain us. It's within this framework that we passed a few hours beneath the falling snow lost in the streets of Venice taking in a real, authentic experience. I spent the day cold and exhilarated while also feeling like a complete cliché.
The Italian poet Mario Stefani said: "If Venice didn't have a bridge, Europe would be an island." My first, unexpected glimpse from the train window of the Venice afloat in the lagoon did nothing to contradict this observation.
Venice is actually 118 small islands spread over a lagoon, separated by canals and connected by bridges. Ernest Hemingway described it as "a strange, tricky town" and walking in it as "better than working crossword puzzles." On a map is looks a bit like a fish. It is completely disorienting. The streets are narrow and winding, the routes of the canals confusing and there are few landmarks that can be seen from any distance. But as John Berendt wrote in his book The City of Fallen Angels: "To me Venice is not merely beautiful; it was beautiful everywhere." He's right and it's true and maybe you can see a little of it in some of these pictures. (click here)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Northern Adventure - Ferrara
I suspect I am going to start a trend of being somewhat repetitive when I type this next sentence. I suspect I am going to start a trend of being somewhat repetitive when I type this next sentence. Couldn’t resist. Ferrara was an amazing city and that’s the part I am probably going to keep repeating. “Insert city name here” was an amazing city. Blah, blah, blah. Going forward I’ll keep my eyes peeled (I had to explain that expression to someone the other day and wasn’t quite sure of the origin or why we say it, just that we do and it means to keep a look out.) for somewhere that isn’t amazing.
Five Ferrara Fun Facts (supplied, of course, by Valentina and supplemented by me):
Over 9km of ancient city walls remain, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. They are Renaissance walls and now have running and biking paths along them.
The city is home to a very famous palace, the Palazzo dei Diamanti which as far as I can tell became famous for having diamond shaped (diamanti) bricks in its exterior walls.
UNESCO has placed the city on the World Heritage Site list. This means you have to be extra careful with your garbage and where you walk.
At one point in history, Ferrarans could boast of having the widest street in all of Italy. This one!
City Hall offices are located in a real castle with a real moat and real drawbridges, called Castello Estense, it was started in the mid-14th century. When we were there it also had a nativity scene floating in the moat. I knew Jesus could walk on water but didn’t realize the cows could too. Clipped to a chain in the castle were these lucchetti (padlocks).
I noticed the same thing on the Passerelle de Arts bridge in Paris.
I assumed couples left them as symbols of love but I never knew the whole story. Now I do. And it’s a nice one. A few years ago, an Italian author named Federico Moccia wrote a story and in it two teenagers in love lock a padlock to a lamppost on the Ponte Milvio in Rome. After the book came out, couples began imitating art. It proved so popular that the lamppost eventually collapsed into the Tiber river. Now there is a fence erected specifically for the locks and the practice has spread throughout Europe. For those who fall out of love, bolt cutters are available at reasonable prices.
It’s a beautiful city and the day we spent there was a cold, clear, crisp winter day that formed a perfect back-drop for exploring the streets, watching people and overindulging in holiday pastries typical of the region. Once again I’ve created a slide-show (click here) with some additional pictures from the day. And up next, wading in Venice.
And now, apropos of nothing, in a Christmas package that I received (thanks again guys!) there were a couple boxes of Peeps. As everyone knows you can only safely eat one Peep per lifetime so I brought the box to work to share the remainder. Until word spread that they were food, the Peeps sat uneaten in the break room for most of the day because everyone thought they were expired air fresheners for their car (same tree shape, no scent). Today someone told me they thought Oreos were originally an Italian cookie. I’m losing my mind. A Big Mac value meal here costs 6€.
Five Ferrara Fun Facts (supplied, of course, by Valentina and supplemented by me):
Over 9km of ancient city walls remain, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. They are Renaissance walls and now have running and biking paths along them.
The city is home to a very famous palace, the Palazzo dei Diamanti which as far as I can tell became famous for having diamond shaped (diamanti) bricks in its exterior walls.
UNESCO has placed the city on the World Heritage Site list. This means you have to be extra careful with your garbage and where you walk.
At one point in history, Ferrarans could boast of having the widest street in all of Italy. This one!
City Hall offices are located in a real castle with a real moat and real drawbridges, called Castello Estense, it was started in the mid-14th century. When we were there it also had a nativity scene floating in the moat. I knew Jesus could walk on water but didn’t realize the cows could too. Clipped to a chain in the castle were these lucchetti (padlocks).
I noticed the same thing on the Passerelle de Arts bridge in Paris.
I assumed couples left them as symbols of love but I never knew the whole story. Now I do. And it’s a nice one. A few years ago, an Italian author named Federico Moccia wrote a story and in it two teenagers in love lock a padlock to a lamppost on the Ponte Milvio in Rome. After the book came out, couples began imitating art. It proved so popular that the lamppost eventually collapsed into the Tiber river. Now there is a fence erected specifically for the locks and the practice has spread throughout Europe. For those who fall out of love, bolt cutters are available at reasonable prices.
It’s a beautiful city and the day we spent there was a cold, clear, crisp winter day that formed a perfect back-drop for exploring the streets, watching people and overindulging in holiday pastries typical of the region. Once again I’ve created a slide-show (click here) with some additional pictures from the day. And up next, wading in Venice.
And now, apropos of nothing, in a Christmas package that I received (thanks again guys!) there were a couple boxes of Peeps. As everyone knows you can only safely eat one Peep per lifetime so I brought the box to work to share the remainder. Until word spread that they were food, the Peeps sat uneaten in the break room for most of the day because everyone thought they were expired air fresheners for their car (same tree shape, no scent). Today someone told me they thought Oreos were originally an Italian cookie. I’m losing my mind. A Big Mac value meal here costs 6€.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Delay - Un Terremoto
By now I had planned to have posted the second installment of the story recounting my holiday trip but yesterday we had a small “geologic event” (aka “an earthquake”), actually two, in Ancona that didn’t do any damage, but did shake everyone around pretty good. It also caused a brief power outage which turned off the wireless modem in the apartment which cancelled our Internet connection. The modem is kept in Michelle’s office which is locked when he isn’t there and we don’t have a key to that room. Hopefully he’ll come by this week to reset the modem and we’ll be back to normal which will mean I can post the next installment and the girls will be happy because they really didn’t know what to do last night without their YouTubes and Facebooks and instant chatting.
La seconda scossa sismica (second tremor) was at 9.29 and registered a 4.0. We felt that one pretty good. There was one tremor before it, around a 2.9, but we didn’t feel that one. Many people actually left their offices and went out into the streets for a while fearing much worse. Earlier this year, in April, there was a devastating earthquake in L’Aquila a couple hundred kilometers from Ancona (which I happened to feel while I was in Rome) and the memories and emotions are still raw for many. This is the fourth earthquake I’ve felt since I’ve been in Italy which doubles my total from 20 plus years living in and around Portland. Earth shaking experience indeed. Multiple people have assured me that our office building and more important to me, my apartment building were built “the right way” and there is little to fear. Considering the seismic activity in the region throughout the 1900s and that both buildings are standing strong, I completely agree.
At any rate, the story put our little town on the national news last night. Two girls kissed on this week’s episode of Grande Fratello (Italy’s Big Brother), Inter is leading Serie A and the sidewalks are covered in dog poo. Life goes on as normal.
Being an American, I’m frequently drawn into conversations comparing life in America vs. Italy. I’ve been accused of harboring some stereotypes about my Italian hosts and to some extent I am guilty as charged. However, Valentina, my strongest critic, forwarded me this cartoon comparing Italians to the rest of Europe done by a well-known Italian cartoonist named Bruno Bozzetto. I’ve made, and been told, many of the same observations found in the video, especially the one about dealing with bureaucracy. I’ll let Bruno defend me in my ongoing debates about the relative merits of our respective countries.
Goodbye zoe. You were well loved and you will be truly missed.
La seconda scossa sismica (second tremor) was at 9.29 and registered a 4.0. We felt that one pretty good. There was one tremor before it, around a 2.9, but we didn’t feel that one. Many people actually left their offices and went out into the streets for a while fearing much worse. Earlier this year, in April, there was a devastating earthquake in L’Aquila a couple hundred kilometers from Ancona (which I happened to feel while I was in Rome) and the memories and emotions are still raw for many. This is the fourth earthquake I’ve felt since I’ve been in Italy which doubles my total from 20 plus years living in and around Portland. Earth shaking experience indeed. Multiple people have assured me that our office building and more important to me, my apartment building were built “the right way” and there is little to fear. Considering the seismic activity in the region throughout the 1900s and that both buildings are standing strong, I completely agree.
At any rate, the story put our little town on the national news last night. Two girls kissed on this week’s episode of Grande Fratello (Italy’s Big Brother), Inter is leading Serie A and the sidewalks are covered in dog poo. Life goes on as normal.
Being an American, I’m frequently drawn into conversations comparing life in America vs. Italy. I’ve been accused of harboring some stereotypes about my Italian hosts and to some extent I am guilty as charged. However, Valentina, my strongest critic, forwarded me this cartoon comparing Italians to the rest of Europe done by a well-known Italian cartoonist named Bruno Bozzetto. I’ve made, and been told, many of the same observations found in the video, especially the one about dealing with bureaucracy. I’ll let Bruno defend me in my ongoing debates about the relative merits of our respective countries.
Goodbye zoe. You were well loved and you will be truly missed.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A Northern Adventure - San Marino & Bologna
Last Saturday, the 2nd of January, I jumped in my friend's car for my first Italian road trip. In the car was my colleague Valentina and her boyfriend Giordano. The plan was to stay with Valentina's parents at their house in San Matteo della Decima, about 30km from Bologna, and use it as a base to visit a few cities in northern Italy. Everything went according to plan.
Valentina is a project manager at PantaService Group, speaks three languages fluently, and as the next few days would show, knows just about everything interesting having to do with anything relevant in the cities we would visit. Giordano is also a project manager who knew less about the cities but had a GPS. He is also a minor celebrity in Italy as one of the founding members and lead guitar player for the band Io e i Gomma Gommas, Italy's answer to America's Me First and the Gimme Gimmies.
Rockstars Vale and Giordano in front of the Castello Estense di Ferrara
The four day trip through the region of Emilia-Romagna was full of castles, cathedrals, and pork products spread over seven cities and two countries. Along the way I was introduced to gnocco fritto and tigelle, two kinds of fried bread (eaten with prosciutto, cheese and other toppings) which are typical of the region and delicious, and ciccioli and zampone (see also: 'pork products' above) which are also from the region and a bit less delicious.
Highlights from each portion of the trip include:
San Marino - it's a city and a country! And a castle to boot. The castle was built in the 13th century proving that while a bit politically incorrect, slave labor does have its advantages. It's hard to fathom how structures like this were built without, or in spite of, having today's tools, machines and technologies.
This castle brought to you in 1253 by your local, friendly Serf!
San Marino survives by being a tax-shelter for businesses. The citizens enjoy a variety of tax benefits so attractive that it is illegal to move to or live there unless you are married to a citizen. There is also a thriving souvenir business whose primary products seem to be swords, knives and crossbows. It's an amazing city/country planted on top of the tallest hill in the area with commanding views, fairy tale cliché buildings and sharp swords.
Bologna - the capital of Emilia-Romagna boasts two leaning towers to Pisa's one. Take that Pisa! There used to be seven total (or maybe it was eleven) but the rest fell over as a result of using the lowest bidder, or maybe spiteful Serfs. In a food obsessed country, Bologna is called by some the food capital of Italy. I had a piece of chocolate cake that was capital in my book.
The throbbing, slightly constricted culinary pulse of Bologna.
Valentina went to university in Bologna and knows everything about it. It is nearly 2500 years old and saw it's proudest moments in the 12th century, which is also about the time Portland was being founded I think. The city has over 40km of covered arcades which were built so additional rooms could be added to the second floor houses above the streets to be rented to students and additionally, are nice for walking around on a cold winter afternoon when it's raining and snowing. (I suppose they are also nice for walking around on a sunny, summer morning too.)
For an arcade, there wasn't a single video game visible.
There are a little over 300,000 people who live in Bologna and nearly 100,000 of them are students at the university (this town parties!) all living in tiny rooms above the arcades built especially for them hundreds of years ago. Fine urban planning. Bologna is known for the red bricks used to construct many of its fine buildings, was a center of fierce partisan resistance during WWII, and is dominated by the Communist political party.
These are red brick buildings in the main square, not Communists.
The main duomo (big church), Cattedrale di San Petronio was built using donations from the city's residents. Construction lasted several centuries and at one point there was a plan to expand the church to outdo even St. Peter's in Rome. The Pope didn't think much of that idea though and put a stop to it. As a result, the facade is only half covered in marble and there are no side churches to form the shape of the Latin cross like you would normally find. These fun facts all brought to you by Valentina. There was a quiz.
Half-covered but fully complete. This is what happens when you make a Pope mad.
Dinner in San Matteo della Decima with some of Vale's high school friends concluded the day. It was at this dinner that I was introduced to Lambrusco (sparkling red wine - yes please!) and the above mentioned fried bread and ciccioli. Ciccioli is a sausage made by taking all the left-over pork bits (like a hotdog!) squeezing them and then drying it out (not like a hotdog!). Not my favorite.
This was the end of our first day and the end of this blog post. I've posted some additional pictures in an online photo album (click here) and I'll write about the rest of our adventures (with photos) in subsequent posts including the moment where I learn I'm eating dinner with a table full of actual Communists. Pass the Lambrusco!
Valentina is a project manager at PantaService Group, speaks three languages fluently, and as the next few days would show, knows just about everything interesting having to do with anything relevant in the cities we would visit. Giordano is also a project manager who knew less about the cities but had a GPS. He is also a minor celebrity in Italy as one of the founding members and lead guitar player for the band Io e i Gomma Gommas, Italy's answer to America's Me First and the Gimme Gimmies.
The four day trip through the region of Emilia-Romagna was full of castles, cathedrals, and pork products spread over seven cities and two countries. Along the way I was introduced to gnocco fritto and tigelle, two kinds of fried bread (eaten with prosciutto, cheese and other toppings) which are typical of the region and delicious, and ciccioli and zampone (see also: 'pork products' above) which are also from the region and a bit less delicious.
Highlights from each portion of the trip include:
San Marino - it's a city and a country! And a castle to boot. The castle was built in the 13th century proving that while a bit politically incorrect, slave labor does have its advantages. It's hard to fathom how structures like this were built without, or in spite of, having today's tools, machines and technologies.
San Marino survives by being a tax-shelter for businesses. The citizens enjoy a variety of tax benefits so attractive that it is illegal to move to or live there unless you are married to a citizen. There is also a thriving souvenir business whose primary products seem to be swords, knives and crossbows. It's an amazing city/country planted on top of the tallest hill in the area with commanding views, fairy tale cliché buildings and sharp swords.
Bologna - the capital of Emilia-Romagna boasts two leaning towers to Pisa's one. Take that Pisa! There used to be seven total (or maybe it was eleven) but the rest fell over as a result of using the lowest bidder, or maybe spiteful Serfs. In a food obsessed country, Bologna is called by some the food capital of Italy. I had a piece of chocolate cake that was capital in my book.
Valentina went to university in Bologna and knows everything about it. It is nearly 2500 years old and saw it's proudest moments in the 12th century, which is also about the time Portland was being founded I think. The city has over 40km of covered arcades which were built so additional rooms could be added to the second floor houses above the streets to be rented to students and additionally, are nice for walking around on a cold winter afternoon when it's raining and snowing. (I suppose they are also nice for walking around on a sunny, summer morning too.)
There are a little over 300,000 people who live in Bologna and nearly 100,000 of them are students at the university (this town parties!) all living in tiny rooms above the arcades built especially for them hundreds of years ago. Fine urban planning. Bologna is known for the red bricks used to construct many of its fine buildings, was a center of fierce partisan resistance during WWII, and is dominated by the Communist political party.
The main duomo (big church), Cattedrale di San Petronio was built using donations from the city's residents. Construction lasted several centuries and at one point there was a plan to expand the church to outdo even St. Peter's in Rome. The Pope didn't think much of that idea though and put a stop to it. As a result, the facade is only half covered in marble and there are no side churches to form the shape of the Latin cross like you would normally find. These fun facts all brought to you by Valentina. There was a quiz.
Dinner in San Matteo della Decima with some of Vale's high school friends concluded the day. It was at this dinner that I was introduced to Lambrusco (sparkling red wine - yes please!) and the above mentioned fried bread and ciccioli. Ciccioli is a sausage made by taking all the left-over pork bits (like a hotdog!) squeezing them and then drying it out (not like a hotdog!). Not my favorite.
This was the end of our first day and the end of this blog post. I've posted some additional pictures in an online photo album (click here) and I'll write about the rest of our adventures (with photos) in subsequent posts including the moment where I learn I'm eating dinner with a table full of actual Communists. Pass the Lambrusco!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Capodanno
Happy New Year Everyone!
Happy Birthday Trina!
Happy Birthday Matt and Inga!
Let's see if I can avoid my typical verbal vomiting (unlike the girl in the bar last night who couldn't avoid verbal or even regular vomiting) and make this mostly about pictures.
But more about the girl. What a trooper. It's 1 or 2 in the morning and she comes in to the bar with a group of friends looking very pretty and festive and in no way like she is about to ruin her very expensive boots. Well three times in the span of about 30 minutes she boots on her boots. Raimondo and I assume we have seen the last her when she is carried out of the bar and driven off in a friend's car. Not so. About an hour later she is back, upright, walking. The show must go on indeed!
My evening was nothing like that. It started at about 11:00 in Piazza Cavour with a concert put on by the city. It was quite remarkable seeing the huge crowds all gathered for the occasion. I've seen these types of crowds in public squares for years in the news and was looking forward to being a part of one when I moved to Italy so it was pretty cool to be standing in the middle of it all.
There was a very interesting band playing when we arrived. Their instruments were all self-constructed from found and recycled materials. As part of their act they handed out instruments to the crowd so everyone could play along and join in. It was mayhem and highly entertaining.
After the first group, the mayor came out for the official countdown to Buon Anno (Happy New Year)! Unfortunately, there was no official clock so his watch became the official timepiece.
There is no such thing as an illegal firework in Italy so there were flares being set-off in the middle of the crowd (like you see in the stands during football matches), I think actual military flares being launched, and a fireworks show supplied by the general public. Fingers may or may not have been blow-off by the people bringing you the explosions in these pictures.
It had rained all day but dried out as it got dark. However, after the fireworks a biblical rain began to fall. It chased us and everyone else from the piazza into the waiting bars and clubs.
We stayed indoors at various bars and clubs until around 5am when we decided it was time for the first meal and sleep of 2010.
And that's the end of 2009 and the start of 2010. When last year began I never could have predicted it would end with me in my hometown piazza in Italy. Makes me more than a little curious about how this year will go. I hope I'm lucky enough to spend a little of it with some of you. I wish you a very happy new year. To steal someone else's line: "May the best year of your past be the worst year of your future."
Tomorrow I am off with a friend from work to see Bologna. She is from there and promises to give me a locals tour. If the weather cooperates we're also planning to see Venice and maybe Verona. Right now Venice is under 20 cm. of water from winter storms so it might not be in the cards for this trip. There is also a festival this time of year that involves an old lady called La Befana and this region is famous for its celebrations which includes burning witches and drinking. I think. I'll let you know.
Happy Birthday Trina!
Happy Birthday Matt and Inga!
Let's see if I can avoid my typical verbal vomiting (unlike the girl in the bar last night who couldn't avoid verbal or even regular vomiting) and make this mostly about pictures.
But more about the girl. What a trooper. It's 1 or 2 in the morning and she comes in to the bar with a group of friends looking very pretty and festive and in no way like she is about to ruin her very expensive boots. Well three times in the span of about 30 minutes she boots on her boots. Raimondo and I assume we have seen the last her when she is carried out of the bar and driven off in a friend's car. Not so. About an hour later she is back, upright, walking. The show must go on indeed!
My evening was nothing like that. It started at about 11:00 in Piazza Cavour with a concert put on by the city. It was quite remarkable seeing the huge crowds all gathered for the occasion. I've seen these types of crowds in public squares for years in the news and was looking forward to being a part of one when I moved to Italy so it was pretty cool to be standing in the middle of it all.
There was a very interesting band playing when we arrived. Their instruments were all self-constructed from found and recycled materials. As part of their act they handed out instruments to the crowd so everyone could play along and join in. It was mayhem and highly entertaining.
This is the band.
Raimondo being highly entertaining (not smoking a bong).
After the first group, the mayor came out for the official countdown to Buon Anno (Happy New Year)! Unfortunately, there was no official clock so his watch became the official timepiece.
This is the countdown.
Happy New Year! Buon Anno!
There is no such thing as an illegal firework in Italy so there were flares being set-off in the middle of the crowd (like you see in the stands during football matches), I think actual military flares being launched, and a fireworks show supplied by the general public. Fingers may or may not have been blow-off by the people bringing you the explosions in these pictures.
It had rained all day but dried out as it got dark. However, after the fireworks a biblical rain began to fall. It chased us and everyone else from the piazza into the waiting bars and clubs.
This is what a concert looks like from under an umbrella.
Wet, cold, happy, sober. Seriously.
We stayed indoors at various bars and clubs until around 5am when we decided it was time for the first meal and sleep of 2010.
How does a bowl of spaghetti bianca con olio e peperoncini and a nap grab you?
And that's the end of 2009 and the start of 2010. When last year began I never could have predicted it would end with me in my hometown piazza in Italy. Makes me more than a little curious about how this year will go. I hope I'm lucky enough to spend a little of it with some of you. I wish you a very happy new year. To steal someone else's line: "May the best year of your past be the worst year of your future."
Tomorrow I am off with a friend from work to see Bologna. She is from there and promises to give me a locals tour. If the weather cooperates we're also planning to see Venice and maybe Verona. Right now Venice is under 20 cm. of water from winter storms so it might not be in the cards for this trip. There is also a festival this time of year that involves an old lady called La Befana and this region is famous for its celebrations which includes burning witches and drinking. I think. I'll let you know.
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