Festa della Repubblica

Festa della Repubblica

While here in Milano for the cycle of a full year, I’ve tried to get some sense of every holiday or special occasion. I’ve attended, or found myself caught in the middle of, festivals, parades, fairs and spontaneous crowds, and each one tells me a little more about Italia and her people. Yesterday was Festa della Repubblica.(See the wikipedia entry below.) I went online to find out what the city was doing for the holiday and I found mention of the ceremony at the Piazza del Duomo.

I came up out of the subway into the piazza at a quarter ’til noon. Being little, I weasled my way toward the front of the crowd so I could see better. A military brass band was playing, and a half dozen military groups were standing in formation.

At noon, they began raising the flags of Italia, Milano and the European Union. (I was amused that the visual backdrop for the ceremony was not the Duomo, but rather a sexy sunglasses ad for Dolce & Gabbana. I’m sure D&G planned their ad placement for this precise timing!)

When the national anthem played, the crowd around me sang with passion, especially the older folks. A marching procession followed, with each of the military groups in formation. Firefighters and local police were included in the groups.

It was a short march around the corner of the piazza then down to the side of the Duomo and the courtyard in front of the Palazzo Reale. (I was surprised when I got a little choked up.)

Small groups of city officials and military leaders gathered for informal portraits, then people dispersed into their midweek holiday.

Festa della Repubblica (literally Festival of the Republic or, in English, Republic Day) is celebrated in Italy on the second of June each year. The day commemorates the institutional referendum held by universal suffrage in 1946, in which the Italian people were called to the polls to decide on the form of government, following the Second World War and the fall of Fascism. With 12,717,923 votes for a republic and 10,719,284 for the monarchy, the male descendants of the House of Savoy were sent into exile. To commemorate it, a grand military parade is held in central Rome, presided by the President of the Republic in the role of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The Prime Minister and other authorities attend too.”

An article (in Italian) on Milano’s web site:
“Festa Repubblica per recuperare i valori del Paese”
“Festa Repubblica to recover the values of the Country.”

Young Legs

While riding the subway this morning heading into town, the train came to a stop and an elder man got on. I was pleased when a young woman offered him her seat, but he declined it. He and I were standing next to each other and he leaned over to me and said “my face is old, but my legs are young.” He told me he’s 82 years old, and I told him he looked 70. “And you’re 12, right?!” he said to me. We both laughed and continued to chat until two stops later when we got off and wished each other a nice day.

I came here for encounters such as this.
These little moments are big pleasures.

Twins Arrive, Fans Riot

Twins Arrive, Fans Riot

Boy! My two cousins come into town and a riot ensues!

Connie and Gerry arrived yesterday morning, crashed out for a nap then wandered the town for a while. I met them in the evening at their Duomo-close hotel and we goofed around the piazza for a while.

Connie succumbed to the bird food man, mistakenly opening his hand when the guy thrust corn at him. These guys offer you corn, the birds land all over you, your friends take pictures of you with the Duomo in the background and you give corn-man some money.

Our 8:00 dinner reservation was early by Italian standards, and we wanted to find a place for a little pre-dinner drink. We decided to head to the Porta Romana neighborhood and look for a place near the restaurant. Down, down, down, deep into the subway system to the yellow line. We rode 4 stops and ascended to an arch, an old wall, and one of the busy circle roads ringing the city. We walked. And walked. Nothing like a long stroll after a long plane flight. Though we passed several cafés along Monte Nero, it was a frenzied, noisy street and we had hoped for something more quiet. We didn’t find it.

We went on to Osteria La Cala (Viale Monte Nero 63) a bit early, and were the first patrons. The menu review, selection and ordering that followed was every bit the best of comedies and tragedies. Certainly, we tested the patience of the woman serving us! She and I discussed the menu items, specialties of Sardegna, and Connie was sure we had just relayed our life stories twice over.

Finally (!) a wine selection was made, and the waitress made the decision to bring us a selection of hot appetizers, plus raw scampi and prawns for each of us.

The octopus was incredibly tender. The stuffed fish roll was topped with fava beans and delicious. The scampi crudi and gamberi rossi crudi were fresh and light.

Just TRY to get these two guys to decide what to eat! After much discussion and many more “relays of life stories” (according to Connie), we decided on the pescatrice, (that funny fish with the “lure” hanging off its nose), gnocchi with truffles and shrimp, and lorighitas with calamaretti and bottarga.

Bottarga is a dried fish roe sac, often served by being thinly sliced and/or grated over pasta. There are many bottarga variations depending on the fish roe used, place of origin and style of preservation.

We closed the place down. The few other restaurant patrons had left long ago, and we were, of course, undecided about whether to have any dessert or caffé. Our wonderful waitress saved us from ourselves by bringing us a plate of little sweets, a bottle of Mirto digestif right out of the freezer, and 3 little shot glasses. I’d swear that bottle was full when she brought it to us, but there’s surely no way we could have drunk over half the bottle! Apparently, it’s bitter flavor grew on us.

We exchanged handshakes, grazie and much laughter with the restaurant owner, our dear waitress and the kitchen staff. Just outside the front door, we waited for the cable car tram with the intention of riding it to a location near my apartment so the guys could see where I live.

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It was the wrong tram. We ended up back at the Duomo, just as honking cars, canned fog horns and delirious fans started streaming in from all directions and clustered in the Piazza del Duomo, Milan’s living room. We were caught in the middle of it all. Milan’s Inter soccer team had just won against Barcelona and there was some serious celebration to be done. The local polizia hung back at the edge of the crowd to keep an eye on things. At the height of it all, Gerry and I lost Connie, consumed in the crowd.

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We called him, found him and all headed back to their hotel room to get their better cameras. They wanted to come back out and shoot more serious shots, but got bogged down by their technology tethers.

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Connie did his ode to Sir Isaac Newton.

It was fast approaching 1:00 in the morning and I hustled these guys out of their room to walk me to the subway stop at the Duomo. Good thing I did! I caught the LAST westbound red line run before they closed it for the night. I transferred to the green line, got off at Romolo and exited as a guy was standing there ready to lock the gate for the night!

I tell ya, those twins are trouble!

Heart of the Renaissance

Heart of the Renaissance

If you haven’t been to Firenze (Florence), put it on your “life list” of must-see places in the world. Really.

Two years ago I spent a couple of afternoons exploring Firenze, but I hadn’t been back since I returned to Italy last June. So I hopped on the train late last Friday morning, and less than two hours later, at 1:00, I arrived in Firenze and smiled. I walked from the train station to my hotel shooting photos along the way because I couldn’t wait until I put my bags down. I checked in, changed my clothes for the bit of humidity under the partly sunny skies, then left and took off walking for the next five hours.

If I were to move to Italy NOW, or want to relocate to another spot, I would pick Firenze.

Excerpts from my journal Friday night, 26 March 2010 , while resting my feet and having a delicious dinner:

“I love Firenze! At this point, with what I know and with my familiarity and my language, I’d move to Firenze. Milan was a great place to land and gave me anchors. I find much to interest me there. My camera is always at my side and I can stay as busy as I wish, but in just an afternoon, Firenze has thrilled me with its visuals, much the way that Venezia does.

“It’s very definitely a tourist town! I think that Spring/Easter vacations have begun because the clustering tour groups are everywhere and unavoidable. (I thought that, late March, I’d still be missing them all.)

“Firenze – Florence – is ‘tighter’. Narrower streets close into the center of town around the Duomo, and many ‘pedestrian-only’. the selection of little shops, restaurants and curious places gives much to explore without going far. The antiquity is a saturated wash over the town and gives it a texture that is lush across-the-board. Like Venezia, I could photograph here forever.

“I’m sitting at a table for two at Zá-Zá, a lovely, dar, funky, delicious trattoria just blocks from my Hotel Caravaggio. There’s been a table of four sitting near me having their meal, their drinks and their desserts. I smiled at them once… As they were leaving, the woman that had been nearest to me said goodbye – ‘Arrivederci‘. That tickles me.” (I highly recommend both the restaurant and the hotel.)

Excerpts from my journal Sunday afternoon, 28 March 2010 , on the train heading home to Milano:

“I had an incredible, full time in Firenze. So glad to have gone back, and with only an hour and 45-minute train ride, I could come for a day if I wanted to, or just an overnight.

“The city of Firenze, though packed with tourists, seems to have a quite comfortable parallel world of locals that go about their days and their work. With transportation and services so readily available, Firenze seems quite livable and pleasant.

“I very quickly got the-lay-of-the-land and covered much of the “Centro Storico” – the historic center of town – in my two days there, walking close to 20 hours overall.”

Yesterday evening, a friend asked by e-mail, “Should Florence be on my to-do list? What did you especially like about it?” I responded with an off-the-cuff, spontaneous list:

Everyone’s on foot or bike! The whole historic center, large radius, is almost all pedestrian-only with very few cars and some half-size, mini-buses. Walk everywhere. (I don’t think there IS a subway, but lots of public transportation.) Streets are narrow and closer in for easy strolling. NO traffic to even have to think about.

Absolutely fascinating art, history, culture, architecture at EVERY turn!

Historic sites. Historic art: Michelangelo’s David. Botticelli. Caravaggio. Dürer. Giotto. Leonardo. Lippi. Raphael. Rembrandt. Rubens. Titian. And so many more!

Visually lush. Vital, Small-city-energy.

VERY tourist-oriented (which I didn’t like having the vacation tours already swarming) but it felt like there was a parallel universe happening of people just going about their lives.

Florence doesn’t have the crazed-busy-frenzy of business-minded Milan.

Cool stuff for curious kids and adults alike. Sundials and crenulated towers.

Good gelato.

Neat bridges.

Street markets selling you-name-it.

Good cow-stomach sandwiches. (Lampredotto.)

The heartland of the Renaissance.

Oh. And they have curb-cuts designed for uninterrupted walking.

Quite a Git-Up

Quite a Git-Up

As I was returning home from Firenze and taking the metro from the train station, this couple was practically “doing the one-two” on the subway! That’s quite a git-up they’ve got going there. (No. They are NOT typical, which made them all the more unbelievably laughable.) They sat across from me and I just couldn’t bring myself to get my camera out at such close range. But the backside view tells enough of the story for you to get the idea.

Pasta. We’re Not Talkin’ Noodles

Pasta. We’re Not Talkin’ Noodles

Milano is a fabulous place to do a “design intensive” exploration, and I’ve stepped up my voracious visual consumption of the rich details around me. What a place to study typography, graphics, signage and advertising! Everything captures my mind.

Even a toothpaste ad.

“The green has all our respect, the red is the passion we put into it,
but it’s the white of your smile that’s our true mission.”

No, not all Italian packaging has such a retro, stereotype look. One finds the usual Crest, Colgate and Sensodyne on the grocery shelves, but with Italian swapped for English. That must be why “Pasta del Capitano” seemed like such a throwback, and stopped me while rushing for the subway car.

Magic in Paris

Magic in Paris

By day’s end, my feet were screaming. The “slow museum shuffle” is exhausting, more so than walking briskly for 5 miles. I had to get back to my room, unload the few things I carried and take a break.

The subway system, with two transfers, consumed 45 minutes, then I arrived at the Maubert-Mutualité stop. I started up the hill to the Hotel Moderne Saint Germain and paused outside the Magic Shop. I’ve been passing by every day this week, and this time, wondered if there might be something magical to take home with me. I went in.

I laughed and asked the man if he speaks English. “Yes”. (Quite well, really!) I told him that I wondered if there might be something special for me to take home.

Magic-QuocTien

“Yes. Of course. Let me show you this trick.” He showed me “magic” with 8 playing cards and I was bowled over. 13 Euros. I had to have it. A simple set that would make a great party amusement (once I learn it).

Then he took two inch-and-a-half, soft, foam balls. He gave one to me and had me squeeze it tight in my fist. The other one he held tight in his own palm. “One, two, three”. He opened his hand, and showed me the other as well. No ball in either. I was reluctant to open my hand and said I’d have to fall on the floor if there were two balls in my palm. …There were, of course! (But I didn’t fall down.) I couldn’t believe it. Of course I had been very attentive to everything while he did the trick, but apparently not to the right things. How did that second red ball end up in my hand?!

Magic-HandTwoBalls

One last trick: a Chinese coin and an American 50 cent piece. I picked one, the 50 cents. He handed me the Chinese coin and it went into my hand which clenched tightly around it, fingers down. The 50 cent piece was set onto the back of the same hand that was holding the Chinese coin. He took a playing card, covered the 50 cent piece with it and tapped the card. When he removed the card, the CHINESE coin was sitting on top of my hand and the 50 cent piece was tight in my fist. How the coins traded place, I have no idea.

So I ended my time in Paris with a short magical evening. Even if I never learn the trick I bought, the 13 Euros bought me laughs, entertainment, amazement and conversation.

The shop, Mayette Magie Moderne, is (allegedgly) the oldest magic shop in the world at 201 years. My magician for the evening was Quoc Tien Tran, who was born and raised in Paris and has been “doing magic” since age 6 or 7. (His mom told him it’s a “gift from God”.)

Magic-QuocTien2

As I was getting ready to leave the shop, a mother and her very young son came in. Quoc Tien stepped right up to do a disappearing ball trick for the little boy (who will probably grow up to be a magician because of that ball.)

Magic-QuocTienYoungBoyMother

THREE BASIC RULES OF MAGIC (As they were explained to me):
1 Never explain the trick.
2 Don’t perform the trick twice in the same instance or for the same person.
3 Perform it only when YOU’RE ready to perform it, and you know it very well.

What an enchanting and amusing way to end my time in Paris!

Mayette Magie Moderne
8 Rue des Carmes
75005 Paris
TEL: 01 43 54 13 63
WEB: www.mayette.com
Metro: Maubert-Mutualité

Magic-MayetteStoreFront

Festive with Lights

Festive with Lights

In addition to the International Festival of Light that’s present in Milano right now, there are special light displays and decorations all over town. I like the illuminated scrolls that line the major avenues, these along Via Alessandro Manzoni, through the center of town:

ManzoniStreetLights

Brera is the chic, creative, cultural neighborhood north of the Duomo. It’s home to theatres, museums and the Academy of Fine Arts, among other things:

BreraLights

Isn’t this a beautiful “chandelier” along Corso Garibaldi? The lighted animals are part of the international exhibition. There are several clusters of them spaced along the sidewalk:

BreraLightsAnimali2

The navigli, (canals), have their share of lights, too, and make for a nice stroll or boat ride:

NaviglioGrandeLights

Come up out of the Moscova metro stop, and you’re faced with a towering tree of these violet-lit spheres:

MoscovaLightBalls

Standing at the entrance to Via Mercanti, I laughed at the conjunction of the decorative leaf of light, the street lamps, the curvaceous stone sculpture, the statue of Vittorio Emanuele II in the Piazza del Duomo, and the huge video display. What an array!

VittorioEmanueleVideoLight

Illumination at the Duomo

Illumination at the Duomo

It was about 6:30 on a Sunday evening and I thought I was merely going to a champagne-tasting I had been told of. As it turned out, I came up out of the subway into a massive, standing-room-only crowd that filled the Piazza del Duomo in the center of Milan. Mini hot air balloons, about 2 feet tall and flame-fueled, were rising in the sky above the crowd and up over Milan’s jewel cathedral and the seemingly-just-as-tall, towering Christmas tree. Someone was filming the crowd’s responses and the video was being replayed on the building-sized, digital display facing the piazza. It was an energized, electric moment.

NataleDuomoBalloons

“Oh Holy Night”, a Christmas song I grew up with, was being broadcast out over the piazza; it would have inspired tears if I had let it.

“Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!”

I saw the local police clustering, and then moving together through the crowd. A procession began a swath through the people and I asked someone who it was. (Of course they responded in Italian and I forget what they said.) Moments later, the crowd roared happily as the lights on the tree were illuminated for the first time. The stained glass windows of the Duomo were backlit from within, and it was all magical.

NataleDuomoTreeCrowd

NataleDuomoTree

The tree was covered with 100,000 lights, and white pointsettias.

NataleDuomoTreePointsettas

NataleDuomoStainedGlassAd

And I had just happened to have shown up at the right moment! There’s something wonderful about popping up out of the subway tunnels into the midst of pleasant surprises.

DECEMBER 8 UPDATE:
I just read that the floating lanterns are intended to be “luminous symbols that spread the Peace, Hope and Love of Christmas”. The Christmas Tree, guy-wired to a number of surrounding buildings, is 164 feet tall, the biggest Christmas Tree in Europe.

“L’inaugurazione ufficiale del Festival della Luce e l’accensione della città prenderanno il via domenica 6 dicembre alle ore 18.00 attraverso un grande evento di apertura in piazza Duomo con il lancio delle ‘lanterne di luce’, simboli luminosi che diffondono nell’aria del Natale la ‘pace’, la ‘speranza’ e l’‘amore’.

I tram di luce, con la loro scia luminosa, daranno il via alla manifestazione. Come scenografia, i fiori luminosi trasformeranno Piazzetta Reale in un prato verde di luce. A seguire l’accensione del grande Albero di Natale, il più alto abete luminoso d’Europa – oltre 50 metri – illuminato da centomila lampadine ad alto risparmio energetico – e l’illuminazione della Cattedrale attraverso un progetto firmato dai light designer Castagna&Ravelli in collaborazione con la Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, che dall’interno rivela lo splendore delle sue vetrate.”

http://www.comune.milano.it/portale/wps/portal/CDM?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/ContentLibrary/per+saperne/per+saperne/led/led+show/lo+evento+milano%2C+citta+di+luce/speciale+led_led+show_evento