Roberta Reports From Italy
September, 2004

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Now back in Milan and working hard to get everything done. The August hiatus -- when all the Italians head off for their holidays -- merely means that everyone tears about like wild things for several days after getting back from vacation and, by the end of the first week or so, they all feel like they need another vacation. I am trying to take things calmly since I got back into the city, but I notice I too have been rushing from place to place. Some of them very nice I must say. One new one I found is the Caffè Vergnano at 3, Via Speronari. This is the flagship bar and gelateria for this Turin-based coffee producer. The location is lovely. Via Speronari is a little street is just two minutes from Piazza del Duomo and runs from Via Mazzini to Via Torino. It is one of Milan's most useful streets, if you see what I mean, as well as being a food-lover's haven. A bakery, followed by a wine-shop, with a vegetable store, a salumeria that does hot food to take out, from lunchtime through to the evening -- and now this little bar. If its on-street location is great, the off-street one is even lovelier: a courtyard that backs on to the old brick walls of the church of San Satiro. Just five or so tables, so it is a case of taking one's chances. But worth the effort.

The church of San Satiro, or Santa Maria presso San Satiro which is its full name, is the one with the astounding trompe l'oeil effect that Bramante created in the apse. As you enter, everything looks normal. But, when you get close to the end wall, you see that it is almost flat. The depth is all painted on. Note that the church is not open all day. Go there between 8.30am and 11.30am and then 3.30pm and 5.30pm, from Monday to Saturday. Sunday opening is 9.30am-10.30am and then 4.30pm-5.30pm.

Anna-Kaisa Liedes

While many people understandably associate Asti in the Piedmont with moscato and spumante wine (note that the bulk of the latter is exported, mostly to Germany), the town also boasts an annual folk music festival. Called Cantè Bergera, this year's will be the fifth, and what’s special is that it features only female voices. Dates: Saturday October 1 and Sunday October 2. Guests include Anna-Kaisa Liedes and Utua from Finland and Tiharea from Madagascar. You can learn more about Italian folk groups by clicking here.

Between September 8 and September 12, Mantua becomes Book City as the Festivaletteratura takes the stage. Not to be confused with the Turin Book fair which takes place in May within the Lingotto trade fair complex, the Mantua Literature Festival is very much an "on the street" experience, with lots of readings and other outdoor events, the chance to meet authors, Italian and otherwise. Among the Italian authors present will be Umberto Eco, Antonio Tabucchi, and Andrea De Carlo. For more information and schedules, click here.

Mantua is also the location for an exciting new exhibition on the great painters of northern Italy who took their cue from Giorgione's way with figures and landscape as well as his skill with color. Entitled Natura e maniera tra Tiziano e Caravaggio, the exhibition is at the Palazzo Te in Mantua. As well as Titian (or Tiziano Vecellio, to give him his full name) and -- of course -- Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi), these artists included Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, Lorenzo Lotto, Moretto da Brescia (Alessandro Bonvicino), Romanino (Girolamo Romani), Dosso Dossi, as well as Giambattista, Iacopo and Leandro Bassano. Some 150 of their works are being exhibited at the show, which runs to January 9, 2005. It's not just the borrowed works, many of which have been brought to Italy from prestigious galleries worldwide, that visitors will be able to admire. Indeed, they will also be able to see frescoes created by Giulio Romano for the Palazzo. Palazzo Te is at Viale Te 19 in Mantova. Open Tuesday-Sunday 9am – 6:30 pm, Monday 1 – 6:30 pm (ticket window closes one hour earlier).

Sunday September 12 in Milan sees the Terry Fox Run take place, while from Monday September 13 to Monday September 20, those who have not managed to get to the Venice Film Festival -- which is due to open even as I write -- will be able to see some of the movies that made the grade. Details of this annual initiative, which goes by the name of Le vie del Cinema: i film di Venezia a Milano can be seen by clicking here (in Italian only, as are the films). At the same web site, you can also find details of Frontiere: I Pardi del Festival del Film di Locarno a Milano. If you are coming to Milan towards the end of the month, you can catch a selection of the movies shown at the Locarno Film Festival, which took place in early August. Dates are Tuesday September 28 to Sunday October 10.

I should mention this for next month but since I am talking movies I may as well tell you about it now. For this first time ever, the Tribeca Film Festival will be at the Fondazione Prada in Via Fogazzaro in Milan from Tuesday 12 to Saturday 16 October. Details by clicking here.

Changing the subject entirely, I have been reading a thriller called Property of Blood by Magdalen Nabb, an Englishwoman who has lived in Florence since 1975. A woman is kidnapped. She is kept blindfolded by her captors in the hills above Florence, where the story is set. There is little conversation between her and the men guarding her, other than orders issued. Which she must obey. At a certain point, her guard removes her blindfold -- and immediately starts to refer to her as Signora, and uses the polite “lei” form of address. She realises that, being trussed up and definitely in his power, he could -- with impunity – use the “tu” form, as one would with someone over whom one has some sort of superiority (a child, an animal, an employee). As soon as the relationship was on a one-to-one level and he could see her face, everything changed. If nothing else, she was someone that he did not know as a friend or relative. So it was back to the appellation he would -- automatically -- have used in speaking to her in any other circumstances. This exchange also serves to highlight some of the more complex aspects of the “tu/lei” debate that English-speakers often engage in when learning Italian. To use “tu” to everyone is not necessarily a sign that you are a friendly and approachable person. Plus it explains why, in certain occasions, although you have asked someone to call you “tu” and you use that form to them, they persist in saying “lei,” or vice versa. It's almost intuitive. Needless to say, Magdalen Nabb’s perennial protagonist Marshal Guernaccia enters the story, and all ends actually very unhappily, but leaves us wanting more. I hope there will be some. Magdalen Nabb's most recent Marshal Guarnaccia thriller is Some Bitter Taste. All her books can be purchased online: click here.

While in Florence, I had a delightful dinner with friends at the recently-opened restaurant called La Terrazza del Principe at 10, Viale Machiavelli. From the terrace in question, we could see the ramparts of the Forte Belvedere. But, to tell the truth, we did not spend that much time gazing out. Our attention was much more fixed to our plates, and what we could put in them. The array was dazzling. Fresh fish all the way. From the clams and mussels with which we started, through a divine risotto with seafood, spaghetti with more clams, and swordfish and tuna, and I had better stop there. After dinner, we saw the dining hall indoors, which is where the action moves in just a few more days. Not as lovely as being out on the terrace, but very pleasant anyway. For reservations call 055/ 233-5375.

I think I may have cleaned them out, but I have to tell you that the notecards in the bookshop at Palazzo Pitti in Florence are absolutely fabulous. Priced from one Euro upwards, they are also some of the best bargains you can find around town. Plus, you are helping promote an excellent cause, so it’s win-win all the way. Buy them for yourselves, to send, or as gifts.

Talking of inexpensive presents from Italy, you could do worse than check out the costume jewelry at the COIN department stores. The one in Florence is in Via Calzuaioli. You never noticed it and you have been up and down there a million times? Well, yes, that is a feature of this Venice-based chain: they tend to be carved out of existing buildings, so not only do they fit in, façade-wise, but they are also a very interesting shape, architecture-wise. With the Florence one, for example, you see that it has been conjured out of a huge courtyard. Which explains the vast glass roof. A beautiful top-lit space. That said, there are some purpose-built COINs, one being the eight-storey flagship store in Piazza Cinque Giornate in Milan, where the top-floor is taken up by the restaurant and bars. Unfortunately, no spectacular views are afforded, since the building faces the "wrong" way.

The Rinascente, on the other hand, provides outstanding vistas in both Milan and Florence. Lots and lots of spires, pinnacles, gargoyles and other details of the Duomo roof in the former case. In the latter, a sweep from Forte Belvedere, via the KaffeeHaus at the Boboli gardens, right the way round to the Duomo and then as far as Monte Morello if the day is clear, as well as a close-up of Piazza della Repubblica since that's of course where the store is located.

A delicious present for yourself? How about a pair of gloves in a choice of myriad delicious colours? In Florence, head for Roberta. No relation of course, but I hate wearing labels. If I have to, then at least I prefer to use my own name. The store is at 78-78R of Borgo San Iacopo, where it intersects with the Ponte Vecchio. Prices? Unlined 18 euro, lined 26 Euro. They also have the great advantage that they do not get lost. Not sure how that works, but I swear it does!

As we know, not all things Italian happen in Italy. In mid-September, New York City -- or Little Italy anyway -- becomes the focus for the feast day of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples. Events include a religious procession, parades, game booths, rides and plenty of Italian food (much of it unrecognisable to someone from Italy, but let's not go into that.) After dark, Mulberry Street is resplendent under the sparkling lights, while the smells of frying sausages and zeppole fill the air. Click here for details.

Then, if you are going to be anywhere near Memphis, Tennessee, no need to call long distance information, because the details of the exhibition Masters of Florence: Glory & Genius At The Court of The Medici are all here. Running through October 3, 2004 and held at The Pyramid Downtown, the exhibition consists of about 250 objects, all designed to show how talents such as those of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Botticelli might not have flourished without their patronage. The exhibits include drawings loaned by the Casa Buonarroti. These drawings are works on paper. One is a letter written by Michelangelo in brown ink, along with a red-chalk drawing of a tabernacle, with partial sketches of a tympanum-shaped crowning, dated around 1524. In the drawing Studies for Two Ciboriums and a Sarcophagus, a fairly detailed study for an octagonal-shaped ciborium is seen as well as suggestions of a second ciborium and the molding of a sarcophagus. The drawing, done in charcoal, is dated around 1516. The third work, Study of Nude Figures, presents various sketches of male figures shown in rapid movement lifting their hands towards the sky. Some of the figures were drawn with black chalk and are barely visible; three have also been gone over with pen and brown ink. Click here for details.

Then there are the islands. First is Isola Bella, pictured at right. Ten terraces, the lowest built on piles thrown out into the lake, feature rare exotic plants, the whole set off by statues and fountains, with white peacocks just to gild the lily (so to speak). As well as the Isola Madre, whose botanical gardens lend themselves to reflection. Ranging free among the rare plants, including orange and lemon trees, as well as cedars, exotic flowers are peacocks and pheasants, the better to create a mood of being "somewhere else entirely". Of great interest also is the visit to the 16th-century palace, whose period furniture has been lovingly reconstructed. There is also a collection of 18th- and 19th-century marionette theatres on display. The Isola Madre can be visited from March to October from 9am-12noon, and then from 1:30pm to 5:30pm. For more about these islands and the surrounding area, click here.

As well as being able to visit all these lovely gardens, I could, of course, have taken in some events at the Stresa International Music Festival, which goes on until the end of the month. Perhaps next time.

Talking about next time, I promise to mention more places than just Florence and Milan and then Milan and Florence. So just to close, let's try and range a little wider. How about San Remo? And the restaurant Paolo e Barbara, which gets rave write-ups all over the place. Chef Paolo Masieri studied under Gualtiero Marchesi, who is considered one of Italy's leading lights, before looking for inspiration also to French, Japanese, and Chinese chefs. The menu draws from local-grown and -raised materials from the area above Dolceacqua, which is in the pre-Alpine area between Liguria and the French border. Which is where Paolo Masieri's family farm is. Now, apart from taking a ride to San Remo to have lunch or dinner (not Wednesday all day or Thursday lunch which is when they are closed), you can also get a glimpse of how Paolo Masieri works wonders in a new film that is being shown at the Venice Film Festival. Called Cuoco Contadino, or The Peasant Chef, the 70-minute movie follows our man through the woods where he collects mushrooms, to the garden, where he gathers vegetables and herbs, through to the kitchen where he blends these materials into magical meals. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film is being distributed by Milan-based Mikado Film SpA.

Another film you may want to look out for is Pontormo, starring Joe Mantegna. Indeed, if you head for the World Financial Center in New York City between September 30 and October 10, you will be able to see a preview as part of the Splendor of Florence show that is being held there. Organized as always by Joyce Acciaioli, the third Splendor of Florence exhibition offers visitors a program of free events where they can watch some of the world's premier artisans at work on wood, marble, and paper as well as silver and gold. Among the exhibitors will be Cassetti, one of the jewelers on the Ponte Vecchio, as well as the Officina di Santa Maria Novella, whose fragrances can be bought in that wonderful place in Via della Scala. And Pontormo? Well, his real name was Iacopo Carucci and he was born in Empoli in 1494 and died in Florence in 1556. Influenced by Michelangelo and Dürer, he was responsible for, among others, the frescoes in the Charterhouse in Florence (Certosa del Galluzzo), on the road leading towards Siena. Whoops, did you notice? I went back to Florence. Sorry!