Living in San Giorgio di Pesaro and Kingston

On Friday night the play “La Casa della Luna Calante” (the house of the waning moon)was performed by some citizens of San Giorgio. The play was based on a short play by Furio Bordon called “Le Ultime Lune” and tells the story of an old man who is leaving his house to move into an old people’s home and before he leaves he has a conversation with his dead mother about the highs and lows of his life. In the second act he is in the home and talks about his life in the home and his preparations for death. It is a very bitter-sweet, tragic-comedy. The producer of the San Giorgio version Giuliana kept the basic outline of the play and added some comic scenes about the individual characters in the home. Opting to stress the comic elements in the play was a wise thing to do which in the context of a Friday evening’s entertainment in small village in Italy with an amateur cast. They also opted to use mostly dialect instead of italian. When you talk to people in San Giorgio about the use of dialect they also say that if they want to tell a joke then it works better in dialect. Unfortunately for me it meant most of the verbal humour was lost as some characers spoke pure dialect, others a mix and some pure italian. So it was like listening to a badly tuned radio where some sentences would come across loud and clear and then fade into a incoherent noise and then a few more words in focus. However, all the audience enjoyed the play. There was lots of laughter and lots of applause. Applause when the actors came on and people recognised them and lots of applause when people left the stage. Even I got into the game applauding when I recognised someone – “Sanzio” (our agricultural advisor) turned up as the owner of the home and then “Mrs Bella Giornata” came on as a women listening to the woes of her daughter’s love life. (I have never got to know Mrs Bella Giornata’s real name but as we always seem to meet in the street when the sun is shining and she always says “Che bella giornata!” this has become her name). The play ended with characters in the play reciting a poem about the value of life and the need to live now and then bright cheerful music was played, the actors bowed and danced while the audience clapped happily in time to the music. Everyone left with a smile on their faces.

The other night we saw  a live performance of Giulio Cesare from Paris. It was relayed to a small cinema in Pesaro. Well as usual Handel was magical and showed his genius as a composer.It was a pity that the Director/Designer felt unable to leave the piece alone and overlayed the work with a mismash of ideas and irrelevancies. Too many times the singers were placed in situations where a mass of supernumeries busied themselves in the background which distracted from the aria and the drama. 

It was interesting to me to see how the manners of Italian audiences have change little.In the 18th and 19th Centuries visitors from Britain regularly commented on the constant talking, the eating and the drinking that went on during a performance. Well now apart from the talking, the major distraction is the mobile phone,which under no circumstances can be turned off ( silent mode maybe).So throughout the performance one was conscious of the faint blue glow of  numerous small screens, whilst owners checked on the latest text from their friends.I wonder if this is so at La Scala?

Despite all this, the singers were excellent with exceptionally touching portraits of the roles of Cornelia and Sesto ( Varduhi Abrahamyan and Isabel Leonard) standing out in my mind. The star, Natalie Dessay, as Cleopatra was bit of a curates egg.When she sung and stood still, she was truly breath-taking but when obliged to move I felt that she ended up looking like a second rate pole-dancer at a disco. Not her fault maybe( the Director again?) but what may work in 19th Century repetoire doesn’t look so good in the early 18th.

 Next offering is the La Fanciulla del West.

On Saturday we went to Ikea near Rimini to look for a chest of drawers. Here in the Marche we are spoilt for choice as there is an Ikea at Rimini and an Ikea at Ancona. Both equidistant and both the same apart from the fact that in one you go round the store clockwise and in the other anti-clockwise. As we had to meet Alba for coffee in Pesaro we opted for the Rimini Ikea and we were just in time to have our Ikea meatballs.

Ikea had been in the news last week as they are opening a new store in Catania in Sicily and are planning to recruit 350 staff. Ton Reijmers who is responsible for Ikea in Italy had arranged a meeting with the governor of the island Raffaele Lombardo.

After waiting outside the Lombardo’s office for over an hour Mr Reijmers was told that the Governor was out of the office and couldn’t see him and that Mr Reijmers would have to speak to the vice Governor. Lombardo is angry with Ikea because many of the jobs being offered are part time and also that Ikea are not taking on ex workers from local firms. In fact Ikea have recruited their staff through an internet questionaire and this is perhaps the rub. The “Ikea method” is in conflict with Lombardo’s method where he uses his influence to get people jobs who then vote for him. An ex supporter of Lombardo was quoted as saying that “for Lombardo transparency is inconceivable and to selet using the internet means no-one must pay politicians for a job”

Having decided to spend Christmas in London we planned to set out from San Giorgio on Saturday the 18th. However, as the weather forecast predicted snow all day Saturday we decided to go on Friday. We were taking Anne from Mondavio to her family in Zurich. This part of the journey went well. We left Mondavio, with Anne in the back, at 8.00 and had good driving weather until we exited the Goddart Tunnel. It had been snowing for some time and the roads were covered in snow and I began to wonder where the Swiss had got their reputations for keeping roads opened. However, by going slow and steady we managed to navigate the roads and about 6.30 we arrived at Sara and Rod’s i.e. Anne’s family. We had originally planned to stay one night with them just outside Zurich but decided to accept the hospitality offered and stay two nights. So had all day Saturday in Zurich. In the morning we went into the centre of Zurich and had a lovely morning looking around. In the afternoon we went sledging with Rod and the two boys Alexander and James. While Alexander and James threw themselves down the slopes with great abandon we took a more sedate approach to the edge but once started there was no stopping us. It was all great fun and after about an hour we headed home cold, damp and happy.

The following morning we left Zurich about 8 o’clock with the hope of being in Calais by 4.00. The main roads in Switzerland were now clear of snow and good progress was made. However, on reaching Colmar in France things began to change. While never in any danger of having to stop because of the weather the  driving conditions were terrible with the motorway at times going down to one lane with only the constant use of snow ploughs keeping the traffic going. The conditions were so bad that lorries were prohibited from using the motorways and this made life a lot easier for cars. We finally reached Calais about 7.30 in the evening and got onto a train  at 8.30. On the English sides the  roads were in good condition and we made it to London for 10.30.

The last English class of the year was due to take place on the 15th December. Unfortunately due to heavy snow the class had to be cancelled. Surprisingly, no one seemed disappointed.

My weekly English class opted to go for an early Christmas lunch on Sunday 5th. After some discussion it was decided to try the Palomba in Mondavio. There were 15 of us as along with the class, a few sposes the classs also invited Anne from Mondavio and Michael from Tavrnelle who had come to help in some of the classes.

Having been to the Palombo a few times and finding the food OK it was a great surprise to have an excellent lunch. When we arrived there was an aperativo of prosecco and aperol on the table. This was followed by mixed antipasti and then we had two pasta dishes – capoletti in brodo (a type of ravioli in a chicken stock) and nidi di rondini (swallows’ nests which were a type of lasagnae but made in little nests). Following this there was a mixed grill with roast potatoes and a salad and we finished off with a filled sponge cake and coffee. The whole meal was good and everyone enjoyed it. There were a few other groups also out to lunch and so the large dining room didn’t feel empty and impersonal atmosphere but there was lots of space between the tables. Certainly a good way to start the Christmas season.

Sunday it rained all day and today (Tuesday) it has begun to rain. But yesterday was beautiful – sun and blue skies. It was a great day to drive up to Predappio near Forli, the birthplace and final resting place of Mussolini. We (Bill, Pam, Michael myself and Max the dog) set out at 9.00. It takes just over an hour in the car. Straight up the motorway towards Bologna, get off at Forli and follow the signs. Predappio itself is long and narrow stretching out along the road leading into the Appenines. It’s quite a pretty town with some building from the fascist era bordering the street and quite a few souvenir shops selling Mussolini memorabilia but no signs at the entrance to the town telling you that it was his birthplace.

We parked in the street and strolled through the town. The house where he was born is on the hill behind the main street. There is a small museum there but it is only open at weekends. Couldn’t see any signs for his tomb and as the tourist office was closed we went into the most reputable looking of the souvenir shops and we were told that the tomb was in a cemetery about 2 kilometres outside the town. So we decided to walk. It is a largish cemetary and right at the back is the family mausoleum. Descending the steps you enter a retangular room with a number of stone coffins. Mussolini’s  tomb is in a central chapel with a carved head in a niche. There are some other items in the chapel including a bag of sand from El Alamein. Among the other coffins are those of his wife Rachele and his son Bruno who was killed in a flying accident in 1941.

The place was very simple with no graffiti of pro- or anti-Mussolini sentiments only some plaques from various fascist groups lamenting his passing but it was worth the journey.

By the time we returned to Predappio town it was almost 1.00 and so our thoughts turned from Mussolini to lunch. There didn’t seem to be anywhere nice in Predappio itself and so we headed up to the upper town of Predappio alta to see if there anywhere to eat.

On Friday got up early so we (Terry, Bill, Elizabeth of Carbernardi) could get the 7.15 train from Fabriano to Rome. We were on our way to an exhibition of Cranach in the Villa Borghese.

The weather in Rome was beautiful – sunny and warm. We walked up to the Villa Borghese where we met a couple of Elizabeth’s friends from Rome called Gian Piero and Clara and arranged to meet for lunch after the visiting the exhibition. The tickets cost 14 euros but for the price you got to see the Villa Borghese and the cranachs. I have always liked Cranach’s from when many years ago I saw his “Adam and Eve” in an encyclopaedia. The exhibition in Rome has over 40 of his pictures varying in size and subject matter but always with incredible detail and intense colours.

After the exhibition GianPiero suggested a restaurant called the Limonaia for lunch. It was in the grounds of the Villa Torlonia a 19th century residence of the Torlonia family which became one of Mussolini’s residences in Rome. A short, traumatic car drive through Rome’s lunch time traffic brought us to the Villa. The weather was so fantastic that we got a table in the sun. After a prosecco we ordered the food. All the others had pizzas but I had pasta dressed with courgettes, ricotta and mint – delicious and then we all finished with coffee.

Gian Piero and Carlo were a delightful couple. They spoke very clear Italian and conversation ranged from Berlusconi, to living in Rome to living with cats (they are cat lovers and have a cat called Andy. It was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

After the meal they left us back in the centre of Rome and we drifted back to the station and got the 5.30 train back to Fabriano. It was a difficult drive back to Elizabeth’s in Cabernardi as we are now in the autumnal foggy season and it was difficult to follow the road in places. For our return Elizabeth had prepared a delicious minestone soup, followed by apple and walnut salad and then apple tart. A lovely end to a great day out.

26th October and it is raining again. We have had wet weather most of the week. Yet only a few weeks ago we were having a beautiful Indian summer. On one sunny Sunday we went with Mike and Judy to Piobbico to see the costume museum. We parked in front of the “Crazy Bar” and then walked through the town to the Castle of the Brancheleoni family where a guided tour was to begin at 3.30. It began on time and apart from admiring the building itself we were able to see the museum of peasant life, the geological museum, the spelogy museum and also the costume museum. The costume museum has a collection of 17th century costumes which in the19th century were discovered in a crate behind a bookcase of the castle. The custumes are worth the price of the ticket.

After the visit we wandered back to the car and decided to have a coffee in the Crazy Bar. Not much craziness going on but lots of elderly men playing cards over empty coffee cups.