ONDEPENDENCE DAY

It has been a long time... I have been very busy, mainly in fun and frivolity. To win the Palio unleashes  several months of festivities, culminating in a week long crescendo, which we are living just now, in the ONDA territory. Last Saturday we had what is called the Festa nel Rione which is always a huge fancy dress affair, involving the whole neighbourhood which is sectioned off into various groups with various tasks and themes. 

Since we on the Palio on the 4rth of July, it became a Huge American Party- I was part of the 50's themed Drive In and American Diner section- here below my fellow girls:

I had spent a week or so turning my bedroom floor into a painting studio, making the Drive-In banner 

which was strung across the Via del Sambuco.

I also made the poster for the film showing in the Drive- In that night- it was of course the winning race projected on the wall of the building- and here I am with the fantino (the jockey) who was part of another group- the Avenger Superheroes...

      The streets of the Onda were thronging with about 800 people, mostly part of the Contrada and dressed in their various themed costumes:  there was the Prohibition section down one narrow dimly lit alley way where flappers were dancing with gangsters to the tune of a jazz band playing 20s and 30s music; there was the Hell's Angel Section, with three Harley Davidsons making their entrance down the Via Giovanni Dupre at the opening of the party; there was the   section where George Washington and his group were signing the Declaration of Ondependence dressed in eighteenth  century costumes and wigs: there were Hippies and there were Punks, which I thought was maybe pushing the theme a little in the wrong direction, since Punks were actiually a London thing, really...but nevermind..

There was the 70s Disco section, and the American High school section and ...and... and...

for a taste of it: 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/847924827513927

I have always complained that noone really does proper parties (apart from Cressida Bell) and if I want to have a party I have to organize it myself... and I have done, although it was a very long time ago now, in fact it was the French Revolution Party that I did in my flat in Paris in 1989...

Well, I have now ended up, obviously, where I am supposed to be. I take my hat off unconditionally- it was absolutely the best party I have ever been to. There were two girls from Brazil staying in my Airbnb, they live in Rio de Janeiro and they said they had more fun than at the Rio Carnival...                     

                               Below  my friend Carmen and I at the entrance to Via Giovanni Dupre, before it all started...    

                                           

And on Saturday there is the Victory Banquet on the Piazza del Mercato with around 800 people, and THE HORSE TABACCO in the place of honour....!

Perhaps thankfully this sort of seemingly inexhaustible merry making only happens when a Contrada wins the Palio, and some have not won for more than thirty years...

More Horse Business

 Because it has been Palio again- about a week of Horse Madness beginning with the wonderful Prove di Notte, the enchanted dawn rides around the Piazza which denotes the beginning of the Palio, when new horses and new fantini (jockeys) have a chance to show off in front of the assembled  Contrada Capitani. 

Arriving at these two mornings of trials is a stirring experience- there are small cafes under the Palchi (the spectator stands which are by this time in place) where people crowd in to get their coffee and their Pasta, which is Siena speech for a croissant, then install themselves on the stands to enjoy the thrilling spectacle. 

Once these Provas are over, the assignation lottery of the horses takes place, and ONDA was assigned  a newcomer by the name of Canarinu, which was  led to our stable without much enthusiasm.

 Nevertheless the contrada rallied and soon there was a cocktail invented called the Canarinu, which included  orange juice; gin and and various  yellow alcoholic substances which everyone was drinking, and loud speakers were installed  on the Via Giovanni Dupre from which the twitter of canaries could be heard.  By the time the Cena della Prova Generale arrived - the evening of the 15th of August- the mood was high on the Via Giovanni Dupre. 

                                                                                  

August Palio is normally run on the 16th of August, but yet again, it started pouring down during the second part of the Corteo Storico, and soon the dreaded green flag which denotes a Palio postponement appeared from a window at the Palazzo Pubblico. 

Once more I had guests who had come from far and wide to see the Palio and who  were disappointed because they had to leave in the morning of the 17th. The rest congregated once more on the Piazza and the Palio finally went ahead after an unusually long and difficult Mossa - the starting of the race- when all sorts of shenanigans take place and the fantini from enemy contradas are doing their utmost to try and ruin the starting position of their adversary. The overwhelming favourite was the star fantino Tittia, riding for Istrice- the Porcupine. 

Our Canarino was unfortunately never to be seen anywhere near the front runners. This was a real surprise Palio- the winner was La Lupa, the She wolf, with a horse called Benitos, also running his first Palio and a rank outsider, ridden by the oldest fantino in the race at 43,  nicknamed Velluto,  who had never won a Palio before and had not even ridden one for 7 years. 

Once I got over the disappointment of not having our Canarinu winning, I was really happy for La Lupa  (who in my opinion has the most elegant colours and costumes of all, in black, white and orange)

because I love the win of an underdog - and here we had two of them, both horse and fantino performed a breath taking Palio. However, I quickly noticed that is not de bon ton to say that to other ONDA members. The correct contrada behaviour is to look sad and down hearted and mutter under ones' breath...

Nevermind. To hell with that. I am delighted for LA LUPA! 

                                                                             

The heat is on- still!

And in the middle of these hot summer days I have been lucky enough to reconnect with my equestrian self- again through my Swedish/Italian friend Gunnar whose daughter has a lovely mare called Valentina, stabled not far from Siena. She also has a younger horse that she uses for competition jumping, so Valentina is being neglected and I can ride her! 

Meanwhile, in more serious horse matters: Siena is beginning to limber up and preparations are underway for the August  Palio- the barriers around the Piazza and the VIP balcony at the starting point are put in place, and soon the 'tufo' arrives which covers the cobbles with a thick layer of earth; and then we are almost there!

 

The Deep Summer

 The summer marches on  here with its relentless heat reverberating beween the ancient buildngs and alleyways of Siena. Hoards of ice cream eating visitors attempt some relief  in the shade of the numerous awnings and parasols offered by the  trattorias and bars that line  Siena's meandering streets: this is the Deep Summer. 

 But there is always a sadness when August arrives... autumn is inexorably on the march towards us.   I want to grasp on to these days and store them with their azur blue skies, their breathless, uncompromising heat. 

I have an unusually long period of relative calm here at my tiny 'pensione', because although all three room are taken the guests are staying for a minimum of one week, so I am finding some days of freedom.  Yesterday I was invited to the coast to visit my friend the eye specialist Marilena, originally from Basilicata in the South,  but who has lived here in Siena most of her life. She has bought a holiday flat in the city of Piombino on the Tuscan coast just north of Livorno: a new discovery for me. I went in the company of my only Swedish friend here, the Siena eye doctor Gunnar, who has lived in Siena for 45 years and who met  Marilena when they were studying medicine at  the Siena university. They have remained close friends ever since and seen each other through two or three marriages and close relationships respectively- somehow showing that friendships can sometimes outlast the slings and arrows of love...how fortunate they are to have each other. 

The evenings now are full of events all around town- there is the Nicchio Contrada with its summer fest in their beautiful gardens; there are 'apericenas' with open air cinema- last night Fritz Lang's Metropolis - there is the yearly 'Siena Jazz', attended by one of my guests, Louis from Belgium,  a jazz pianist, who gave a concert with the  other members of his group at the Fonte Nuova (the 'New' Fountain..finished 1303..) in the Contrada of the Lupa  the other night...

And soon, of course,  there is once more the Palio- the first related event, shortly,  being the unveiling of the  August Palio, created by the artist/illustrator Riccardo Guasco, whose work I have already admired at the opera of Bologna, where he has made many posters:

The tempo has not slackened...

After the wedding and the funeral I woke up early on the day of my return flight to Italy, at my brother Johan's place in the Stockholm archipelago, in order to make 6 'laurel wreaths ' for my Italian theatre friends. These were fashioned using a quantity of holly I had gathered two days earlier in Torekov with my cousins- the transformation from prickly holly to smooth laurel was made by the help of scissors...It is a tradition in Siena- and maybe in all of Italy-  to crown students who have passed their University exams with laurel wreaths. And as my friends were to perform for the first time I thought it appropriate...

                                         

A mad dash followed as I tried desperately to get from Stockholm to Quercegrossa, Tuscany, to see this performance in the local sports centre at 21.30, in the face of delayed flights and general confusion, but hurrah! managed to get on that  train from Florence to Siena against all odds, and there, by the train station, stood Robert, my Swedish friend and frequent guest who whisked us off to Quercegrossa with a few minutes to spare! The play went off without a hitch- they  were all splendid of course, passed with flying colours and the laurel wreaths  could not have been placed on more deserving heads.

  

                                         

The next day I took part in the ONDA triumphal procession through town, this time a high octane fun run, carnival style, with  groups of different costumes and music floats, all inspired by something to do with ONDA's win, and often to do with our horse's name: TABACCO. My group were dressed in white, trying to look like Carmen and her friends in the tobacco factory- all sporting big cigars, cleavages, red lips and frilly dresses. 

    

The best group was without doubt the ONDEPENDANCE DAY group, since the Palio was finally run on July the 4th, having been rained off twice. There were American flags with waves rather than stripes, t-shirts with the names of states changed, and a float with quite a few of the guys having taken inspiration from that infamous storming of the US Capitol when that young blade- rather gorgeous it has to be admitted- had his fifteen miutes of fame on all the TV channels of the world sporting  a painted naked torso, draped in some animal skin and with a horned helmet over his long mane of hair...well, there were a few of those, all painted in ONDA colours...

  

The following day, early, early, we went off on a trek in the Appenines, in the region by Carrara, where we visited a stunning marble quarry, which looked as if it had been drawn by a great artist with a piece of  charcoal:

                                    

                                 

Last night this same group of friends went into the Crete Senese close to Asciano into a plantation of lavender, in the midst of which was improvised a theatre: at sunset a comedy performance of a local amateur theatre group, followed by pizza in a little restaurant in the ravishing little town of Serre Rapolano.

A Victory, A Wedding and a Funeral...

 

Yes! One of the most spectacular events of the last few days was of course the Victory of ONDA at the July Palio... but I was 10000m over the earth when this was happening, on my way to Stockholm...the Palio finally took place after two postponements on the 2nd and 3rd, when the skies decided to open just at 7pm when the horses were arriving in the Piazza ready to race...I will now be able to partake at least in some of the celebrations which take place for WEEKS after a win... more about this later!

But even long before that, much has happened at Casato di Sopra, and  I have not had a moment to write... I have finished the wall piece above, using the scaffolding metal pieces recycled from two pieces I made in London for my last exhibition at the twelve Star Gallery: now they  have turned into one piece, somewhat pretentiously called 'The Trees of Life'. 

And a lot of guests and many happy times: here below with Robert, my Swedish friend and frequent guest taking a selfie with the marvellous Siddharth from New Delhi, who came for two nights, but stayed for a week, because when he found out I missed Indian food, he started cooking.

 He maintained a constant telephone conversation with  New Delhi and his big brother and his sister-in- law, who gave him  lenghty and detailed cooking instructions. I acted as a washer-upper while he used every pot, pan and plate available in the repertory of the kitchen cupboards. He also found me, very usefully, an Asian supermarket, and bought me every spice -Masala- I could possibly need for any future Indian meals I will attempt on my own. And the results, which stretched over two nights, were totally delicious. 

That afore-mentioned flight took me to Sweden for the marriage of my God daughter Ida, and her lovely Senai, who had laid on a lavish wedding with a hundred guests at a beautiful restaurant by the water in Stockholm: an interesting a crowd of invitees- Senai's Eritrean family included the older generation which had first emigrated to Sweden in the late seventies after the fall of Haile Selassie and the subsequent troubles in the area, and the younger generation who, like Senai, are born in Sweden where many have found successful careers in their new homeland.  Ida and Senai are now winging their way to Bali for a long honey moon.

                                            

I am now in Torekov in southern Sweden, my childhood paradise, where I am spending a few days with all my cousins (all those engineers...)

And the last chapter of this Sweden trip will be my return north again, to be present at my mother's funeral on the 11th. An ending in a Minor key to a happy trip- but something we had expected for a long time. She had really already left us in spirit some time ago and we had said farewell  last summer in a rare lucid moment when she recognized me ...  my mother was a very talented artist, I have a lots to thank her for. May she rest in peace,

Steam Train to Asciano...

yes, and here comes a little note about that lovely Sunday last (which was also a national day of celebration:  for on June the 2nd 1946 Italy became a republic ).  Italy is criss crossed by old railway lines and to go on a steam train journey is a  popular way to spend a Sunday with the family. 

I found myself in the company of Carmen and her numerous family, as we made our way in a south easterly direction towards Asciano, in the heart of the wonderful Crete Senese, one of my favourite places in the world, its strange hills changing colur and aspect throughout the year: now they had donned their glorious early summer attire, wrapped in green and strewn with delicate flowers.  

                                                  

      Our steam train stopped to let us descend for a walk through this smiling landscape,  the enjoyment  of which not even  a fine, steady drizzle could  dampen. 

                                                                                                        

A quartet  of septogenarians made up a little jazz/folk orchestra, which played all day with unstoppable energy as they perambulated from carriage to carriage playing jolly tunes such as 'When the Saints go Marching in'.

They really got into stride once we arrived in Asciano, where they lit up the main square with their contagious energy which resulted in quite a street party. Italians, of course, like to sing, and so they did- all the old favourites including O Sole Mio, ending up with a rousing rendition of the jolly and boisterous   Italian National Anthem. I have a little video of this ,but unfortunately the file is too big to transfer, so all I can show is this picture below, which by no means conveys the fun that was had by all...

                                      

And as if this was not enough enjoyment for one Sunday; once back in Siena I ran into the Giraffa Contrada, who were  doing their Giro and just arriving at ONDA, where they were met by our alfieri: