Too Too Long...

... much has happened since last time, and mostly of the pleasant, light weight, Tuscan summer  kind. This feels like as a counter weight against the grim events that are unfolding in other parts of the world, and  it makes me wonder, often, if it is wrong to enjoy all this merry making? Or perhaps we should just Carpe Diem, as long as it is possible? Who knows what is looming around the corner..

I have been lucky to have some lovely people here, and my summer has been punctuated with different little groups of house guests who did not know each other when they arrived, but soon became friends,  and we have had at least three such little 'families' formed during the summer. 

Here, above,  is the lovely young pianist Javelyn from Switzerland to the left, here for a three weeks masterclass at the Chigiana Music Academy with the famous Russian pianist Lilya Silberstein, and in the middle is Charles-Henry, a young Frenchman who works in Fashion Marketing in Paris. We are lying on a blanket and wrapped in another one in the Piazza del Campo, on the only chilly evening in the whole of the summer. We are enjoying a fully staged performance of La Traviata on a huge stage in front of the Palazzo Pubblico.  

And below, Javelyn to the left once more, with me, Paolo (my architect) and Ilaria, at a  a great piano concerto at Castello di Murlo in Chianti, on a warmer summer evening, where the said Silberstein played double piano  with her son Anton Gerzenberg. And what did they play? My absolute favourite piece of classical music: Beethoven's Grosse Fuge.

Then there was the trip to the Apuane Alps in northern Tuscany, a stunning area where my walking group went not only to walk and enjoy the breath taking views, and have a four course lunch in a little village restaurant, 

but also to see a one-man performance of Don Giovanni by the wonderful Allessandro Riccio, director, actor, writer, singer and comedian, who played and sang all the roles including Zerlina, Donna Elvira, Leporello,  a very funny Don Ottavio, the Commendadore  and the Don himself of course: 

                                                                                 

He managed to be not only funny, but also profound, and found ways to quote some poignant poetry by Robert Frost, as well as making me see a new side of the ending: rather than the defiant, heartless Don Giovanni who falls into a Hell he richly deserves, he made  him into a tragic and grandiose hero almost, who rather than lacking heart, has in fact an excess of heart which makes him  grasp on to LIFE and LOVE, refusing to the end to let go...   I was so taken by it all that I wrote to this Alessandro Riccio afterwards, wondering if he know the famous Dylan Thomas poem... the one that goes:  do not go gentle into that good night, rage rage against the dying of the light...  he wrote back and said that theatre had made us meet and touch each other, and he said that I had given him brividi...(goose pimples...) so that was a nice encouter.

And then it has been PALIO of course... here is our horse in the ONDA church being blessed by Don Emanuele, although it is hard to make it out... 'Vai e torna vincitore!' says the priest, sprinkling holy water on our horse called Veranu, but alas, that did not work this time... 

                                                                                   

It was in fact Paolo's Valdimontone that took the victory this time, and it was a great Palio! Here they are, arriving at the Piazza del Duomo after the victory, about to enter the cathedral for the time honoured Siena Te Deum sung by the high alter in front of a medieval painting of the Madonna.

And, as if all this is not enough, tomorrow early I am off to Ferrara, where I have never been before, to meet up again with the lovely Charles- Henry the Fashion Frenchman. I am studying it all, that is the Ferrara history, which includes two most interesting women of the Renaissance: Isabella d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia,  the latter probably unjustly maligned from what I seem to understand...bad father Pope and bad brother, but maybe not so bad herself?

                                                                                     

The Quicksilver Summer

 Today is the 18th of July. That means more than half the summer is gone, and that thought is sitting uncomfortably with me, I want to grasp hold of  it and make it stay... but it flees, seemingly faster and faster each summer. But we do what we can to make some memories for winter:

We go to Castiglione della Pescaia where we take long walks on the beach, admiring the creativity of the sand castles and the sand Ferraris:

                                                                                

We go to BRUCO, the contrada with its great garden just inside the eastern city wall, with its marvellous parties right in the middle of summer, where le tout Sienne goes:

                                                                                   

BRUCO means caterpillar, but actually it is a silk worm, because in the fifteenth century these gardens were used for growing mulberries for the silk production for which  this part of town was known: 

                                              

 While this well-known summer merry-go-round is enjoyed, I get occasional news from a previous life, far away in Mali;  some courtesy of an internet service that sends me pictures every day of what happened on that day in previous years, such as this picture from 2018, which  must be the last time I worked at the bogolan tables in Djenne, since I had already left Mali by then, and only returned briefly for a few weeks in the year, normally in July or August or in March, to deal with Library business since the projects were still running both in Djenne and Timbuktu. I was still, at this point, able to stay in my own house, on my land in Djenne, which was sold soon afterwards. 

Much nostalgia looking at this, since it is unlikely that I will ever be able to return to Djenne....:

And just now a phonecall from Garba, the archivist at the Djenne manuscript library. They are still able to work, now directly with HMML, the Minnesota Benedictine Foundation. I am pround of their tenacity and pround that they are able to continue without me. They all want to talk to me, and I am moved by hearing their voices asking me the well-known questions about health and work and life: Ika kene? I ni baara ke? 

Meanwhile I also still work with Dembele, my bogolan assistant, with very occasional fabric orders, and also with a local jeweller through whom we organize orders of the beautiful Malian twist earrings, once worn  by the Fulani women. 

But life in Mali is hard and their summer rains have been wild and have destroyed some of the fragile mud buildings. And last year what remained of my house and my erstwhile hotel was simply swept away in the floods...

Palio, Palio and more Palio!

 Yes, the July Palio is over... Postponed on the 2nd once more, because of rain, but run on the 3rd. 

My friend and guest Frederic Fleury, a photographer from Paris, made a series of lovely pictures: 

https://www.loeil2fred.com/le-palio-della-madonna-di-provenzano

And what was the outcome? 

OCA with newcomer Diodoro, ridden by Tittia, who clinched his 11th victory in the Piazza.

And tonight the ESTRAZIONE: the lottery which establishes what contradas will run on the 16th of August... The Piazza will be filled to the brim with hopefuls...including us at ONDA..

                                                                            Next day: 

                                                           ONDA will run the August Palio!

The Colour of Heaven and the Strength of the Sea

or: IL COLORE DI CIELO E LA FORZA DEL MARE

The motto of ONDA, and there has been a lot of that blue (and white) lately...Here above is the final flourish in what has been a seemingly never-ending celebration of Onda's July Palio win last year. It was called the 'Cena del Piatto' and the plate in question is the one that is carried above by the Onda Capitano and the successful jockey Carlo Sanna, AKA Brigante. It is inscribed on the back with the year and the contrada who won it and it was now handed over to the authorities who will in turn hand it over to the next July winners. 

I had these two lovely companions to the dinner: Alexander and Enrico, both students of Italian literature here at the University of Siena. 

And yesterday was the ONDA Giro, the yearly outing  to the other parts of town to greet and give homage to  the other Contradas in a ceremonial celebration: Here we are at the Contrada of Leocorno, who meets us with one of their alfieri.

And here at the Contrada of the Civetta (the Little Owl).

It is a long and rather exhausting day to follow the cortege through the winding steets of Siena to the deafening sound of the marching drums. But also an exhilarating and moving experience. Although the Sienese are not really any more religious than anyone else as far as I can make out, there is nevertheless a strong cult of Mary here, that is reawakened every year when Palio is around the corner. And for the Contrada giro to  greet the other neighbourhoods, there is the obligatory and joyous entry into the chapel of each Contrada, when a hymn to the Virgin is sung by everyone in front of a picture of the Madonna and child. This is an ancient and beautiful hymn unique to Siena, sung in Latin which they call the TE DEUM, although it is not the same as what normally carries that name. It asks the protection of the Virgin against enemies and salvation at the time of resurrection:

https://www.ilpalio.siena.it/5/contrade/tedeum

And in the middle of all this ONDA involvement  I decided also to take a day off to enjoy the blue and white of  my favourite seaside establishment in Castiglione della Pescaia: The Bagno Castiglionese, where the sun was hot but the water still quite cool and refreshing. 

But back at ONDA again, there was another street dinner along our major street the Via Giovanni Dupre, and a whole series of evenings in the ONDA garden, to one of which I took Hettie and also Sanjay, here for a few days. And this is of course only the beginning of all things PALIO: the stands are beginning to go up around the Piazza, soon the tufo will be arriving to transform the most beautiful 'square' in the world into the crazy racetrack it will become on the 2nd of July...
 

Swedish Interlude

 It has been too long. But things have happened that must be recorded: the most important of these my recent trip to Sweden, where my dear friend Pia married her Farz in a ravishing 18th c chapel on the West coast, near the town of Halmstad: 

                 Pia was with me on that auspicious journey to Mali for New Year  2005/6, which became the  launching pad for my new life in Mali, since we visited Djenne, and  I decided to go back eventually. It was Pia's idea to go to Mali, and 8 of us went on our adventurous journey not only to Djenne, but through the northern part of Mali to places totally beyond reach today. 

At Pia's wedding I met up with some dear friends I had not seen since that journey, and others I had not seen for a very long time, as well as making many new friends. Much fun was had by all, and although it was cold and it rained most of the time, a clement deity decided that on the Wedding Day itself the sun shone down on us from a brilliant blue sky. 

                                      

                                       I had time to admire an interesting example of Swedish Public Art: (!!!)

and after the wedding I went to my Childhood Paradise, just around the bay at Torekov, where the early summer roses were already spreading their intoxicating fragrance. 

This short Swedish interlude ended at Staffanstorp, close to Lund, with a  couple of chess matches between cousin Pelle and me, 1-1.

                                                                                  

Back in Siena now where it is already quite warm and I spent an enchanting evening just outside Siena in Montalbuccio, with dinner under the stars at Claudio's beautiful garden where his horses are roaming around freely, just like mine used to in Mali...

                                                   

Bologna; a Chinese Encounter; and the Beginning of Siena summer!

I managed to squeeze in a very brief visit to Bologna and dear friend Les and Patty on Easter Saturday, where we took a walk around the marvellous foodstalls in the streets around the Piazza Maggiore- jostling our way through pedestrian traffic jams  with locals getting their supplies for the Pranzo di Pasqua. Had to be back early Easter Sunday to greet new visitors- the long Siena  summer season is now well and truly upon us again...

One of my new guests was the wonderful Weiyu, a young Chinese girl studying for an MA in physics at Copenhagen University. She was a perfect example of why I want to do this Airbnb/Auberge business: representing the joy of discovering a kindred spirit; the adventure of an inspiring encounter.  She was only here for a night. A very unremarkable looking Chinese girl of about 20. We had just said hello  when I let her in and gave her the keys etc. She was about to leave the following day when she asked me politely if she could sit down for a while: I was sitting in my  customary corner in my sitting room which is the communal space for everyone who stays here. 

'Of course'! I replied, and she sat down. A most remarkable conversation followed, when in the space of about 20 minutes we managed to touch upon the most fundamental questions of existence, such as : the impossibility of proving (or disproving) the existence of God; the meaning of Schroeder's Cat, ( and how we decided it could be a metaphor for life: boxes must be opened); what Quantum Communication signifies (that is her subject) and the meaning of ALICE and BOB in this field of quantum  studies as well as the nasty EVE  who wants to 'Evesdrop'. 

Most inspiring. The  second marvellous Chinese woman to stay just a night here and inspire me! Who knows. Maybe there were many more? We just didn't talk to each other?

 

And yesterday, Sunday, came once more the most sure sign that summer has arrived, or is imminent at least: the Valdimontone Contrada did their 'giro' around Siena to all the other contradas, the first of the 17 to start and thereby setting in motion the summer months when almost  every Sunday the sound of the drums will be heard all over the city... The 'Montone' was invited for lunch at the Via Giovanni Dupre, at the ONDA,  since we are their allies. Above they are being greeted at the Aquila, by one of their cute young alfieri (who works in my local supermarket), and below they are being welcomed by the ONDA alfieri.

Brussels and Siena in London

If you accused me of being extravagant, I would have to agree... Have been flitting around Europe in the pursuit of pleasure ever since the Rites of Spring party. The weekend before last took me to the Millenium Documentary Film Festival for the International premiere of my distant cousin Elisabet's (AKA Pussy Galore) film Dreams of Djenne.  Of course I went. How many more chances will I have to walk up the red carpet for an International film Premiere where I figure as one of the main protagonists? To the right below is Linda Mutawi, the producer of the film.

There was not, in fact, any red carpet rolled out for us at the charming Art Deco cinema which hosted the Festival, but never mind. The film was well frequented and many people asked questions at the discussion afterwards, when we were interviewed. 

The surprising and unexpected realization was the splendour of Brussels! Rather than the grim, grey, administrative, bureaucratic non-entity I though it would be,  it turned out to be a grand, fun place made for eating, drinking and jolly making- ah, those moules/frites! Ah, those blonde beers!  And the sun kept streaming down on us as we discovered street after street, neighbourhood after neighbourhood with fine buildings, particularly of the Art Nouveau period, with their intricate  bay windows protruding from the Piano Nobile.  

                                                                                   

          A more sombre, and moving,  note was struck when we ran across a large Palestinian Demonstration. Linda is Palestinian but she has grown up in Sweden. She is passionately involved in the frequent Stockholm demonstrations, so we joined in...                                                                          

The following weekend saw me flitting over to London, 'just' to see the Siena exhibition, which started at the Metropolitan in New York before Christmas and was transferred to London's National Gallery at the beginning of March. I went with Kathy, (AKA The Mona Lisa, who better to see it with?)

I had had my doubts about the need to see it 'in the flesh', because I have after all seen all the pictures in books, as I have slowly deepened my interest in 'all those golden Madonna's', which to start with seemed of little interest, but which have grown into something of a passion during my nearly four years in Siena.

Of course I had to go, and I was not disappointed. There were not very many paintings from Siena, as a matter of fact, but the majority were on loans from art galleries across the world: Europe and America. Many were reassembled with their 'partners' and seen together for the first time in many centuries. 

This one above, The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew' is one of my favourites, it was once part of the great series of scenes from the Life of Christ painted  on the back of Duccio's Maesta (In the Opera dell Duomo, Siena) but now sits in Washington's National Gallery of Art.

The one above is one of the few loaned from Siena: Pietro Lorenzetti's Birth of the Virgin, which I know well from the Opera della Metropolitana, Siena. I love the precious details showing what would have been a medieval Sienese interior. 

The largest and most ambitious piece exhibited is Ambrogio Lorenzetti's 'Pieve Polyptych' from the Chiesa Santa Maria delle Pieve in Arezzo, commissioned painted and installed in that church in Arezzo around 1320, and never moved from that day for 700 years until now, a fact which caused certain controversy as people were wondering if is should have been moved at all...

The interesting premise of this exhibition is that western painting did NOT, as always assumed, originate with Cimabue and Giotto in Florence, but it was in fact in Siena, with Duccio and his spectacular Maesta altar piece for the Siena Cathedral, and particularly the narrative and dramatic power of the series of small vignettes from the life of Christ at the back of this altarpiece.  That, joined with the fact that it was  Duccio, not in fact Giotto, who  painted the Rucellai Madonna, now in the Uffici, Florence. This very large and prestigious painting was commissioned by the Santa Maria Novella church in 1285, and was always assumed to be painted by Giotto until documentation surfaced which confirms Duccio as its painter. 

All this is of course quite fun for me who is developing a sense of Sienese civic pride and belonging...