Amma is visiting us in Germany for about 3 months now starting July 2007. From time to time she would ask us as to what and how the people of this region cooked and ate, and prayed and played. We thought a good way to answer her questions would be to take her to of the European culture, the center of renaissance and la dolce vita, the life of pl eItaaslyu r-e t haen do rsigeilnfindulgence.
I took a 5-day break from work, and Vani quickly cooked up a short itinerary of trips to Milan and Rome.
Milano is one of the largest, highly developed industrial and urban centers of Italy, situated in the province of Lombardy. It is not generally known for its architectural beauty or cultural history, in comparison to Florence, Rome or Venice, but as the well-heeled (like my boss) know, it houses one of most ancient churches, in Italy , the Basilica of SantAmbrogio built around 300 AD. It was a burial place for the Roman martyrs.
Milan also has the Duomo, the world’s largest Gothic cathedral; second in size in Italy to the SaintPeters Basilica in Rome. This grand building is a representation of high technology in architecture and construction in Europe, with methods developed to raise large stones to great heights. The building of this monument was started during the end of 14th century, but the work took an astounding 4 centuries before it was completed by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1805! All the time taken has resulted eventually in a spectacle of white masonry of mammoth proportions.
In the morning, before arriving at the Duomo we had a long stroll in the city. At around noon, when we were deliberating whether to start hunting for lunch, a decidedly special-looking Pizzeria called ‘Pizza Naturale’ caught our eyes. The walls of the eatery were darkened by smoke from the open charcoal oven from which the pizza-maker pulled out as if by magic pans of the most delicious Margeritas. Wine bottles were lined up on the antique wooden platforms over the counter.
The waitress greeted us “Ciao” with a toothy-smile and showed us a table just by the side of the road not too far from the tram tracks. It was the right sort of a place for Anirudh to pull out my camera and click with wild abandon at the passing pigeons, car tyres, tram mechanisms, and even a pretty girl beside our table.
Photo 6. Anirudh’s avant garde photography
Just to show us that he is adept at conventional photography too (not unlike Picasso who ignore his great skills at realism to paint abstract cubism), he took a picture of me and Vani .
We ordered a couple of varieties of Pizza, an assortment of cold cuts (for myself and the kids), fruit drinks and a wine (Chianti) for myself. The Pizzas were some of the best we had eaten – that’s saying much as Tuebingen, being close to Italy, has no small measure of Italian cuisine. Perhaps, we were just too hungry.
With stomachs full and limbs lethargic, we started walking towards Piazza (meaning u bran open space, plaza, not “Pizza”) Duoma. Vani peered at the shop windows displaying Italian leather shoes and bags -designer labels with “top” prices. Nayatanra eyed plush-toys and dolls (hey look at this Diddlina!). Anirudh was curious about the passing trams (especially one with a lady driver) and the road cleaning vehicles with their complex mechanisms, and immaculately dressed Italian Polize. He made friends with every Italian mutt he met on the streets and took a multitude of pictures from the rear (he specializes in the retrospective) of people on the street, dogs and even his own furry puppy.
Amma, in the meanwhile, was busy taking in the alien surroudings, abound with strutting Italian signoras and signores, and Italian youth with their hairs colored the most shocking pink and green, tattoos in the most inconceivable places and nose rings of infinite variety (a surprise for Amma!), lazing by the fountains or leaning against the pillars, lip-locked and limbs entwined, as if in rapture of sensual bliss, not unlike the carvings of the Khajuraho temples or paintings depicting the Roman emperor Caligula’s orgies. Amma hurried past in a marked manner at an embarrassing scene here and looked askance at an untoward incident there. She observed quietly this hodge-podge of the old and the new that Italy throws up, of beautiful ancient buildings and urbane glass houses, of the fashionably dressed, sophisticated people here and yet the most grungy youth there, and of the gilded shops on the one side and the littered alleys on the other side. If Paris was a “moveable feast” for Hemingway, Italy appeared to be a bewildering puzzle to Amma.
When we reached the Piazza Duomo, we gave our “singing” legs a bit of rest on the side-walks, watching the people feeding the pigeons and other people watching people feeding the pigeons, ate fresh fruits that we had bought on the way, while the kids vied for Janaki-ajji’s (Amma’s) attention. After this much needed respite involving a fair bit of lazing on the side walks, we were eager to look around again.
Milan is famous for its silk production, and as a fashion house and shopping center of the Lombardy region. It is also one of the major financial and business centres of the world. The city is the seat of the Italian Stock Exchange (the Borsa Italiano). Milan was included in a list of ten “Alpha world cities” in a major US economic report. Milan is also the home of the Alfa Romeo motorcar company. The Fiera Milano, the city’s Exhibition Centre and Trade Fair complex, is the largest trade fair complex in the world. The Galleria Vittoria Emanuele in the Piazza Duomo, where we were presently, is reputed to be the world’s oldest shopping center. I realized, while walking around this high glass ceilinged walkway lined with haute couture shops, posh boutiques, bejeweled galleries, bars and restaurants, and even a very chic’ McDonalds, is that many shopping centers around the world perhaps are modeled on it – the Queen Victoria upmarket building in Sydney, for one, springs to mind. I have fond memories of spending some enlivening time with my camera in front of a dark, voluptuous lady in her bare bums to return with some marvelously round images (one of which is below).
The Galleria Vittoria Emanuel is popular with budding painters, caricaturists and portr ait artists who try to entice tourists to get their portraits drawn. One such artist pursued us and convinced us to draw portraits of Anirudh and Nayantara. We sat by an outdoors cafe, while he worked on Anirudh first. Needless to say Anirudh was quite a challenge for the artist, and to be fair tO Anirudh it was in turn a tall order for him to take on the mantle of a model. Obviously, the artist had never drawn anybody who fidgeted, squirmed, made faces, gesticulated, talked incessantly and wanted to see his portrait even as it was drawn. When it was all over, the Italian drew a big sigh of relief. After all the hard work with Anirudh, Nayantara turned out to be a willing and sincere model.
That evening, after a bit of rest at the hotel, I went out again to look for some Indian fo od for all of us and more particularly for Amma. I found an Indian restaurant, Gandhi, nearby our hotel. The friendly owner was a north Indian who had emigrated to Italy long ago. Due to the fact that he spoke very little English (he spoke good Hindi, Italian and German) and my Hindi is embarrassingly inadequate, we found ourselves in a bizarre situation: of two Indians in an Indian restaurant in Italy talking to each other in German!
Early next morning we took the fast, although expensive, Euro star train (also called Pendulino) to Rome. Amma was quite impressed by the look of the train, and wanted a picture to be taken in front of it. She had earlier taken a ride on the German high-speed ICE train on her arrival from India, and was appearing to enjoy such rides.
By the way, the world’s fastest trains are the French TGVs which run regularly at 300 km/h on normal lines – but have the world record for speed on rails of 574.8 km/h, almost half the speed of sound! The Maglevs (Magnetic Levitation trains), technology developed by Germany and Japan, are purportedly the fastest(being able to reach 900km/h), the trains being suspended and driven by magnetic force. The highest recorded speed by a Maglev is 581 km/h in Japan in 2003. The Intercity Expresses (ICEs) are the Siemens built high-speed German trains that run in Germany and Switzerland. In long stretches, such as between Frankfurt and Cologne they run at 300km/h. The ICE trains reportedly have 100% brand awareness in Germany – kids grow up playing with model ICE trains (complete with mechanism). Our house owner builds model train networks in his study and introduces a new ICE train every Christmas for the pleasure of his grandchildren. Next generation of high-speed trains in Europe promise luxury hotel facilitates for overnight stay, bath, breakfast and drop at the center of the destination city, and will give air travel a run for its money.
Traveling on trains in Europe is an experience of a kind that when one is used to would find air travel hard to match – when comparing features such as quick connections from the city center, comfortable seating, dining-in, bistros with beer and espresso, not to mention the moving panorama of the beautiful landscape outside the window.
When we arrived in Rome, we were bemused to find that the Bread& Breakfast hotel we had booked in the internet did not exist at all, or more precisely shall we say, existed only virtually in cyberspace. We went up and down the Via Umberto Bianco road, presumebly the site of this “castle in the air”, and even checked with the police who were lolling about in their high-tech vans at the corner, who serenely told us that this sort of thing happens all the time implying that we better look for another hotel quickly. We bundled ourselves into a taxi, and went back to the train station again, and after much asking around and looking at what appeared to be the dwellings of the Hellenistic era, finally came upon a rather expensive and ostentatiously named Hotel Paladium Palace for Euro 140 per day. After all that needless adventure, Amma and the kids tugging along sportingly amidst the confusion, we were happy to lounge the rest of the evening in the hotel room, ending the hard day with a delicious doze of pasta.
The next day, we all trooped into an open-top, double-decker tourist bus, arguably the best transport for seeing Rome as one has the flexibility of hopping-in and hopping-out at will, whenever and where ever one fancies. It also offers a bird’s eye-view, albeit a very low-flying bird at that. Anyway, here we were wobbling about, and veering in and out of the wide avenues and narrow alleys of this monumentally beautiful ancient city, home to countless visionary ideas and site of umpteen artistic innovations. I (and Vani alike) fell in love with this beauty at first site, and vowed to come back again; preferably just the two of us – is that just wishful thinking?
The first thing that catches your eyes, as you go around Rome, is the exuberance of fountains at every street corner. It is written somewhere that the ancient city had 212 fountains. The waters seem to spout from every conceivable crevice of both beautiful and grotesque creatures on earth.
The fountains, it is said, identify movement of water with the sense of life. The most magnificent is the Fountain of Trevi, with a chariot shaped like a shell drawn by seahorses. This work of art is relatively modern, built in the 18th-century. Legend has it that throwing a coin into the Trevi fountain will ensure your return to Rome. By the way, Vani and I did not get a chance to throw a coin in the water.
The fountain has become famous because of the movie “La Dolce Vita” in which the lead actress bathes in it! I will be surprised if Indian movie makers have not Bollywoodized this idea. I imagined a certain Sridhevi (I’m an old timer you see) slithering about in the fountain waters in a transparent saree and a saucy song on her pouty lips while Rajnikant prances about on the sea horses with a certain disdain towards all this high art (vandenda palakara adada…).
Our first stop was the Piazza Venezia which is spank in the middle of Rome, a place of chaotic traffic, of herds of people getting in and getting out of vehicles to hurry to nearby tourist attractions such as the Campidoglio, the Forum, the Coliseum and the Pantheon.The Piazza has an immense white marble monument (Il Vittorino) built in the name of the king Victor Immanuel II, the first king of modern Italy. Here we spent much time walking around the various palaces: Palazzo Venezia – one of the oldest renaissance buildings in Rome (built during the beginning of the 15th century), Palazzo Generali (built in the 1900s) and Palazzo Bonaparte (where Napoleon’s mother stayed as a refugee after the fall of his empire), and visiting the museums of the Italian army which fought the world wars.
The Coliseum, originally named Flavian Amphitheatre, was said to be built for the glory of the emperor and the pleasure of the people. I read that it was commissioned in 72 AD and inaugurated by sacrificing 5000 animals. Until the middle of the first century, it was the sight of spectacular fights between gladiators (chosen from slaves, prisoners and criminals) and wild animals such as elephants, lions, hippopotamuses – who all died for the vile joy of common people.
It was a hot day, and so before we got into another open-top bus, we cooled-off, on th e terrace of Il Vittorino overlooking the great monuments of Rome, with some juicy pieces of watermelon and a bottle of cold beer for myself (an unlikely combination that thwarted the thirst with double effect – shows you have to go to Rome to find new cocktails).
Many bridges cross the Tiber River, some of them dating from the time of ancient Rome. The oldest is the Ponte (bridge) Sant’Angelo that leads to the Castelo Sant’Angelo. I took a picture of this bridge from within our moving bus. The bridge was built in the 2nd century AD and is still in good working condition. Looking at these sturdy structures Amma would often say that in the olden times they built things to stand the test of time – how many of our current buildings would be around for another hundred years, let alone thousand years would be a moot question.
Our last stop for the day was the Vatican City – the smallest state in the world (0.44 km) and the most important basilica for Christians. Here, the Roman emperor (Caligula of the orgy fame that I had mentioned before) had built a circus, and also the famous Saint Peter was martyred in the early part of 60 AD. The Vatican State was established during the middle Ages and it had extended to include most of Italy. It was however wiped out by the unification of Italy in 1870, but was again reinstated in the early part of the 20th century and a kind of agreement for its coexistence was made by a treaty with the Italian state. The Vatican has its own police, army, diplomats, not to forget the famous Swiss Guards with their colorful uniforms (see their photo below), supposedly designed by Michelangelo himself, and has not changed for 5 centuries!
Piazza San Pietro (Saint Peter’s Square) has been the center of Christianity for more than thousand years now. The moment you enter the square you cannot help but be moved by the majesty and elegance of this huge place. It is designed as a perfect ellipse, described somewhere as being “harmoniously open to the heavens”.
It contains close to 300 pillars (284 to be precise) that are set in four rows toppe d by hundreds of statues of saints and martyrs of Christianity. As can be expected, there are fountains of course, 2 great ones, and a very tall Egyptian obelisk (basically similar to the Garudu Kamba of south Indian temples in front the entrance). For those who have read the Asterix and Obelix comics, the obelisk that Obelix carries should be quite familiar. An interesting architectural tidbit is that by standing between the two fountains on a slab, all the 284 pillars seem perfectly in a row and only the first column is visible! What do you say for this for precision of engineering?
The jewel of St. Peter’s is the grandiose dome by Michelangelo visible from all parts of the city. The dome is built on a drum which has a series of windows alternatively triangular and square, separated by columns. One can climb up to the dome by using the stairs or the elevator. Inside the basilica, we are suddenly in the vast coolness of the biggest Christian church. There are innumerable things to see. The most salient I can think of is the Pieta by Michaelangelo, sculpted by the genius when he was only in his twenties, and is the only work signed by the artist (see the photo below). In order to see more paintings, frescos and sculptures one has to go to the
Vatican museum. His other famous sculpture, David, is in Florence.
PIETA BY MICHAEL ANGELO AND OTHERS SCULPTURES IN THE CHURCH.
(Note: photos were taken in available light, which was spare light streaming in diffusely from the top of the dome, without flash but with long exposure)
When we were tired from all the walking around, we drank cool water from the t aps among the pillars of the Vatican. Anirudh made quick friends with another kid and played with his water-fan. When we boarded the bus again to return to our hotel, Anirudh fell asleep on the way on Amma’s lap, and a brat seemed to have thus metamorphasized suddenly into one of Michelangelo’s Angels!
Eclectic Musings by Ranga Sitaram 