At least I think that’s what they call them in (Latin) Spoletium.
Blue Sky, and Sun
20 Tuesday Oct 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
Author Archives: jturner@mi-connection.com
Stone Ages
19 Monday Oct 2015
Posted in Art
After Three Years, Surprises Still
19 Monday Oct 2015
Posted in Travel
A long time getting posted:
Exploring the new Percorso della Mobilita Alternativa
has opened up all sorts of unknown alleys & avenues.
To begin, the apparent dead end beside Reb’s art store
turns out (as all the signs promise) to go somewhere:
Directly to the backside of what we’d seen the day before
from the wall’s other side. And the cross atop the steeple
Must be connected as well, even if we never tracked it
to ground—discovering, instead, a former monastery
Which I had passed, in my haste to find some pizza,
the other day without looking over at it for a second.
Just goes to show: you only think you can’t get there
from here, when in fact the whole town is connected.
Who knows? Maybe one of these days that old Anfiteatro,
long a mystery on every map, will show up reconstructed.
(There are signs, here and there, that such an undertaking
is now in either the archaeological or tourist/logistical works.)
After Lunch, Amid the Rain
10 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
Despite the rain, we explore the mobilita alternative adjacent to the local place we have decided to try out for lunch. Sign says, it will take us to Torre dell’Olio (the Tower of Oil, so-called because of the use of boiling oil as a defense mechanism).
For a picture from where we were being moved right along, link here.>
Since we trudge past the tower every day (having yet to see a thing vaguely resembling an alternative means of mobility), we are more than a bit curious: where does the escalator come out? (Behind a wall, it would appear, worthy of further study when, or if, October decides to call off the rain, falling like oil.)
Print and Reprint
10 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Travel
Updated since we were last here, the new maps show the mechanical changes to the town: another escalator to the top, for example, this one not far from our back door, which comes in handy occasionally.
Lost in the upgrade (as often happens), however, are comforting old functions (like passing shops) and useful pieces of information (like the name of the deconsecrated church that is now the Pegasus theater).
I’ll have to look back to my 2013 emails to find the name, but these snap shots (and I do mean snapped shots) give an inadequate feel for the ambience of the converted space (forget about the hidden piano).
The Real Thing
09 Friday Oct 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
After making up the part of Quando men vo for Rebecca, I was surprised (along with my wife) to hear the real thing sung by a promising soprano tonight in the conclusion to Concerti Pegasus 2015.
She, the real singer, has been amazing us each time with her voice, together with a flair for the dramatic (a budding prima donna, you might say, if you saw here repeat performances of “Les oiseaux dans las charmille”).
A Gelato for Our Efforts
08 Thursday Oct 2015
Posted in Travel
The plan was perfect.
The execution, like clockwork.
Stop by the ATM. Check.
Cross the main avenue. Check.
Head out of town. Check.
Pass under the highway. Check.
Approach the cemetery from behind. Check.
Walk up to Chiesa San Salvatore. Cross-checked.
So, we head back to town.
Walk to the market. Closed another half-hour.
Pass the wait with a Gelato. Check.
Sit in the park, waiting for the market to open. Check.
Walk over to check the market. Check (obviously).
Strangers with keys are opening the doors. Check.
Backtrack to the park, letting them get settled. Check.
Head back to the market, just as they are locking up. Cross-checked.
True/False-Multiple Choice Exams
06 Tuesday Oct 2015
Posted in Education
1. T/F I was delighted to find a printed program for the Pegasus Concerti.
2. T/F I was pretty sure the Schumann variation had arrived on schedule.
After that, it was essentially multiple-guess all the way down the line. It helped, of course, that only three piano instrumentals were planned; not to mention, the limited appearance of women performers. Throw in a distinguishing rendition in German and then French to go with the Italian numbers; account for repeat performances by pianist or vocalist; and before you know it (in retrospect) the program sorts itself out (once one soprano’s non-appearance is factored in.)
Terrific performances. Gratefully received by a enthusiastic crowd. Fully expect that we will be going back to enjoy ourselves some more.
Hurry Up (& learn this country’s language)
06 Tuesday Oct 2015
Posted in Education
“Hurry up” the hill, I tell Rebecca, on the way to Pegasus concert.
“What’s your hurry?” (or something like that), the guardians ask.
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- Former Church, Now Pegasus Theater
Our Kind of Town
06 Tuesday Oct 2015
In our little town, half the fun of it is that you never know what’s going on. (Half of that half, it seems, can be traced to Piazza del Mercata, where the misnamed Information Center prefers to dispense maps and little else. A long story, quite needless to say or tell.)
Back to the fun of it. Last year, we ran into a music competition, totally unawares, that kept us entertained for almost a week. This year, using a printout graciously provided at the Information Center by the one kind soul we’ve met there, it looked as if we were in for a return engagement.
And so we are, just not the one we expected. Instead, Concerti Pegasus 2015 will be performed in one of the deconsecrated churches around town. For four nights, with the participation of Teatro Lirico Sperimentale, we’ll be treated to Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Liszt. What an unexpected treat!