Pontremoli at dusk
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August 11, 2000
Two days down, two and a half weeks to go. How will
I survive it, you wonder? Well, Pontremoli is not completely
devoid of cultural happenings. Tonight there's a concert
in the Piazza della Republica -- "Hot Blues"
-- all proceeds to benefit the local hospital.
I'm there! It's not even a problem to
get my husband to take me as he's a huge blues fan and
special-assignment photographer for the Milan-based
music rag, Il Blues.
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| Besides, with a
little courage I could probably get there myself, thanks
to the stick-shift driving instruction I was given this
summer by my friend John B. (Many thanks to John and the
courageous citizens of College Point, Queens.) We pack
up the kid and the gear and go. |
Prontremoli's Duomo and Campanile
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Every town in Italy has a Piazza della Republica. Pontremoli's
is its main square, bordered on one side by the Duomo
(much less rigorous dress code than Milano's), on the
far end by the bell tower, and featuring the Caffe degli
Svizzeri, below.
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Caffe degli Svizzeri really deserves its own write-up.
It's an old apothecary with beautiful wood and glass
cabinets that rise to the ceiling. I'll write more about
it another day. They also serve terrific gelato.
My son tends to like the fruit-flavored stuff -- tonight
he's settled on pesca (peach) and fragola (strawberry).
I prefer the nut-flavors: hazelnut, pistacchio, etc.
Gelateria Alvaro, in a different part of Pontremoli,
is Caffe degli Svizzeri's only rival. We'll have to
do a taste test sometime.
Okay, it's show time...
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The mayor of Pontremoli makes some lengthy
opening remarks. My husband sneers: the mayor is a turn-coat,
he tells me. He used to be a Social Democrat (left-centrist
party) -- now he's a member of Forza Italia (right-wingers).
With 15 active political parties in Italy, who really
cares where the guy hangs his hat? I'm just anxious
for him to finish his blabbing and get off the stage.
There's a men's chorus and then the Pontremoli
marching band, neither of which perform any blues although
the marching band does a nice rendition of "Stormy
Weather," which I guess is a bluesy show-tune.
Then come the "Hot Bibins," the bass player
of which is featured here on the left. I can't help
but think of John B. again and hope he has better stage
clothes than this guy.
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| The next act, "Spoonful Blues Band," has come
up from Sarzanna to rock us into the night. After a promising
start it's clear that they're just another too-loud garage
band, hiding behind billows of toxic smoke which pours
out of a poorly placed smoke machine. Elegantly dressed
ladies and gents start leaving in droves, unsure of whether
to cover their mouths and noses or their ears. It's a
rough choice: would you rather be poisoned or deafened?
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