How Should Italy Respond to English Hegemony? (by Steve)

SIENA (#36)

Francis Alberoni wrote an article called “English Hegemony? It’s Clear in the Decline of San Remo” published in Italian the Corriere Della Sera on Monday, March 8th, 2004 and translated here in English. In it, he observes that globalization is dominated by an Anglo-Saxon civilization and the English language and argues that as English dominates, it tends to diminish the power of ideas specific to other languages and civilizations in its path. Superficially, this seems true: one might even say, obvious. At a deeper level, however, it is fundamentally flawed because it does not really reflect how cultural exchange operates in the context of competition between civilizations.

First of all, there is nothing new about this process of cultural change driven by the competition between and dominance of one civilization over another: in fact, the Latin civilization and languages that Alberoni defends is itself the result of years of cultural exchange, assimilation and domination. Consider the Etruscans. Many believe that the arch, arguably the most important contribution of Roman Architecture and Engineering was actually borrowed from the Etruscans while other Etruscan arts and language were destroyed in the process of Roman assimilation. (Apparently these were less interesting to the Roman war machine). In their empire, the Latins tolerated religious and cultural diversity but insisted in a uniform code of law and justice and military system which left it’s mark everywhere it reached, including Anglo-Saxon England! In return, Longobards, Goths and Visigoths not yet assimilated left their mark on the Italian landscape with their initial invasions as did their Carolingian and Frankish Empires. Medieval Christianity and the so-called International Gothic Style were profoundly influenced by Nordic, Celtic and Germanic traditions. In Italy, the rise of the city states culminating in the Renaissance were also affected by Asian ideas introduced during the Crusades and explosion of Mediterranean commerce that followed in its wake. Aren’t we glad we don’t have to multiply Roman numbers? And where would we be with out the zero?

Published Notes of Monestary Architecture (by Sarah)

Sant ANTIMO and San GALGANO (#31)

See my recently published notes comparing the Romanesque Architecture of Sant Antimo with the Gothic Architecture of San Galgano.

 
 

I Promessi Sposi - The Betrothed (by Sarah)

SIENA (#40)

In Italian class, we are reading I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) by Alessandro Manzoni. Practically every student reads this book in school, so no is really excited about it (except that weird American student, me!) So here is just a little of what I have learned so far…

Manzoni is one of the most important Italian authors besides Dante. In the 1400’s, Dante Alighieri wrote La Divina Comedia (The Divine Comedy) This was important because it was written in the Italian vernacular and basically created the Italian language of that time. Manzoni did the same thing only about 400 years later. His Promessi Sposi was a landmark for the modern Italian language of that time, which can be compared to Shakespeare for the English language.

Dad to talk about US Politics at San Bernardino? (by Alex)

SIENA (#39)

Today, at school, my father came in to talk to my Technical drawing teacher as well as the history teacher. He was going to talk about different ways they can include me in the class. By the time he left he had agreed to visit my History class and discuss Politics!

First, my dad talked to the technical drawing teacher when I was in History class. All went well, and the teacher agreed to photocopy some things for me, so that I could study the same material they were studying, but my dad could help with the translation. This is exactly what my father and I thought I needed.

Then my dad talked to the history teacher. During this time, I had a break while some of my other classmates were in Religion class. The kids who don't study Religion go to another study type room. For the past two weeks, I have been going with them. (I didn’t really find it crucial to learn about Catholicism). On my way downstairs to get to the unused room, I saw my dad chatting with my history teacher.

English Hegemony? It's Clear in the Decline of San Remo (Alberoni)

MILAN (#35)

Published originally in Italian in the Corriere della Sera By Francis Alberoni and translated here by Stephen Quatrano

It is hard for us to admit that there is an Anglo civilization with its own language, institutions, mentality, and specific modes of thought and feeling.  It is repugnant to think that England, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA by now constitute a distinct and diverse cultural entity that dominates the global economy, science, communications, literature, film, art and music.Between the wars this Anglo-Saxon force was hidden by the huge number of European intellectuals and artists who fled the Nazis.  After the war under the same banner, one lived with the illusion that there was a universal culture and that language did not make a difference.  In fact, for a moment, French culture even seemed to predominate.  We thought of the extraordinary weight of Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Camus, Levi Strauss, Aron, Lacan, and Foucault.  And Italian Film was second in the world at the time of directors like Fellini, De Sica, Visconti, Antonioni, Monicelli, Risi, Leone and actors such as Mastroanni, Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren.

So I Decided to Start School (by Doreen)

SIENA (#34)

So I decided to start school. The kids, now well ensconced in their schools and Steve, with his website to manage, no longer had a great need for me between the hours of 9 and 1:30. So I re-started the search for a school (which I had started in Lexington).

There are 3 “big” programs –the University for Stranieri (University for Strangers—not so sure I wanted to be a “strange one”), Scuola Lingua Leonardo Davinci and Scuola Lingua Dante Alighieri. (These can all be found when doing a google search.) In addition, on the web, I saw ”Saena Iulia” which boasted small classes and student –appropriate placement/help. It is also the closest to our house - just off the Baptistry (the other end of the Duomo). Steve took Sarah to school that day – it was sleeting/raining/snowing – one of his days therefore to take her, and I had the computer/web to myself. When he arrived home, it was surprised to see me thus engaged and said, “Classes start today, let’s go check them out.” So, instead of the long shower I had planned, I dressed and we took off.

Pitigliano: A Town from Lord of the Rings (by Sarah)

PITIGLIANO (#37)

Today, I was surprised again by my dad waiting in the car for me right outside school! We went through the same procedure we did when we went to Sant Antimo and San Galgano and picked up my
mom and Alex at his school. Then, we started off on another day trip to Pitigliano this time!

Pitigliano is a town half way between Siena and Rome, high on a cliff with a strong Jewish community from the 1500's.

Sarah, Carla, Steve and Alex in Pitigliano

My dad had got in contact with one of his friends from the past, Carla.  She’s from Pisa and we had her over for lunch one day. We told her about how we don’t know many Jewish people but were interested in learning more about the community. In addition, we mentioned wanting to see Pitigliano. Turns out, she actually has a friend there. She happened to be nearby there today, and so she invited us to come on down!

After the one-hour and a half drive, we finally arrived at Carla’s cousin’s house. Her name is Costanza. They were very welcoming and served us tea and crostata! Then Carla took us into the town of Pitigliano. When we first saw it, we were astounded at the location. The town was built right on top of Etruscan caves. It looked like a city that was designed for Lord of the Rings; it gave off the same feeling as Minas Tirith did. We drove up, parked, and went to meet Carla’s friend, Adrian.

Our Second 20 Days of Food (by Doreen)

SIENA (#33)

Days 11-20: Steve is becoming friends with the shopkeepers ie the meals are getting even more interesting. Read more to see what we're up to in the Dining Room.

Day 11:
For lunch, we had pasta in marina, turkey cutlets in lemon, cabbage/carrot salad (conditioned with lemon, olive oil and salt/pepper, and fruit.

Day 12:
Lunch today was great. Steve made a Ribolita –soup with black chard (cavalo nero), ceci, carrots, celery, garlic served over stale bread and stuffed artichokes, salad, salami and cheese, wine and blood oranges and apples for dessert

Day 13:
We packed a picnic lunch (a choice of scrambled egg, cheese and salami sandwiches.

Day 14:
pranzo – risotto with porcini, sautéed cauliflower with fresh tomato, chicken meat, and salad. Artichoke pasta for dinner.

Day15:
Lunch was delicious. Steve made a vegetable based risotto with cavalo nero (black chard/cabbage), beet greens, and red onions with a few leftover ceci. We also had bread, cheeses (lots of varieties –like 30 or so pecorinos in the cheese section), salad, fruit and wine. We’re really enjoying the cheeses and are starting to be more concerned with getting enough fiber and fresh vegetables, though we are eating them constantly, too, ie we’re getting a little caca-centric. Aging? No just change in eating/food habits and results….

Social Life in Siena (by Sarah)

SIENA (#30)

So, everyone knows about school, and all the cool historic places that we have visited around Siena, but what do I do for fun around here? Read about my friends and late night adventures!

Il "Corso" by night

Saturdays are the big days to go out. The main thing to do on these nights is to walk on the main street – the corso. Since everyone is there, you can meet up with people and then go get dinner.

The first time I went out with my friends was after my first day of school on the 16th a Monday. I didn’t really know anyone yet, but they asked me if I wanted to come out with them. Why not!?! Roberta called me and told me the details. We were going to meet at Piazza della Posta. There were only a few kids there because it was a school night. I could tell the corso was not that busy. I was planning to go home for dinner because dad was cooking. That actually was okay anyways because they had to wait until 9 to eat because they had to wait for some classmates who were playing in a basketball game. The guys that were in our group were very funny. We walked up and down the corso for a while, talking about where to go. I talked to a lot of them about the town and school. Of the kids I was with, practically none of them lived inside the city walls. They were all very impressed when they found out I was living in an apartment in the Duomo! We talked about school, and people and just about everything.

The Duccio Exhibit (by Sarah)

SIENA (#38)

Today, we went to the current big show in Siena – Duccio’s works. We met my dad’s past professor, Professor Cornice, at the exhibit. He offered to take us along with a specific group of his friends. We stood in line for a while and went through security and we were finally ready to start learning.

Of course, as we followed Professor Cornice through the exhibit, he explained everything in Italian. Alex and I followed along for a bit and then we had no idea what was going on. We were left to read the text on the walls (that was in both English and Italian) while the group was lead by Cornice. It really was not that bad reading the English, Alex and I talked about everything we saw and discussed a little about the paintings and put together what we both knew. I’m sure it wasn’t nearly as intellectual as Cornice’s explanation, but it was a start.

Crucifixion from the Maesta' di Duccio

My dad was listening very closely and picked up most of the main points. We were able to go home, eat lunch, and then come back to the exhibit, and use our same tickets to get in. This time, we had my dad explain everything to us, and got a lot out of it.

During this time period, artists were mostly painting religious scenes. We saw how the crucifixion scene really developed over time. (I wrote about these earlier paintings in my stories on the Crucifix museum in Pisa and also the church of Santa Maria dei Servi). Duccio was one of the many artists who painted the feelings, for example the hopelessness and sadness of the people watching him be crucified. We also saw many paintings of the saints.

San Francesco was one of the popular figures. The story behind him was that he was very rich, and decided to give away all of his belongings to the less fortunate. He wanted to have his own religious group separate from the church. He went to the pope and asked if he could have his own group, but each time, the pope turned him down. Then, one night, the pope had a dream about San Francesco. The church was crumbling, and San Francesco was beneath it, holding it up.  The next day, when San Francesco came to ask if he could have his own followers, the pope said yes. Now, for an explanation of the actual painting. The way that San Francesco was painted was of him in sort of rags, symbolizing him having nothing. It was actually painted very elegantly, which is ironic because elegance and wealth was everything that San Francesco was against. So, the catch was that through time, San Francesco became part of the church. He was incorporated by artists as “just another saint”.

The Servi (by Sarah)

SIENA (#24)

Today, we went on our first historical adventure! We started with a church called Santa Maria dei Servi. It is one of the older churches in Siena, dating to around 1261. The church was close to Porta Roma, which is like halfway across town, but it still only took us 20 minutes or so to get there walking from our house. The church was empty: no one else was there most likely because most tourists were drawn to the more popular attractions such as the Duomo, the Piazza del Campo or the Duccio exhibition which we'll visit and write about later.

At Servi we had a little lesson taught by my dad. He explained about how Servi was designed from the Roman’s idea about a church, but it was sort of flipped around so that the door was at a different wall and the altar was at a different place. In the Servi, there were 3 naves, and the cross part is called the transept.

But the highlight of the church was a painting of Mary and baby Jesus by Coppo di Marcovaldo. There had obviously been thousands of the same painting done, but this painting was different in one very big way. It was the first painting to be signed by the artist. I was able to apply this to what I had learned in school about the Renaissance. Secularism, individualism, and humanism were the three main aspects that characterized the Renaissance. In my eyes, this particular painting related directly to individualism; or the celebration of the individual. Coppo signed his work, and therefore wanted to be recognized as an individual. He started a whole trend, and he was looked upon as people nowadays look at rock stars.

Now, back to history, Coppo di Marcovaldo was a Florentine. Florence and Siena have always been rivals. There was a very bloody battle called Monteperti between the rival cities where Coppo was on the battlefield. The Sienese recognized him immediately because of his fame and captured him. His term of release was to paint his famous painting of Mary and Jesus. This was the painting at Servi that we saw.

Really interesting stuff.

Reaching Out (by Doreen)

SIENA, February 25th

Gaining phone and internet contact has taken a few extra steps, but...

You know, it really is a different feeling to “be connected.” When I went to Israel by myself in 1980, my parents had little way of reaching me, and it was too expensive for me to “reach out and touch” them. I think I called twice in the 3 months I was away and wrote about weekly.

In the 21st Century, though, things are different. We arrived on the 5th of Feb (Thursday), had a car waiting for us, and by the next day had a telephone card so we could us a payphone to call home etc. We, by Saturday, had a cell phone and checked in with our parents. We had made one brief webmail visit at the Ducci’s. By the following Wednesday, day7, we had a phone in the house. On day 111, also known as later Valentine’s Day, we received a call from Nick Sarah’s Lexington beau who stayed up until 2:40 am so he wouldn’t call too early (8:40 am). Internet was not available until Day 17 and without the rented modem available for another 10 days or so. As the kids are in school and Steve really wanted to work on the website, he was motivated to get us connected. He investigated different modem choices and gave in to buying one for 49 Euros. It doesn’t work exactly the way he had planned, but….

Without the internet, we had no responsibilities, sort of. It was great that the kids couldn’t be “online” with their home friends, but we also had little ability to pay bills (including my malpractice insurance, the rent, and VISA). I was a bit anxious to be in contact with Orna who is caring for Annie (oh, yeah, and our house).

Now, we are connected. Sarah was online last evening for about an hour with her Lexington friends. She has agreed to only be “online” once a week but can e-mail daily. Alex spent about 15 minutes answering e-mail. Ok, I spent about an hour between my hotmail, quatrano.com webmail and work accounts. Steve has been good, too.

02138: The World's Most Opinionated ZIP Code (by Shari)

CAMBRIDGE, February 20th

Oggi Davin Paley, mio figlio, ha incominciato ad organizzare i suoi compagni di scuola in una protesta control l'aministrazione.  Oggi, Davin va a uno tavolo con amici del aula altro.  Il suo Principal Tim dice: ogni aula a suo propio tavolo.  Davin vorebbe stare con lei amici.  Davin capisca che cos'e che Principal Tim dice. Davin finisco suo pasto in ufficio di Principal Tim.  Davin scribe con amici gli segni che dicono, "Freedom of Seats."  Sta con suo t-shirt nero che dice, "Cambridge 02138: the world's most opinionated zipcode."  Oggi, un segni.  Domani, una manifestazione.

E difficile apprendere italiano.  E piu difficile stare una madre.

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COMMENTS

2004-02-27 06:29:48 stefano
Translation
Today, Davin Paley, my son, is has begun to organize other students in a protest against the administration [of his school].  Today, Davin goes to a table with friends from another classroom.  The Principal Tim says: "Every student to their own table."  But Davin wants to stay with his friends.  Davin understands what the Principal says.  Davin finishes his misadventure in the Principal's office.  Davin writes some signs that say "Freedom of Seats."

There is a black T-shirt that says, "Cambridge 02138:  the world's most opinionated zipcode."  Today a sign.  Tomorrow a protest march.

It is difficult to learn Italian.  It is more difficult to be a mother."