Cultural Afternoon

Hey! I haven't disappeared, I've actually got at least a dozen drafts ready to be published, but for some reason I can't manage to create coherence for any of them. Too much creativity and distraction, too many ideas and very limited time to sit down and write. Before the situation turns into a serious writer's block, let me blog about the beautiful afternoon Ali and I had last Monday. 

With all her chores and social life, having her all for myself is more like a treat these days. I want to hope I won't have to book an appointment later when she turns into a busy teen LOL She also wants to know what we'll do and where we'll go now. Long were the days when it was just me to decide, whereas today it's all about objecting, inquiring and sometimes giving generous okays. Welcome to the life of a liberal parent!

Fortunately she loves art, so she had no objections when I proposed to view an exhibition. There's this Disclosed Horizon one on at the Salone degli Incanti here in Trieste until May that I wanted to see, partly because of my passion for everything Slovene (and the exhibition is a collections of paintings of various Slovenian artists who were active in the first half of the 20th century) and also because I try not to miss anything about this city's cultural life.

With my great pleasure, Alice appreciated the paintings a lot and even left an enthusiast comment on their Guestbook, with that handwriting that is getting more and more like her as months go by. 

These artists (Milko Bambič, Jože Cesar, Avgust Černigoj, Bogdan Grom, Robert Hlavaty, Avrelij Lukežič, Lojze Spacal and Rudolf Saksida) were influenced by post-impressionists, folk arts and symbolism and they continued to work with a certain degree of impressionism. It was nice to get to know how constructivism, futurism and surrealism were prevalent in their artsy paths and the way they developped their artistic expression under the influence of the European-wide avant-garde movement.

The focus of the exhibition is the close contacts these artists had with Italian artists, thus the title that generates it all. Disclosed Horizons, just like mine since I moved here to Trieste, borderline of these two diverse cultures. I feel lucky!

Battling Euphemisms

Guglielmo Oberdan was an Italian irredentist who attempted to kill Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph on his visit to Trieste for the 500th anniversary of the city under the Habsburg kingdom. He failed, but two innocents died, thus he was executed in the central square that carries his name. Just before the execution he cried 'Viva l'Italia!' (Long Live Italy!) and became a martyr of Italian Unification.

Pino Robusti wasn't a partisan but he was killed all the same, arrested and later burnt in the crematory facility down under. He was 22 and was waiting for his girlfriend Laura in Oberdan Square on a sunny Spring day of 1945. They never met because the moment the girl stepped off the streetcar, police arrested the guy. He wasn't working and the fact seemed strange, even if he legally was on a day off from forced slavery work at Todt Organisation. He had to be working and was killed because of that.  

Laura never saw him again. She only got a letter from him, one of the most innocent, powerful, true love letters ever written. 

"It feels weird that, while writing to you, in a few hours I'll be shoot to death. I feel calm, barely glad. The only thing that hurts is I couldn't enjoy you as I wanted to, the only and most desired reward of my youth years (...) Goodbye, my adored Laura, I'm going towards the unknown, the glory and the abyss. Be strong, generous, inflexible. Goodbye. Pino."
From his real letter exposed at the Risiera Museum. 

Cantico dei Cantici sculpture in Oberdan square

Marcello Mascherini probably had Pino and Laura in mind while creating this statue that was placed in the infamous square. It stands there, covered by Spring blooming trees, utterly slim and utterly tall, to commemorate the horrible events. You need to have a good eye to catch it, it easily camouflages with the pompuous renaissance style of the other buildings. And it's so so different from the usual sontuous dead people monuments 

You know, Trieste is a city that never ceases to fascinate me, because every building hides a fact, every statue means a legend and in every corner or street something happened. Its story is so complex and so full of obscure and obliterated chapters, that maybe it's a reason why people are so eager to populate bars and enjoy life. Because their past is full of tragic and complicated aspects.

Since I live here I can't separate the beauty of this place with its intricate history, so I had to visit THE place where Pino was killed. It takes you a long corridor to arrive, where footsteps echo makes the place even more sinister. Its walls are so high that even the blindest light fail to illuminate the way. It's the entrance to a national museum, which gives honour and respect to many victims today, but that was a gateway to hell for many people. It takes to the only death camp Nazi had in Italy.

Built in 1913 as a rice-husking facility (hence the former name that hides the shame, Risiera di San Sabba), during the Nazi occupation it became an efficient prison where to keep political dissidents of the regime and Jewish people, who were sorted out to be deported to Auschwitz. The premise also had crematory facilities. It's where Pino was imprisoned and burnt. It's the peculiar killing camp of ideas, not necessarily tied to the madness of Nazi racial doctrine.

The only photo I dared to take, from the cells room.

There never were official statistics about the number of people exterminated here (though it's calculated around 5000 victims). Germans were efficient in destroying records and Post-War Italy did very little to aknowledge and even commemorate the events. The Risiera was declared National Monument only in 1965 and still today, complicity of the locals make it difficult for tourists to reach and even know about the place for those who are unaware. It's like they're doing their best to avoid involvment in the holocaust.

Which isn't true, because we had our part in the horrors instead. I hate recalling this, but we were a puppet state of Nazi Germany. Benito Mussolini was largely dependant on them to maintain control, especially in areas like Friuli Venezia Giulia were partisans were very active and Slovene irredentism was causing trouble since the brutal italinisation of Istria started when fascism started to spread.

The dependance became even more inevitable when German Army liberated Mussolini, an action which helped him to build The Salo Republic. And as a sign of gratitude, territories that once belonged to Austria were given to Germany, so Trieste, Udine and Fiume, with their hinterlands, were abandoned to their destiny. And while Marshall Badoglio secretly began negotiations with the Alley to let Italy capitulate, we persecuted Jews and repressed partisans. And once these large portions of land were under the Nazi control, they immediately started up a detention and death camp, using an abandoned rice facility here in Trieste.

I was silent and watchful while I visited THE place. I felt like I could be caught any moment. When I arrived near the perimeter where the furnace was, I was attracted by the contrast that the red brick of the structure creates with the cobalt sky. I kept looking up, thinking of those swalloed bodies, people on their back who watched the sky for their very last time. I wanted to scream. I turned instinctively to the 'death chamber' instead. It's spacious and wide. There was enough room to cry.

Next, one after the other, the tiny cells with uncomfortable wooden bunk beds. Reluctantly, I forced myself to go. There are bars on the window. I snapped the only picture of my visit, an overview of the courtyard from behind the bars, the view that prisoners enjoyed during the one hour of exercise per day granted to them. I did not know what else to photograph to document the terror. The writings on the humid walls are enough to testify the shame. There's something horrible in these personal effigy's tombstones.

When I realized there was nothing more for me to witness, I took out my notebook and started to take note of all the possible sentences to document. The exhibit hall includes documents, letters, drawings, photos but, most of all, includes the smell of death. That's where I copied extracts of Pino's letter to Laura. I was alone and I felt the exact shivering terror of when I'm alone in empty churches. The documents distracted me. The thought of what to witness and then write about my visit kept me sane. 

"Goodbye Mom! Goodbye sisters! I'll be shoot tomorrow." Chilling like that. 


Roberto Benigni did a fantastic job in presenting a vision of the Italian humanity during the Holocaust experience, away from the violence perpetrated by others. His film Life is Beautiful perpetuated a stereotype of good Italians compared to violece used by others, and this costed him the claim to compromise historical horror, giving a feeling of Italian extraneity to the fact. To many it sounded like his sentimental optimism protects us, just like the Risiera signs. With all my respect and admiration for Benigni, I find it difficult to understand why he should chose such a theme for his humour. The holocaust was a tragedy without equals and I'm with those who find not nice at all the way how Guido was trying to protect his child from such atrocities.

All you need is a visit to the Risiera and you'll realize how we had our dose of racism too. There were anti-semitic laws in Italy, promulgated in 1938. We had our 'No dogs or Jewes allowed' discriminatory signs and Mussolini was guilty of crimes. The fact many Italian Jews survived the Holocaust helped us  avoid censure for involvment in the persecutions, yet fascist policies and attitudes had a devastating effect on Jews community here. In the case of Trieste, by May 1945 only 10% of the city's prewar Jewish population remained there.

The euphemism of the Risiera isn't the only tragic event we tried to obliterate. When Italy surrended, Tito was doing his best to anticipate the alleys and take possess of the territory. New Zealanders arrived and couldn't help much. Yugoslavs took revenge on Fascists, who had largely imposed brutal italianisation of Yugoslav population in the new territories annexed to Italy after the Absburgic end of kingdom, starting a massacre through foibes and then repressing and humiliating Italians in Istria and Dalmatia, one of the most terrible events of our history.

In those 60 days of Yugoslav occupation it's calculated that many people died, buried still alive and still we obliterated the facts. No single history book mentions about it. We had to wait for 60 years and a brave politician who was trying to run for prime minter to finally commemorate the victims. Isn't this a shame? Primo Levi said that "if we die silently like our enemies want, the world will never know what the man was and is still capable of is capable of." So why being silent?


The least I can do is being firm in my principles and scream the truth from this blog. So, when you come to Trieste, plan a visit to the lager in San Sabba. And remember, it's called Risiera (rice-facility). Ask locals once in the area, because signs don't help. Good luck.

PS:
I started this article a few months ago but found a way to finish it only a few days ago, inspired by the statue i photographed in Piazza Oberdan. Then I waited until today to post it, because Pino was killed on April 5 and I wanted to pay a tribute to him. I hope you appreciate.

"April is a promise that May is bound to keep." - Hal Borland

The prince of spring is the wisteria, with its shower of lilac blossoms, so intensely fragrant.

New Outings (and Plans)

The day started with a teeth cleaning at a new dentist who brought up bad news- sigh. I used our imminent trip to Naples as an excuse for some therapy shopping afterwards. I ended up buying a frugal pair of sandals I'll probably wear, let's say, twice this summer. But well. 

Fortunately the hours became productive because I got inspired for a new project while wandering as usual. 

 And I even spotted a place that furnished material for my next post (stay tuned for that!)

Considering that I also had a second breakfast in my favorite bookstore, as a sign of an ultimate consolation treat (more for Naples than for the teeth cavity itself), I can say it wasn't a bad day at all.

And then of course, Spring, Spring and more Spring shots, despite this drastic temperature drop (who ever said April's the cruellest month was right!) There was snow up in the Carso today. If you ask my grandmother, she says it's certainly not the first time and my friend Tiina from Finland reports they had a few cm snow all over again today. But hell! I'm not old enough to remember some moronic April snow and I definitely don't live (and don't want to) live in Scandinavia. I'm sorry, you Northeners, it's because I can't put up with cold weather at all. I've nothing against your lovely countries.

Back at home I spent a lovely afternoon with my baby doing Easter crafts and photoshooting Angelica, a cute friend's daughter, who photographed me and Ali back. Yes, this is all we like doing in this family. Somebody please remind my MIL, as she needs to get ready for a meeting soon :)

Angie helping us

Please, please, please, let me be like this with her forever!

Yeah, I know, I know, this post is about articulating my discomfort with my visit to in-laws. Please, be patient with me. You wouldn't like to be in my shoes!

People with Talent

Welcome to the rubric of mine where I spot interesting people and am lucky enough to interview them. The photo course I'm taking gives me the chance to meet so many talented people. One of the firsts I came across was Marco, one of the instructors of my group.

He recently got his Masters Degree in Naval Engineering here in Trieste and is now approaching his Doctorate. In the meantime, he keeps mentoring students development each step of the way at the Circolo Triestino, whose is an enthusiast member. 

What impressed me about this guy was is competence in camera knowing. Then, the fact he had a lot of hands-on time during our outings. His later acute critiques and commentary to our assignments made me brave enough to want to know him better. He's got me so intrigued.

Let's read what he has to say and share about his passion. I'm honoured to have him on my blog and if you enjoy the interview, let me know.

1. Hi Marco, tell us something about yourself. 

Well, I'm a 26-year-old Marine Engineer with a great passion for photography, Classical Music (especially Mozart and Beethoven) and History. Besides, over the years I became very keen on the English language and the culture behind it, which has prompted me to visit Britain many times, thus providing me with plenty of inspiration for my photography. I occasionally help some kids with Mathematics and Physics to earn a little money that I then mostly spend on photo equipment.

2. The first question is a must: how did you come across photography?

When I was 9, my parents bought me a 35 mm-point-and-shoot camera that I used for some years, until I became curious about my dad's reflex (he had a Nikon F3 at the time). So, when I finished Secondary School with distinction, I got a Nikon F70 of my own as a present and with that, I guess I built most of my photographic culture on my own.

3. Are there any experiences that influenced your approach to your artistic activity?

Strange as it may seem, I never attended a photography course, nor did I have any particular experience that influenced my early years as a photographer. After my father taught me the basics, I guess I built most of my photographic culture on my own.

4. Helmut Newton says taht "the desire to discover, the wish to move and the taste to capture are the three concepts that reassume the art of photography". What is your philosophy of photography?

For many years, photography has been for me mainly a mean to capture snapshots of the places I visited, thus sometimes resulting in somewhat postcard-like results. I'd say that, over the last 5-7 years, my approach has gradually changed towards a more personal approach, yet remaining a way of bringing something back home to remember the places I've been to.

5. What are your favorite things to photograph?

Architecture, animals and flowers.

6. What photographic equipment do you normally use?

I own a Nikon D700, my old F70 (which I have kept), two old rather cheap lenses (a 28-80 and a 80-200 mm), a fabulous 105 mm f. 2/8 Macro lens and a superb, incredibly sharp 24-70 mm f. 2/8; I use a tripod when the necessity arises. Oh, and sometimes I borrow my dad's 70-300 mm lens for some extremely long shots.

7. Is there a photo you're particularly attached to? And why?

There is. When I visited Tuscany in 2003, I spotted a small grove of cypresses alongside the via Cassia, near a village called 'San Quirico d'Orcia' and casually I took a shot, but without much confidence. The result was impressive and for this particular picture I was even awarded a prize in a photographic competition held at school the following year.

8. Does the eye with which you capture the world change depending on the subject, or do all of your photos reflect your personal vision?

Yes, and it's probably not a good thing. Many photographers can find inspiration also in desolate, dilapidated subjects, while I can't. Likewise, the weather tends to deeply affect my vision of the world through my viewfinder, therefore I love taking pictures on sunny days, but I often find it difficult to get good results on rainy days and it's almost impossible for me to take a decent shot on cloudy, white-skied days. That is when I find trustworthy ally in HDR photography.

9. Do you do much editing?

Not much: just some minor cropping and saturation/white balance adjustments. This is partially due to my poor knowledge of Photoshop. I occasionally do some HDR.

10. If you had to photograph a celebrity, whom would you choose?

This is a tough question. I would say a famous orchestra conductor.

11. What do you capture better and what would you like to improve?

Flowers and architecture are okay, but I still have to improve landscape and animal photography, as well as night and low-light photography.

12. Which photographers of the past, or still alive, have influenced the way you photograph? And whom do you admire in particular?

Unfortunately, my knowledge about photographers of the past is rather limited. Anyway, I have recently come across pictures by Jim Brandenburg, an American nature photographer who has worked for National Geographic for over 30 years and I found his work particularly inspiring. I also saw some extraordinary shots by Dr. Mike Maloney, an English photographer, who has recently had the privilege of being allowed to produce a photo report about the British Houses of Parliament.

13. Which books and magazines published your images? And where can we view your photos?

The previosuly mentioned picture of the cypresses was published in a book called "Gran Tour delle colline" some years ago. So far, no other shots have been published. You can view my pictures at my Flickr photostream (please note that this page also contains several images of my father and that almost all captions were written by him, so please don't hold me responsible for any mistake ...)

14. Woud you like to choose a shot from your portfolio and tell us 'what is behind' it?

Of course. When I was in Provence, back in 2006,  I visited a small village called 'Le Grau du Roi' and I spotted a young lady reading a book on a quay with her bike lying on some rocks next to her. The light was just perfect, as it formed a beautiful reflection on the surface of the sea. But, as I discreetely approached to take the shot, a cloud obscured the sun. Well, I was so determined to capture that image, that I waited for a good half an hour until the sun finally shone again and I could carry on with my intent.

One more? When I was in London in December 2010 I was wandering around St. James' Park when I spotted as quirrel that had just dug a piece of an orange out and was eating it and I stopped to take a picture of it. Suddenly a hooded crow landed nearby and tried to steal the food from the squirrel, only to be mercilessly beaten up by the angry rodent.

15. Finally, leave a thought or some advice to those approaching the world of photography today. 

Don't approach photography with the idea that "It's' digital, therefore I can take random shots and then edit them later".  Photo editing is great, but it works on a garbage-in-garbage-out basis: if the input is lousy, you'll never have a first-class output.

Thanks, Marco, for being with us today. Wishing you luck in your career and keep shooting, constantly experimenting and loving life!

I Just Can't Get Enough

Those flowers at the market keep calling me and I can't help, I have to respond, strolling again through their marvellous beauty. Exactly what I did this morning, and what I'll probably do tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, neatly until next Sunday, when I can't anymore because the market shuts down. 

Today I brought my baby Nikon with me and took some more shots. For your pleasure, then!

Flower District

My Saturday evening was marked by a super nice stroll through the Flowers Market, something that pleased two of my favorite senses, smell and sight. You get a totally different persective at night, when all those beautiful flowers that have been admired for the whole day absorbe all the lights. Just me and my camera lost in that festive, intricate plantation. I'm sharing the joy ...

It's definitely Spring, isn't it? :)

Belle Epoque

According to the famous Travel Guides Lonely Planet, Trieste is the top city in their  "10 unsung places to visit in the world" list.  It's great that finally someone popular is making justice to this city, so different from the rest of Italy. There's so much to see here, from Roman remains to churches of great spiritual and artistic values, as well as a peculiar liberty style, but the famous Guide got it right: it is the elegiac sense of the past and Haspburg splendour what makes of this city a true jewel worth a visit. 

After two centuries of oppression under the Republic of Venice, in 1382 the citizens of Trieste petitioned Leopold of Austria to become part of his domain. The city remained under the Austro-Hungarian protection until 1918, when it returned to Italians, which brought a decline to its degree of autonomy and prosperity. During those five centuries, Trieste became a city of cultural and commercial importance. After it was declared a free port in 1717, Empress Maria Theresa ordered the bonification of the salt pans area, where she wanted a canal to be built in order to allow the ships to load and unload goods in the heart of the city. 

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The buildings that reflected on those waters where warehouses that hosted additional flors for both servants and owners. The area that was built around it, known as Borgo Teresiano, was very elegant and full of neoclassical splendour, thanks to the Empress who designed this makeover.  I found great pics of that Belle Epoque on this site for your joy. I am a sucker for these types of images, you know.

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And I did more. For some of them, the ones of the most sensational buildings, I even took pics of their current aspect today, so that you can easily see the little difference they have undergone.

During her 40 years of wealthy gorvernment, though, Maria Theresa never ever paid a visit to Trieste. Maybe that's why there's no statue in her honour in the city and the only plaque that pays her homage was placed in 1992.  

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Visiting the Borgo Teresiano really brings you back in time, I recommend to start your tour of Trieste from here when you visit.

Lyrical Theater

Wall square

And when your eyes need some rest after so much beauty around, you can stop at Caffe Tommaseo, one of the historic ones. They will surely delight you in the uncountable ways they're unique for. Happy planning then!