Let’s take a walk!
Our word for today is one of my favorites and brings up a happy memory of a long-ago solo trip I took to Siena. I had just begun studying Italian, and my husband gifted me two weeks at one of those Italian language schools in Italy for tourists. They are GREAT, by the way, but on my second day of class, I called Brian back home and asked him if he minded if I quit school. 😬
Hear me out! I was in Italy for two weeks – and I was going to sit in a classroom every day? Um, no. It seemed like a waste of an adventure for me, who had never traveled out of the country by myself. Anyway, I quit school, got myself one of those train passes that lets you go everywhere, and had the time of my life.
One Sunday evening in Siena, I was walking around trying to decide where to have dinner, and I was struck by what seemed to be a “thing” happening around me. The streets were full of people enjoying gelato, looking in store windows, and greeting each other. “Come sta La Mamma?” How’s your mom? “Salutamela!” Tell her I said hi! People were admiring each other’s babies, laughing, gossiping…enjoying the lovely evening. I suddenly realized I was witnessing something my Italian teacher back home had just told me about – Passeggiata!
A “passeggiata” is a walk, but it’s more of a stroll than a hike.
“Una passeggiata nei boschi,” a walk in the woods, would be leisurely, not a cardio workout. It’s usually before dinner, and it seems like it’s done more to get out and see people, not get away from them.
But I could be wrong. Let’s ask our Italian from Italy readers. Is passeggiata as big a deal as it used to be? Please tell us that it is!
MY FAVORITE PASSEGGIATAs IN ITALY
Crossing the Ponte Sant’Angelo, one of my favorite bridges, you’ll find yourself on the path to Castel Sant’Angelo in Roma. It’s a spectacular sight to see day or night.
Castel Sant’Angelo is fascinating for many reasons. It’s the tomb of Emperor Hadrian, and over the years, it’s served as a fortress, a prison, a papal residence with secret tunnels for the Pope’s escape if ever needed, and a hiding place for Vatican riches.
It’s a short walk from there to the Vatican and my favorite shopping street, Via Cola di Rienzo. I know that you are going to want to at least see the fancy schmancy Via dei Condotti (near Piazza di Spagna), but if you want a passeggiata where you can actually shop, go to Via Cola di Rienzo, window shop, and have a gelato. Passeggiata perfetta!
We love strolling to Dorsoduro in Venezia. The Dorsoduro neighborhood is home to some of my favorite things in the city. You get there by crossing the magnificent Ponte dell’Accademia from San Marco.
Once there, we stop for cicchetti at our favorite Cicchetteria. (Is that a word? I hope so! 😄) Cantine del Vino già Schiavi. Cicchetti are the PERFECT Venetian lunch. Like Tapas, you make a plate of a bunch of them and drink them with little glasses of wine. So much fun!
Then, we head over to Peggy Guggenheim’s little place, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on the Grand Canal in Venice. Her personal collection of 20th-century art is housed there and is special to me because, frankly, I don’t know much about art and get bored in most art museums. I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like, and I like expressionist painters like Paul Klee, Jackson Pollock, Wassily Kandinsky, and Edvard Munch. It seems that Peggy liked them, too.
It’s not a gigantic collection, and touring it isn’t a big time commitment. It’s definitely worth an hour or two before dinner.
I love walking all over Napoli, so it’s hard to pin down a favorite, but when you go, stroll on over to the street where Christmas never ends, Via San Gregorio Armeno. Looking for some truly unique, handmade pastori (nativity-scene figurines) for your presepe (creche, nativity scene)? Napoli is UNRIVALED in theirs, not only depicting Jesus and Co. but also figures depicting normal people in their ordinary lives. Last time we were there, we bought our friend Pino, who has a pizza oven, a little tiny pizzaiolo (pizza maker), who swung his tiny pizza in and out of an oven.
Sorry, but I have to say it…
Be cautious wandering around this neighborhood. Our hotel advised us against going, but when they saw that we’d remained undeterred by their warnings, they begged us to take off our watches and jewelry and leave my purse at home. It’s not the worst idea.
It’s like any big city – maybe a little wilder. You’ll absolutely want to look both ways before stepping off a curb! 🏍️. There are pickpockets, and in Napoli, they are particularly brazen. Don’t let anybody scare you into staying away from Bella Napoli. Just use common sense, enjoy this gorgeous, vibrant, friendly city.
My last advice about Napoli:
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that for many Italians, a presepe is more important than a Christmas tree. People I know collect pastori like we collect ornaments, and the presepi get pretty elaborate, with waterfalls and villages. Mine is getting pretty big!
Speaking of una “passeggiata a Napoli,” I have a favorite old canzone Napoletana that I thought you might enjoy about a walk in the woods: Claudio Villa’s La Strada Nel Bosco.
Vieni,
C’è una strada nel bosco,
Il suo nome conosco,
Vuoi conoscerlo tu?
Vieni,
È la strada del cuore,
Dove nasce l’amore
Che non muore mai più.
Laggiù tra gli alberi,
Intrecciato coi rami in fior,
C’è un nido semplice
Come sogna il tuo cuor.
Come,
There’s a road in the forest,
I know its name,
Do you want to know it?
Come,
It’s the road of the heart
Where love is born,
Love that never dies anymore.
There, on the trees,
Made of blossoming branches,
There’s a simple nest
That your heart dreams about.
So, the last season of L’Amica Geniale (My Brilliant Friend)
I’d love to know how you all are feeling about it.
I got an interesting comment from one of my favorite readers, Elizabeth Marrow. By the way, she has an excellent newsletter of her own, and she loves Italian movies!
Those of you who love to read (and write) should check out Spark. I got a kick out of “In My Defense, He Would Not Shut Up”. 😄 Great minds think alike, Elizabeth!
Except sometimes when they don’t…
Elizabeth, who read the Elena Ferrante books the series is based on, commented:
I’m struggling with it so much having loved the books and the previous seasons. I risk a lot by saying that the writing for this season (I just finished episode 5) has taken a turn. We are seeing so much of Elena frozen like a rabbit in the headlights and we see none of the very good stuff that was in the books about Lila, the neighborhood, and the passage of time there combined with the struggle for power. Yes, I remember that Elena was locked into a relationship with Nino that exploited her lack of confidence about her origins and competitive feelings about Lila but I also remember that she broke away and now we are at the last episode of the season and the series. So much weight given to Nino and Elena in the film and leaves me really disliking both. Elena’s frozen expressions — skillfully carried through by Alice Rorhwacher when she took over the role — are just as infuriating. The closeups of that face are not working for me.
Now, for me, who has not read the books, Elena is fascinating. I think the show’s creators have done a great job with the character’s continuity in every phase of her life. I can see the little girl Lenù and teenage her in the grown woman, who has taken all the messy parts of her life and made a pretty big mess of everything.
I think about what it was like, the era of the latest season, and how hard it was for women in the USA. I’m sure it was even worse in Italy, a country that has always been a few steps behind when it comes to women’s rights. Elena, who seems to want independence, is dragged down by the chains of “love” that come with her relationship with Nino.
I’d probably feel differently if I’d read the books, and I probably should.
Please vote in the above poll and leave a comment. I want to know what you think. And if you aren’t watching, I recommend starting SUBITO!
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