Day 7: Busseto
Today is Liberation Day in Italy, commemorating the end of World War II. We
plan to attend some of festivities scheduled for this morning and we also
will visit the Verdi sites in Busseto. The weather is sunny and bright so
we change our morning routine and eat breakfast outside at the bar nearest
to the hotel. While we are eating, townspeople are milling around on the
square waiting for the celebrations to begin. We buy a couple of bottles of
the wine we had enjoyed at dinner on our first night here--Gutturnio from
the hills outside Piacenza; we will bring a bottle to Livio in Alessandria.
We go to the tourist office to get our admission tickets for the Verdi
sites. Since the Voci Verdiana competition is going on in the theater, we
have to take our guided tour right away--before the hall is again in use by
the contestants. The theater was recently remodelled with the seats
re-covered in red velvet, and everything looks very new. It was built in
the mid-1850s as the town's present to Verdi and it is modelled on La Scala.
It seats about 350 with a small orchestra, two levels of boxes and standing
room on the top level. The acoustics are said to be first rate. They now
have a full season of operas and concerts in Busseto. We are looking
forward to attending the Jose Carreras concert there on Saturday night.
Verdi himself never supported the idea of the theater--he thought it was a
waste of money--and apparently never attended any of the performances during
the first season. But he did contribute money to the project and we heard
mixed reports about whether or not he subsequently attended performances in
the theater.
Back on the square, we see the town band marching into town to start the
ceremonies. The band is a mixed group of about 25 players from teenagers to
retirees; the leader is a young woman and we later observe that the two
young assistant drummers (both under five) are her children. They are very
cute marching alongside the adult drummers. The small procession forms in
the courtyard of the municipal building--town officials, a representative
group from the school, and veterans of various wars are included. A small
number of townspeople are watching; it is all very informal. The band plays
a few numbers and
then the whole parade marches off to the nearby church for mass; the
dignitaries enter the church through the main central doors, which are
rarely opened.
We stay for part of the mass and slip out to visit another Verdi site--the
Casa Barezzi. This was the house of his patron and later his first
father-in-law. The music room and salon are preserved as they were in the
mid 19th century, including the piano that Verdi used to give lessons to
Barezzi's daughter, who became his first wife. In addition to the salon,
the very interesting museum houses much Verdi memorabilia--scores of his
operas, pictures f the famous singers who performed in them, papers relating
to Verdi's patriotic and charitable activities, and news accounts of his
death and funeral. There is a picture of Arturo Toscanini, then a young
conductor at La Scala, who conducted the music at the funeral mass in Milan
in early 1902.
While we are touring the Casa Barezzi, the band has already left on the
procession to Piazza Mateotti on the far side of town, where the speeches
will be given to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II. We hurry
to the piazza and hear the end of the program and catch the band playing the
same partisan song--Bella Ciao--that has become the "anthem" of the
anti-Berloscuni rallies now being held in Italy. We walk back to the center
of town with the marching band--who are really pretty accomplished--and head
for lunch.
We go to the Salsamenteria Baratti, described as a shrine to both lovers of
Verdi and lovers of "salume". In an old storefront on the main street,
decorated from floor to ceiling with Verdi memorabilia and a multitude of
food products, this eating place is furnished with simple tables and
benches. They serve all the local specialities of cured meats--salamis,
prosciutto di Parma,
culatello di Zibello--cheeses, various sauces and relishes to be spread on
bread, as well as local wines (which you drink out of traditional
earthenware bowls)--all to the accompaniment of the recorded music of the
"maestro", as he is referred to in Busseto. We snag the last table and
enjoy some very good salume (with the very mediocre bread which is served in
Emilia-Romagna), some interesting salsas and relishes, and some very
refreshing fizzy Lambrusco. We finish off the meal with some
parmigiano-reggiano and walnuts--all very satisfying and a lot of fun in the
lively atmosphere.
We go back to the hotel after the lunch--we need to recover from the
wine--before leaving for Alessandria to visit our friend, Livio Misgur.
Alessandria is in the Piemonte region--about 60 miles to the west of
Busseto. We get a little off track as we try to go west on the
autostrada--for some reason, the traffic pattern at the entrance at
Cortemaggiore won't let us do that; we have to backtrack towards Busseto
before we can get going in the right direction. I still can't understand
the logic of the autostrada directions....but we get to Alessandria about 5
p.m. We have little difficulty following Livio's directions through the
city to his house. We meet Alba and Valentina, his wife and daughter, and,
after some conversation in the house, set out on a tour of Alessandria.
Livio apologizes for the fact that Alessandria doesn't have any tourist
attractions per se and for the fact that all the buildings only date back to
the 1700s. In spite of this, we have a nice walk around the town, which is
quiet because of the holiday. We visit several churches, see the school
that both Livio and his daughter attended, and walk past the building that
Livio lived in as a child. We stroll past the sinagoga, a large building no
longer in use, which is located right in the middle of the "centro storico".
We are unable to visit it today because the responsible person is out of
town for the holiday.
We then drive out to a large villa on the outskirts of town, which belongs
to friends of Livio and Alba. This is a real country villa, which had
belonged to a noble family years ago and had been bombed and badly damaged
during World War II-- it was occupied by the Germans and bombed by the
Americans. The villa is absolutely stunning...the friends have lovingly
restored it but made it very liveable. Large rooms with beautiful stencil
work on the ceilings (done by Livio's wife Alba), incredible art work (the
owners buy and sell Far Eastern artwork)--it is one of the beautiful houses
one sees in Architectual Digest. We have a nice visit and later Livio
explains how they got started in the art business in the '60s as young men
bumming around
India, Nepal and Afghanistan, buying art pieces and selling them back in
Italy and bringing Italian coral (from Sardinia) to India to sell and buy
more art with the proceeds.
We have a very nice meal at Livio's--he is accomplished cook, as is
Alba--and spend a very pleasant evening with the Misgurs. About 10 pm we
leave for the drive back to Busseto, which is uneventful. Another wonderful
day.
Jim and Diana
plan to attend some of festivities scheduled for this morning and we also
will visit the Verdi sites in Busseto. The weather is sunny and bright so
we change our morning routine and eat breakfast outside at the bar nearest
to the hotel. While we are eating, townspeople are milling around on the
square waiting for the celebrations to begin. We buy a couple of bottles of
the wine we had enjoyed at dinner on our first night here--Gutturnio from
the hills outside Piacenza; we will bring a bottle to Livio in Alessandria.
We go to the tourist office to get our admission tickets for the Verdi
sites. Since the Voci Verdiana competition is going on in the theater, we
have to take our guided tour right away--before the hall is again in use by
the contestants. The theater was recently remodelled with the seats
re-covered in red velvet, and everything looks very new. It was built in
the mid-1850s as the town's present to Verdi and it is modelled on La Scala.
It seats about 350 with a small orchestra, two levels of boxes and standing
room on the top level. The acoustics are said to be first rate. They now
have a full season of operas and concerts in Busseto. We are looking
forward to attending the Jose Carreras concert there on Saturday night.
Verdi himself never supported the idea of the theater--he thought it was a
waste of money--and apparently never attended any of the performances during
the first season. But he did contribute money to the project and we heard
mixed reports about whether or not he subsequently attended performances in
the theater.
Back on the square, we see the town band marching into town to start the
ceremonies. The band is a mixed group of about 25 players from teenagers to
retirees; the leader is a young woman and we later observe that the two
young assistant drummers (both under five) are her children. They are very
cute marching alongside the adult drummers. The small procession forms in
the courtyard of the municipal building--town officials, a representative
group from the school, and veterans of various wars are included. A small
number of townspeople are watching; it is all very informal. The band plays
a few numbers and
then the whole parade marches off to the nearby church for mass; the
dignitaries enter the church through the main central doors, which are
rarely opened.
We stay for part of the mass and slip out to visit another Verdi site--the
Casa Barezzi. This was the house of his patron and later his first
father-in-law. The music room and salon are preserved as they were in the
mid 19th century, including the piano that Verdi used to give lessons to
Barezzi's daughter, who became his first wife. In addition to the salon,
the very interesting museum houses much Verdi memorabilia--scores of his
operas, pictures f the famous singers who performed in them, papers relating
to Verdi's patriotic and charitable activities, and news accounts of his
death and funeral. There is a picture of Arturo Toscanini, then a young
conductor at La Scala, who conducted the music at the funeral mass in Milan
in early 1902.
While we are touring the Casa Barezzi, the band has already left on the
procession to Piazza Mateotti on the far side of town, where the speeches
will be given to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II. We hurry
to the piazza and hear the end of the program and catch the band playing the
same partisan song--Bella Ciao--that has become the "anthem" of the
anti-Berloscuni rallies now being held in Italy. We walk back to the center
of town with the marching band--who are really pretty accomplished--and head
for lunch.
We go to the Salsamenteria Baratti, described as a shrine to both lovers of
Verdi and lovers of "salume". In an old storefront on the main street,
decorated from floor to ceiling with Verdi memorabilia and a multitude of
food products, this eating place is furnished with simple tables and
benches. They serve all the local specialities of cured meats--salamis,
prosciutto di Parma,
culatello di Zibello--cheeses, various sauces and relishes to be spread on
bread, as well as local wines (which you drink out of traditional
earthenware bowls)--all to the accompaniment of the recorded music of the
"maestro", as he is referred to in Busseto. We snag the last table and
enjoy some very good salume (with the very mediocre bread which is served in
Emilia-Romagna), some interesting salsas and relishes, and some very
refreshing fizzy Lambrusco. We finish off the meal with some
parmigiano-reggiano and walnuts--all very satisfying and a lot of fun in the
lively atmosphere.
We go back to the hotel after the lunch--we need to recover from the
wine--before leaving for Alessandria to visit our friend, Livio Misgur.
Alessandria is in the Piemonte region--about 60 miles to the west of
Busseto. We get a little off track as we try to go west on the
autostrada--for some reason, the traffic pattern at the entrance at
Cortemaggiore won't let us do that; we have to backtrack towards Busseto
before we can get going in the right direction. I still can't understand
the logic of the autostrada directions....but we get to Alessandria about 5
p.m. We have little difficulty following Livio's directions through the
city to his house. We meet Alba and Valentina, his wife and daughter, and,
after some conversation in the house, set out on a tour of Alessandria.
Livio apologizes for the fact that Alessandria doesn't have any tourist
attractions per se and for the fact that all the buildings only date back to
the 1700s. In spite of this, we have a nice walk around the town, which is
quiet because of the holiday. We visit several churches, see the school
that both Livio and his daughter attended, and walk past the building that
Livio lived in as a child. We stroll past the sinagoga, a large building no
longer in use, which is located right in the middle of the "centro storico".
We are unable to visit it today because the responsible person is out of
town for the holiday.
We then drive out to a large villa on the outskirts of town, which belongs
to friends of Livio and Alba. This is a real country villa, which had
belonged to a noble family years ago and had been bombed and badly damaged
during World War II-- it was occupied by the Germans and bombed by the
Americans. The villa is absolutely stunning...the friends have lovingly
restored it but made it very liveable. Large rooms with beautiful stencil
work on the ceilings (done by Livio's wife Alba), incredible art work (the
owners buy and sell Far Eastern artwork)--it is one of the beautiful houses
one sees in Architectual Digest. We have a nice visit and later Livio
explains how they got started in the art business in the '60s as young men
bumming around
India, Nepal and Afghanistan, buying art pieces and selling them back in
Italy and bringing Italian coral (from Sardinia) to India to sell and buy
more art with the proceeds.
We have a very nice meal at Livio's--he is accomplished cook, as is
Alba--and spend a very pleasant evening with the Misgurs. About 10 pm we
leave for the drive back to Busseto, which is uneventful. Another wonderful
day.
Jim and Diana
