Mennagio - Even here, History Shouts at You

Even in regions as provincial as Mennagio, the consistent messages from times past keep shouting at you. That basic message is that art and engineering up to the late 16th century were mediocre... and in relatively small volumes. From 1601 onwards, the volume exploded and the technical sophistication was transformed. What happened from (say) 1550 onwards that generated such rapid development of culture?

One theory from Charles Mann... in his book "1493 - How Europe's Discovery of the Americas Revolutionised Trade Ecology and Life on Earth" (thanks Nathan for the recommendation) is that we can all thank the Potato for the Renaissance period. Walking around the churches and museums in the villages around Mennagio, you can see evidence with your own eyes.

To take only a small part of Charles Mann theory... he points out that a lot of things started to go Europe's way after 1550... to such an extent that its population doubled in period to 1650. The gold and silver from America purchased imports from China and Asia that funded a period of sustainable growth in Europe. The 'little ice age' came to an end... and normal agriculture became more reliable. But Charles Mann attributes a significant portion of increased prosperity to the introduction of the potato. He has tracked the relationship between farmers starting to use the potato and the incidence of famine. He claims that famines in Europe occurred within each decade and killed one-tenth of the population. He claims that growing potatoes eradicated famine... removed the population reduction caused by famine... allowed states to expand their graineries ... gave greater power to the states... allowed states to expand their courts and expand the number of artists, engineers and philosophers. Greater numbers... more competition... more communications... lead to a sudden jump in the volume and quality of community culture... which in turn gave confidence to adopt further changes. Europe was on its way to grow to dominate China... the Muslim States of the Near East... the world. Without the potato, Europe would have continued to be a second-rate region... beholden to the whims of China, India and Turkey.

So next time you see a nice piece of 16th century art... stop and say some words of thanks to the humble potato... without it, we would still be living a life of perpetual hunger.

Today, thanks to the potato, we saw beautiful gardens whose origins began in the 17th century... we saw a church in each village... with vaulted ceilings and expansive stands between pillars... we saw large blocks of stone that had been hoisted high up in the wall... we saw frescoes that portrayed emotion, background and perspective... all features you will not have seen in 15th-century art had it not been for Christopher Columbus bringing back on his ship, the humble potato. Let's hear it for the potato!

Lago Como - Season Starts in 8 days time

Today, we drove from Lago Maggiore through the corner of Switzerland and have ended up in Lago Como at a town called Menaggio. The weather is great... plenty of sun... high 20's in temperature. Our complaint today (there is always a complaint) draws attention to the terrible air quality... just as bad as Greece. Three or four consecutive days of sunshine seems to be followed by heavy haze. In Australia, air this dirty would be an election issue... it is so bad... mind you, the colour of Tony's budgie smugglers is an election issue... so, perhaps we need a new measure of importance.

On our drive this morning we had our morning coffee overlooking Lago Lugano... so we have ticked off 4 of Italy's big lakes... this touring is no holiday... ticking boxes is hard work.

We came to Menaggio for two reasons... to meet up with Sue and Patrick (Sue was a fellow teacher at Willoughby Primary)... that happens at dinner tonight... and to do a spot of George Clooney watching. George is supposed to live half of the year here... which half of the year??? the half when you're not here.

The season seems to be off to a slow start in the lakes district. The mountain roads are already impossibly busy... but the towns and restaurants look empty. We walked through a hotel grounds this afternoon... one with a beach facing the lake... with real sand imported from Australia. On this beautiful summer's day... some 200 banana chairs were available for the British and German sun worshippers... not one of them was in use. (See sad little photo below.)

Lago d'Orta - Quite a Gem

We can't get enough of these lakes. Today, we drove to one that had been recommended by Charmaine... Lago d'Orta... that tickled her fancy even more than Lago Maggiore. Charmaine pointed out that the smaller lake offered intimacy... the towns' old sections  offered narrower streets... the island (Isola St. Giulio) offered a 15th-century church with frescoes that remain as fresh as a daisy. With such high praise we set out with our fancy well and truly ready to be tickled... and we were not disappointed.

The island is dominated by the church and its monastery. Tourists are pointed towards a promenade that circumnavigates the island. We shared our walk with two priests... one, a visitor and the other a resident. The resident priest was strikingly handsome... Joye couldn't stop staring... I suspect the long hours spent in solitude were actually spent in front of a mirror... buffing hair... massaging cheeks... pouting lips. The promenade passed small signs each giving valuable life lessons, such as... 'Each of your journeys will end close to you'... 'If you can be yourself, you can be everything '... 'Listen to the silence'. The trip to the island was worthwhile just to get the philosophical messages.

After Lago d'Orta, we headed towards the Swiss Alps (but stayed in Italy) to test the new car with some mountain driving. The car performed well... but the occasion was spoilt by local drivers tooting me to hurry up going round the hairpin corners. In Crete and Peloponnese, we had the mountain roads to ourselves... we thought we were really racing up the gorges into the passes. Today, our misconceptions were smashed. It wasn't just the tearaway teenagers giving us the hurry up. It even got to the stage where a group of cyclists were catching up to us. (going downhill!) We just didn't have the nerve to speed along the edge of the mountain on a road wide enough for one car. We met one speeding on-comer who had to screech to a halt and reverse some 100 metres until there was a spot suitable for passing. Italians like to drive fast... even when they can't see more than 10 metres ahead.

Tomorrow, we head to Lago Como... where we will spend an evening with Sydney friends. We can't get enough of these lakes.

Lagos Maggiore - Gardening Tips

We have spent the morning island hopping on Lagos Maggiore and wanted to share with you observations that may help you improve the appearance of your garden. To be honest, the observations are not truly mine... rather, they are techniques developed by Giardino Borromeo and his descendants in building the garden on Isola Bella... over the period since 1569.

Tip No 1 - to get a good garden, be prepared to work at it for a couple of centuries. Certain types of pine, conifers and even roses to some degree, perform better on old root stock. It takes time to get your levels between different beds choreographed to perfection... not only must each bed be perfectly level... but the depth of drop between each bed must fit the perspective adjusted to size and distance. My suggestion is to retain the head gardener within the one family... pass the position down from father to son. Over time you will (naturally) have events of national significance in your garden... signing of international treaties... perhaps a few royal weddings... have a Pope spend his dying years in the garden. All this takes time... but adds immeasurably to the ambient effect. Isola Bella had Napoleon Bonaparte and the young Josephine spend a few days visiting in its garden (yes, before they were married). The prenuptial bed is proudly on display in the Palace. More interestingly still, the gardens entertained heads of state from Italy (Mussolini), France and Britain (Ramsay McDonald) in their attempts to avoid World War II. Unfortunately, someone forgot to invite the Germans... so the attempt was not successful... the table used for the failed negotiations is proudly on display in the palace. I mention these pieces of history just to jog your imagination in identifying garden events that can make your garden as interesting as Isola Bella.

Tip No 2 - build your garden on an island... thereby reducing the volume of airborne seeds that can be a source to weeds. The island setting allows your garden to be viewed from a distance... and with proper terracing can provide a dramatic effect. The context of a trip to see your garden... even a short trip in a lake will add luster to your garden. The opportunity is available to exercise your imagination and shape your island into a symbolic work of art. In the case of Isola Bella, the garden island has been made to look like a ship. The terraced garden looks like a bow... statues at the highest point of the garden look like communications equipment... the bulk of the palace gives a nice balanced perspective of the stern. I'm sure you can come up with your own design of different motifs.

Tip No 3- it almost goes without saying, to have a proper garden, you need a supporting palace. You all have your own standards... but my advice would be to build the palace around a ballroom of (say) 100 metres in length... decorated in a manner that synchronises with the garden. Of course, you will need bedrooms, library, dining rooms, etc, of a quality to match the invitation list you intend to apply. Keep the rooms with the best views of the garden for royalty only... as you know, royalty hate sleeping in beds that others have used... especially if those people are now dead. The only works of art to be hung should be pillaged from some ancient historical site. Never, under any circumstance, show work from an aspiring artist... you will only end up being embarrassed. If some important relative insists in giving you a statue or painting... have a series of grotto rooms in the cellar of the palace to accommodate these dangerous bombs. I think Giardino Borromeo (the owner of Isola Bella) went a little too far... he set up another island paradise on the island next to Isola Bella... and put all his second rate works of art there.

Tip No 4 - only invite your guests into the garden on just one day each year. Flowers bloom in season and it is not possible to have your garden at its peak every day of the year. Do not try to design a garden that performs the whole year round. You will end up achieving nothing. Get your roses to bloom in a synchronised way with flowering shrubs and trees. Get your colours coordinated for the one day of display... and don't vary from your theme. If weather is inclement on the proposed day of the garden party... cancel the event for the year. You want your friends only talking about your success... so don't flirt with failure if a shower is likely. We saw the discipline of the Isola Bella regime on our visit... early June... every flower in the garden was showing itself to perfection. I can only guess that the place must have looked pretty drab on other weekends throughout the year. You too must show discipline.

So, there it is... common sense, really. I'm sure you already have these philosophies built into your garden program. The purpose in my mentioning the tips is just to give you confidence in sticking with your program.

Lagos Maggiore - Nice... Very Nice

Maggiore (and later, Como) are Italian lakes that have to earn their mettle against the Balkans' frontrunners of Ohrid (Macedonia) and Bled (Slovenia). The competition appears evenly matched at the start of a 3-day assessment. This is not just a beauty competition... with the passing of the years and the extension of the wrinkles... Joye and I are forming the view that beauty is just skin deep... and attraction needs to be assessed on deeper more spiritual criteria.

Just to summarise:

Ohrid is the engineering marvel. It has springs in its bed that gush out an enormous volume of the most pure water in nature... no germs... no particle contamination... at volumes estimated to be 8 cubic kilometres per year. Scientists are still figuring out where such a mind-blowing volume of water comes from... and why is it so clean. Macedonia and Albania still have to decide what they will do with the valuable resource. The analogy of feminine beauty is... the young girl who graduates from university at the age of 16... is very pretty... and wears glasses.

Bled is made of fairytale magic... a much smaller lake... less than 10 klms in circumference. It has the picturesque church sitting in the island just waiting for princesses to find their knight and get married. The castle is perched high on the high rocky outcrop overlooking the lake.. perfectly placed to house the dastardly Count who persecuted princesses and knights. The female equivalent of Lake Bled is the sweet teenager who has dreamt her life away... dresses only in frilly white lace... and blushes a lot.

Maggiore is more mature... more assertive... more commercial. In the far distance, the Alps provide the backdrop of snow covered peaks along the Swiss border. The Lake foreshore is a long strip of commercial and residential development... much at a standard that has you photographing beautiful buildings on scenic headlands. Mercs and Audis race along the lake waterfront. Maggiore is the mature lady we saw sitting at the Gucci Restaurant... sipping espresso coffee... smoking Virginia Slims... with incredible makeup... and a bored look on her face.

This competition will make the Eurovision Song Competition look like precise science.

We picked up our new car today... one of those purchase/buyback arrangements. To continue the female metaphor... this little lady is a Peugeot 208...just released in Europe... curvaceous body... quiet and demure... diesel sipping habits of a T-totaller... smoother riding than a Lipizzaner dressage horse... acceleration faster than a race to the bar at closing time... everything you want from good breeding. It took a little time for us to get to know each other... only after the first morning of driving did I manage to lower the driving seat ... so that you felt part of the car... rather than just the driver. Joye's reaction has been positive... but not as emotional.

Milan without the Fashion

On Friday and Saturday, we saw glimpses of fashion... the stilleto heels on leather shoes where the purchaser is issued with a year's supply of vertigo tablets... we saw ladies sipping coffee at the Gucci Restaurant with facial make up that would have taken hours to perfect... we didn't see any hats of note... nor any formal attire. When it comes to casual attire, I could trip over good design and not know the difference.

With the encouraging signs of the last two days, we set out this morning to take some fashion shots... the general plan being to stand/sit near stairs in a way that would allow us to photograph shoes (not legs)... without intruding on the privacy of the wearer. The general plan was that in the event of a complaint... run!

Like all plans, nothing goes to plan. Today is Sunday... and it appears on this day, the Milanese vacate the city centre and leave it to the tourists. Today turned out to be Italy's Republica Day. We walked around the Square in front of the Duomo Cathedral searching for a pair of stiletto shoes... not one in sight. We loitered across the street from the Gucci Restaurant... not a well-dressed patron in sight. Our plan to give an up-to-date report on Milan fashion was in tatters. Then, out of the blue, our prayers were answered. We heard a band playing at the other side of the Square... we checked out the activity and found a fashion exhibition extrordinaire... not of civilian dimensions... but focussed on the military.

The military guard-of-honour provided the fashion statement. The gentleman taking the salute (perhaps the Mayor, Regional Governor or President's representative) was there in fine regalia... spiffing uniform... funny hat... the works. The sergeant major organising the guard of honour strutted proudly... shouting commands in a language that sounded identical to Australian sergeant majors (but unrelated to any modern dialect known to man). The soldiers were well drilled... stamping... shouting... presenting arms... in perfect synchronisation.

So to summarise the fashion report from Milan, the military colour this year is Blue... the firearms to make the scene will be the same as last year... a lightweight machine gun that has a 'plasticy' appearance. A fashionable way to commence dialogue is to shout at full volume. Any movements must avoid the appearance of being relaxed... always appear as if you have OD'ed on caffeine.

We can also provide up-to-date reports on the state of the roof on the Duomo Cathedral and the volume of supply in 15th-century art... but I suspect you'll need a bit more time to absorb the fashion report.

That's all for now.

Milan - another perspective on History

We are easily led into believing that the city in which we are visiting represents the crux of civilisation as we know it. Of course we appreciate the co-dependance and successor bequests each leading party in the civilisation 'relay' makes to each other. The historical contribution from Milan had not made our radar before today... we had not factored in the contribution made by mighty Etruscan civilisation... their contribution to writing, pottery and most important of all, metallurgy. We had figured out the contributions made by the Minoans coming from the east... and the Hellenic civilisations from the west. We appreciated how the Macedonian empire built on the social skills developed by the Hellenic regime... we knew all of that... but hadn't kept an eye on what the Etruscans were doing further north. Because this is where Milan began its impressive contribution to history.

Now wanting to dwell on the past... let's skip a couple of centuries... through the formation of the Roman Empire... right through to the period when it started to unravel... because it became too big. When the empire started to split between east and west, Milan became the headquarters of the Western Roman Empire... when our good friend Diocletian choose to administer the East. Maximillian was given the harder 'gig' of holding the West together... from the grasp of those German tribes to the north... from his centre of power... in Milan.

Diocletian met Maximian in Milan in the winter of 290–91... the meeting was undertaken with a sense of solemn pageantry... Emperors spent most of their time in public appearances. A deputation from the Roman Senate met with the Emperors, renewing its infrequent contact with the Imperial office. The choice of Milan over Rome further snubbed the capital's pride. Rome has kept a wary eye on Milan ever since. Jasper, even today, you can see the remains of the wall of the fort constructed by Maximillian to secure his palace... and even parts of the foundation of the palace remain.

The most dramatic statement Milan has made revolves around its cathedral. It was the engineering marvel of its day... still is to some extent. For a century, every engineer commissioned to build a cathedral in another country would visit Milan to see how it should be done... in terms of engineering and artistry, Milan tops St Peter's in Rome. At one point Milan claimed to be the centre of the Catholic Church... a claim that was not settled for some time. By the time Michaelanglo had prettied up St Peter's, Rome had re-asserted its leadership.