La Scala and autumn in Italy

Maybe you’re wondering why I didn’t start with Autumn in Italy and La Scala. Well, because my main reason for going to Italy was to go to La Scala. Everything else came in second place. I did have some business to attend to in Milan, but most of all, I was looking forward to seeing a ballet at La Scala Theatre with Roberto Bolle. I had been waiting for this for two years and on November 7th, my dream came true. Thanks to my dear friend, Manuela (grazie mille di nuovo, cara amica 🙂 ) I got my ticket to see L’Histoire de Manon. Manuela, I would never have managed to get such a good seat if it weren’t for you.

I arrived in Milan two days earlier, on the 5th and I just stayed put and slept as I was really tired. But on the 6th, after finishing my business at the Bocconi University, a place that will always remain dear to my heart, I decided to explore parts of Milan I hadn’t seen before, so with map in hand, I started walking toward the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, which you don’t want to miss if you’re in Milan, especially as the entry is free. Take notice of the hours though, because there is a break between 1 and 2 P.M. and it’s closed on Monday. If you want to see the temporary exhibitions, the ticket price is 8 euros. I was very impressed with the variety of works they have in this gallery and I was happy to see paintings of some  artists I admire, like Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, De Nittis Giuseppe,  Cézanne,  Gauguin, Van Gogh, Helleu Paul-César and my favourites – Corot and Toulouse-Lautrec. In this gallery, there is also a big collection of sculptures.

Right next to the gallery, there is the Museum of Natural History (Museo di Storia Naturale) and I thought I would go visit since I was already there and I think I paid 3 euros for the entrance ticket, but I’m not really sure. Anyway, I wasn’t really that happy with the exhibitions, they do have some interesting things, but I was expecting more. Perhaps I was too used to the Museum of Natural History in Bucharest that has more interesting things. But if you’re in the area and have time, you could also go to the Cinema Museum – I didn’t have time to go there, maybe next time – as it is on the other side of the Giardini Intro Montanelli where the Museum of Natural History is. Here you have a really nice park, right across the street from the Modern Art Gallery and it’s very pleasant to walk there. I spotted a nice bench that still caught the suns’ rays – it was late afternoon when I finished touring the museum – and just sat there and wrote, nibbled on some snacks and just enjoyed the sights. As I am fascinated with trees, I took a lot of photos.

And then it came – the day! November 7th! First, at noon, I met with Manuela to get something to eat for lunch and then go see one of the exhibitions at the Palazzo Reale. We chose Rodin and I was very happy we went with that because it was very impressive. I could finally see his works, since when I was in Paris I didn’t get a chance to go to the Rodin Museum. The place chosen for the exhibition was in perfect harmony with the sculptures and everything seemed to exude warmth and an intimate setting. I was in awe of the way Rodin chose to express the human body and the connections between people, the love, the friendship, the pain. Everything shared and combined in such a way that you had to look closely to see where one human being ended and the other began. I thought that maybe people should take more notice of this and remember that we are all inter-connected in subtle, but direct ways and maybe we should all be more careful about what we do and what we say to one another. And maybe love more too…

Going back to where I was staying to change for the evening, I was so excited on my way to the center of the City, passing near La Scala again to meet Manuela and other beautiful ladies, passionate about ballet and Roberto Bolle. And of course, I just realized I forgot to mention, I was also curious about seeing Svetlana Zakharova for the first time. ‘Divine’, I was so happy to meet you, it was such a pleasure to sit and have a drink with you and share a few laughs. The evening wouldn’t have been complete without you. And then, it was time to go in and take our places in the most wonderful theatre.

When the curtain rose and the ballet started, I still had a hard time believing I was actually there. I didn’t see Roberto Bolle enter the stage, his presence had been so subtle and yet, the moment I saw him, I couldn’t believe my eyes. What I really like about him is that you can feel how much he puts into the character he plays / dances. There is this warmth he spreads and you get totally captivated by the ballet. Until now, I had only seen him on DVD on my laptop, but I had gotten the same feeling I got when I saw him perform live. Not to mention the fact that I am amazed each time I see him jump and then land on the hard floor of the stage like it was nothing more than feathers. Complete communication and correlation with his partner… I have no words to express what I felt seeing them dancing – Roberto Bolle and Svetlana Zakharova. About Svetlana, I can’t say I’m a big fan. Leaving the technical part aside, for she is good, no doubt about it, I just don’t feel the involvement in the role. What I get is a cold feeling and for me, if I don’t feel the heart of the dancer, I don’t enjoy seeing them dancing. But maybe I’ll change my mind after I see more ballets with her…

The ballet finished much too soon for my liking, it was like it had just started and after 5 minutes it ended. I guess I’ll never have enough of ballet, Roberto Bolle and La Scala. And like many fans, of course, I mingled in the crowd at the artists’ entrance to get an autograph and maybe even a photo with the cast, but since my camera isn’t that good, they didn’t turn out very well, for there was constant movement and actually, quite a war to get in front, especially when Roberto came out.

Fortunately, I managed to get an autograph. And I have to say, he is much  better looking in person than in any photo. And I don’t know how to express it, but there’s such a classy, elegant air about him. I was quite in awe.

Friday, the day after the ballet, I met with Manuela again and went to see another exhibition at the Palazzo Reale – Andy Warhol. I hadn’t had much contact with pop art because it doesn’t inspire me as much as the Romantics or the Impressionists, or so I thought. It made for a really nice change in my “art pace” and at the end, I was quite happy to have seen it. It was like I had entered the spaces of Warhol’s haunted soul. A never-ending search and struggle. It was a vision of the world I had ignored until then and it made me think if I hadn’t been too narrow-minded until then, sticking to my “classics” so much.

And thus, my time in Milan ended for the time being. The next evening I left for Mozzecane where I only slept one night and didn’t see much of anything because I didn’t have time before leaving for Vicenza.

Vicenza is  a city in north-eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione. It is approximately 60 kilometres west of Venice and 200 kilometres east of Milan.

Vicenza is a thriving and cosmopolitan city, with a rich history and culture, and many museums, art galleries, piazzas, villas, churches and elegant Renaissance palazzi. With the Palladian Villas of the Veneto in the surrounding area, and his renowned Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theatre), the “city of Palladio” has been enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.

(Wikipedia)

I thought that the most interesting things to see in Vicenza are in the centre of the city which I visited on my first day with my host and then alone another day, but I found out that there is more – like in the photo above, taken on my last day when I went for a bike ride. Except one day when it rained and it was really cold, all my days in Italy were sunny and warm, giving me the feeling that spring is just around the corner instead of winter.

There are quite a few bridges and I really liked that old town feeling they gave me.

Vicenza, famous for its architecture due to the works of Andrea Palladio, is an UNESCO Heritage Site. You can find more information here: UNESCO.

Because I have been very busy lately and still am, I won’t be able to write about the cities I visited in Italy separately, so that’s why I won’t write too much about them, hopefully I’ll have more time at a later date to write more.

Getting to my bike ride at the outskirts of Vicenza, I have to say, going up hill wasn’t as easy as I thought at first. I was seriously out of shape, but it was definitely worth it. The Church of St. Mary of Mount Berico is a must see. It is very impressive.

The day with the bike ride was my last day in Italy, but before leaving, I went to Verona.

Verona, also an UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of northeast Italy. Famous for its Arena and Juliet’s balcony most of all, it has many other treasures to tempt you. I didn’t visit the balcony this time, but next time, I will definitely go.

When I started walking toward the centre of the city, after leaving the train station, I started seeing these posters that said something about an exhibition and I just couldn’t believe my luck – ‘Verso Monet’ (‘Around Monet’).

I love Monet and of course, since it says “Verso” , it meant there were other painters as well. I was overjoyed to discover that among great names like Corot, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Degas,  Pissarro, Sisley, Renoir, Gauguin and Cézanne, there were two paintings by our great Romanian painter Nicolae Grigorescu, the first ‘open air’ painter of Romania and founder of modern Romanian painting, directly influenced  by Monet and Renoir.

Going from room to room, I never wanted the exhibition to end. I could have stayed there forever and I was not the only one, as at times I had to wait for a space to be opened so I could see the paintings. People were crowding all over. When I got to the rooms dedicated to Monet, 20 works of his in total, and almost three rooms only for him, I stopped breathing. I felt that I had entered a sacred space. There was this special atmosphere and people would suddenly talk quietly or not at all, almost afraid to disturb the scenes in the paintings. I sat on one of the benches and just filled my soul with beauty. I think beauty doesn’t even begin to cover what Monet’s paintings inspire, but it is all I have. There was this eerie feeling in some of his works, like any second something was bound to happen or someone was going to come out of the paintings into the room. It was perfect! With a heavy heart, I opened the last door, the one that would take me out and I left, taking a serene and spiritual feeling with me.

After visiting the exhibition I went walking through Verona. I didn’t enjoy myself that much in the city as I was really tired and it had rained a little while I had visited the exhibition and it was getting kind of cold, and I really wanted to come back another day, another time, another season maybe. I enjoyed walking along the water, stopping from time to time to take pictures, the ones I’m going to leave you with and end this article that has gotten a little long. All in all, I enjoyed very much my time in Italy, I met interesting, wonderful people and I finally got my dream of going to La Scala and seeing Roberto Bolle. Ciao Italia! A presto!