Observations on a Rainy Day 1.27.06

Today it is rainy and stormy. The sky has been dark and, as a contrast, the sea, turquoise. It seems that whenever the sky is dark, the sea is not. Some effect of light and shadow and atmospheric mumbo jumbo that I don’t quite understand, it is true, the water seems almost translucent and shimmers like green glass. Along the horizon there is a band that is dark, almost indigo. Occasional streaks of light green shoot across the surface as the sun cuts through the clouds. There is a famous artist from this area whose work we recently saw (I believe I wrote about him) whose name is Piero Guccione. His paintings describe this phenomenon perfectly. At any rate, the view is different each and every day and we never tire of looking at it.

The work in the Piazza is finally finished. When we arrived in December they had just started this project, which consisting of digging up an area of the sidewalk next to the beach in order to lay some pipe and then putting everything all back together again. They had this area fenced off with that orange plastic netting they are fond of here in Italy. With enough imagination and distance this bright color can be mistaken for a field of red poppies. But close-up, it just looks like bright orange plastic netting! I must admit it was interesting to watch the progression of this project, as they laid down the brick pavers and replaced the marble curb-edges. About two weeks ago one of the guys told us it would be done on Friday. I guess they did not account for a few days of rain in between and the job was not completed until at least a week after that. But now it’s all done! Bob took a fair share of photos as the work progressed and we made bets as to how long it would really take to finish. This project gave all the old guys, especially our friend in the souped up wheelchair, a lot to look at for these past few months. Now that it’s all finished, you would never know it had been torn up. Winter is the time for this city (and other summer places I am sure) to do all these types of projects and it interesting to see the progress being made all over the town.

We have also noticed that there is a lot of building going on everywhere in Italy. In all the places we have been, the ancient buildings are being restored and there are new homes going up everywhere. The sight of scaffolding can really be a disappointment but we try to appreciate the fact that these cities are being cared for and restored for future generations to enjoy. We will just have to come back in years to come to see the ones that were obscured from our view! There are so many others that have already undergone this process that we are not lacking for beautiful sights to see.

So anyway, it’s raining today and feels cold. Just the other day with the sun shining and the sky a deep clear blue I was sure that summer was just around the corner. Today I am reminded that maybe it has a way to go yet. So for now we have to be content that sprinkled in between the rainy cold days there are the those gorgeous blue sky days when I can leave my coat behind and put my toes in the water.

Piove, piove, vai via!
Rosemary & Bob