[00:00:00] Never underestimate Italy. She will perform well in chaos and execute underneath the radar. And that's exactly what this latest chapter is about.
[00:00:11] So, without further ado, welcome to Life is like a detective novel where I discuss how the human mind has a natural desire to solve the mystery of life.
[00:00:20] My name is Bailey Alexander, and through these stories and interviews in my latest book called Personal Legends of Piemonte, we discover how 12 Northern Italians fulfilled their destiny. Basically, how they figured it out, either by letting life unfold or celebrating the treasure beneath their feet, and often by rearranging the details until the product is perfect. And Piemonti produces so very many of Italy's finest products.
[00:00:48] The stories and interviews are fun, they're insightful, and some will surprise you. It's kind of like having dinner with a bunch of Italians. And I had a great time living in Piemonte. We lived in a tiny town called Loezzolo for seven years, and eventually it began to feel like a pilgrimage, but not necessarily one in search of penance or a blessing.
[00:01:10] It became known that I was there to learn some very key life lessons.
[00:01:14] So in this book, I interviewed wine and cheese makers, herbalists, a famous chef, a bar owner, a teacher, a bureaucrat, and a car mechanic named Luigi.
[00:01:26] Today we meet Massi and Chiara in our final chapter. And they are key. They are very important because they underline the message to never underestimate Italy and those Italians. And I'm married to one, so I ought to know. So, hey, today I'm going to read to you from chapter 12, and it's the essay, the story before the interview, and it's called the Golden Couple. So here goes. Even if she's not on the top of someone's travel itinerary, Italy exists in the mind's eye of almost everyone.
[00:01:56] She saturates practically every piece of the planet.
[00:01:59] Perhaps you've taken your own personal tour, traveling by train. You meditate on the scenery. Her myth is now your reality. Suddenly, an abandoned building appears in the middle of a field or perched high on a hill. A weathered stone facade becomes visible, and if close enough, your eyes fall on a broken window. Or maybe the glass is entirely gone. There's wild ivy growing randomly out the front door.
[00:02:26] Your imagination kicks in as you muse. It must have been a grand mansion or a castle long ago. Or you capture a dilapidated cottage hanging onto its last piece of charm.
[00:02:38] And if it's cloudy without company, you might find it slightly romantic or sad. You sigh. Oh, just look at that. This country is falling apart. Or you caught one of those online ads, you know, the villa down south, suggesting it's yours for just one single euro. You laugh out loud or feel instantly suspicious.
[00:02:59] Either way, you can't help pondering. Italy's admirable and enviable ways are fading away.
[00:03:05] And if you're still on holiday, passing that abandoned building, a great sense of satisfaction may flow through your body and heighten the senses, for you alone are experiencing that last gasp of Italian culture.
[00:03:18] And after 30 years of traveling, touring and living in Italy, I too wonder how long this can last.
[00:03:24] For example, every few months I drive to the Cote d' Azur to visit the in laws. Depending upon the route, this trip takes about three hours.
[00:03:32] My husband prefers a scenic cruise through Limone because he considers Limone the center of the universe, not I. From Savona to Ventimiglia I go because Ventimiglia is my favorite name for a town. Civitavecchia, a port city located near Rome, is my second favorite. They roll off the tongue and it makes me happy saying them out loud.
[00:03:54] However, just prior to Savona and right before leaving the hilly and mountainous Piemonte, I pass a town called Cortimiglia.
[00:04:02] She is small but known far and wide for her hazelnut groves, and while admiring their quantity and quality, I drive past the next village and find myself holding my breath. It's deserted and it looks like it could expire any minute. I'm infected with suspicion and hope I'm wrong. Maybe it's just a lazy Sunday. I don't dare mention the name of this village. I wouldn't want to jinx it. Not every town can sing like Civitavecchia and Ventimiglia.
[00:04:31] Thankfully, heading home. This trip always occurs in reverse and nota bene Italy can be deceptive.
[00:04:38] Crossing the border to Ventimiglia, entering the imperial province of Liguria, a most charming sibling of more famous Rivieras. I then cruise past Cortimiglia, Vezime, Cesole and Cortino, and rather than head directly home to Loezzolo, I stop in Bubio for a glass of wine. Lo can appear as mysterious as Rome, while Bubbio is transparent as glass.
[00:05:05] My friend Max, the one who owns a nursery, was born and raised in Bubbio. Outside the periodic business trip or their vacation home on the Ligurian coast, he'll never leave his hometown. He has two houses in Bubbio, which is not unusual. Italians often have two homes in Italy, one near the mountains, the other by the sea.
[00:05:26] But Max has two houses that stare at one another from across the street.
[00:05:30] One is owned by his parents and the other is under construction. I've been inside the ladder. Spacious, modern, with large gilded mirrors and each bathroom replete with gold fixtures. It's quite handsome and could be completed any moment. Waiting patiently for Max.
[00:05:48] Maybe Max is waiting for a wife.
[00:05:50] Until then, month after month, year after year, he remains rooted, like one of his plants to his home of his beloved parents.
[00:05:59] By the time you read this, he may have moved in, although I doubt it. Max doesn't move quickly. He's a reflection of the slow food movement, the kind his mother remains loyal to, cooking from first principles, meals made slowly, knowing it will keep her son loyal and close. In this case, in the next room, it would appear everyone is content.
[00:06:23] Max once told me, with typical campanilismo that every single resident in Bubbio is employed.
[00:06:30] I can see with my own eyes that Bubio is thriving.
[00:06:33] It may have only 499 residents, but every Boubiese want. But every Boubiese who wants a job has one.
[00:06:43] Bubio has its own festival and its restaurants are full of patrons. There's a bakery and a pasta feature that sells fresh pasta.
[00:06:52] Two banks, one library, a post office, and a pharmacy run by an anarchist.
[00:06:57] He's not really an anarchist. A friend of mine calls him one, although she can be awfully dramatic.
[00:07:04] For instance, her first visit to my backyard caught me off guard when she exclaimed, ah, the sacred and the profane.
[00:07:11] Maybe it was the statues.
[00:07:13] Four located at each corner of the pool, each goddess draped in white. Persephone, Penelope, Minerva and Flora.
[00:07:24] There's a smaller statue, a colorfully painted Jesus Christ blessing one of the Rose Gardens.
[00:07:30] And a fat gray Buddha sits cross legged in the middle of the grass on a white stone step.
[00:07:36] This could have inspired her outburst, but Italians often sound like their sign language is their hands slice through the air.
[00:07:46] I don't think the pharmacist is an anarchist. He's just grumpy and his daughter is adorable and recently married.
[00:07:58] It wouldn't surprise me if the majority of Bubiese went to the ceremony.
[00:08:03] Their pharmacy lives up the street from a grand castle offering fine dining and a hotel inside.
[00:08:09] When you drive up to Bubio from Luigi the Wizards when you drive up to Bubio from Luigi the Wizard's car Shop. The town appears stately and perfectly contained, and everyone is employed.
[00:08:24] Of one thing I am convinced there's little coincidence. Mackie's bar lives in the center of Bubio.
[00:08:30] When you stop at the bar, you're greeted by a dazzling display.
[00:08:34] Dozens of beautifully shaped bottles, complete with ingredients necessary to make her bar uniquely Italian.
[00:08:41] In between the color and calligraphy, there's a white partition to offer your eyes a reprieve.
[00:08:47] The modest wall is bare, but for a black and white sketch of a family of four.
[00:08:52] It has changed over time.
[00:08:56] When I arrived in Loetzolo seven years ago, there was a sketch of Massey laughing after his first son came along.
[00:09:05] After his first son came along, a professional photographer captured the toddler, looking smart in a crisp white shirt buttoned to the top and dark cotton pants below, held up by spiffy black suspenders.
[00:09:18] He's a pip, holding a cup of cappuccino in the air with ease, laughing and getting ready to down it with gusto.
[00:09:26] Now, after two years and another son, the brand new sketch carries gravitas.
[00:09:32] Simple and elegant, it portrays the impossible.
[00:09:36] Simple and elegant, it portrays the impossible. The essence of a family.
[00:09:41] Although I refer to the owner of the bar as Massey, I'm sure Massimiliano has been awarded many nicknames.
[00:09:48] Doesn't matter where you sit.
[00:09:50] At a table, inside, at a table inside, or just outside the front door where the old men hang out, or across the street, al fresco, ideal for when it gets warm, whatever angle, Great affection flows his way.
[00:10:07] Massey is constantly on the move, while his wife, prefer Massey is constantly on the move while his wife prepares the food in the kitchen located in the back.
[00:10:19] She works at the front bar sometimes, but I assume she's omniscient all the time.
[00:10:24] If wrong. With confidence, I can say Mackie's bar is what we call a tavola calda.
[00:10:30] And if life moves slowly in the country, not so inside. The pace is as fast as anywhere I've seen, and I've been to bars in an awful lot of cities.
[00:10:40] Massey always greets me by my name, with an exclamation mark at the end.
[00:10:45] He says it properly, which isn't easy for Italians or the French, for that matter.
[00:10:50] Something to do with the vowels, then. Massey always inquires after Gigi and Gaston, our two papillons, as if he appreciates their name as much as their good health.
[00:11:01] Massey is younger than I, but the sketch on the wall suggests a man with purpose.
[00:11:07] Not easy to pull off, but one could argue it takes a family.
[00:11:11] Conveniently, Massey's father, a butcher, owns the machiraglia next door. If the bar is in need, there's plenty of fresh meat, fruit and vegetables available behind the glass.
[00:11:23] Pasta, canned goods and various sundries are stocked upon the wooden shelves, and Massi's mother is always nearby in the store at a table in the back of the restaurant.
[00:11:35] This allows us to see firsthand how well Italy works when it's the envy of the West.
[00:11:41] Massey is also a sommelier, which requires a combination of education, training and experience.
[00:11:48] When I need advice, he's familiar with the fine bottles of wine perched on various shelves throughout his bar.
[00:11:55] The wooden cartons carrying the wine are used to provide the decor beneath the bar.
[00:12:01] Every week there's a new display, like the chocolate you see in cafes in the middle of Milan or Torino.
[00:12:07] He has ice cream and fresh cornetti in the morning and cookies available throughout the day.
[00:12:13] When I met his mother, I was curious about his temperament. Her reply was both breezy and honest. He was the happiest kid at school.
[00:12:23] So hey, that is part of chapter 12.
[00:12:26] And hey, thank you so much for stopping by for a listen. And notte bene. The book is in both English and Italian, the first half in English and the second in Italian. So if you're getting ready to visit Italy, you can brush up on your Italian and additional information can be found on my
[email protected] about my other books and events. So hey, ciao for now. Arrivederci.
