January 1, 2024
Torino, Italy
Buon Anno! Happy New Year!
Recovery isn’t so hard of you skip, at least most of, the alcohol which is served. You need to only eat half of what is served as well. It was difficult to sleep last night. Not so much because of the fireworks, the people in bar which had flowed into the street, nor the people having so much fun, it really was because this marks the beginning of the world cruise. Yes, it is still six days before we board but, for the first time, it actually looks like we may make it. Yes! Just a little excited.
The morning was spent packing and getting things organized. Cousin Jeff and I met at Giardino Aiuola Balbo and sat and enjoy a cigar and chatted while we watch the people stroll by. It was cool but again not particular cold. By 12:30 or so there were people out taking a New Year’s Day stroll, walking the dogs, or getting the kids out for some exercise.
How often do we go to a park and wonder why is it here? Who made it? Perhaps even question why. Should the park continue a statue, or two or three, do we do more than look at the statue and think how pretty?
Well, here we are sitting in a park, in a city full of parks, a park, for some reason, names after a guy named Balbo. It’s a nice park, with fountains and statues. The name of the park is Giardino Aiuola Balbo. No, the guy’s first name is not Aiuola. Giardino is easy, even a single guess – garden. Aiuola? Probably not going to happen. Aiuola is flowerbed. So, it is a garden flowerbed. Not many flowers in January. No hint available.
So, who was this Balbo guy? According to the statue it is Cesare Balbo. Count Cesare Balbo was born in Savoy City, present day Torino (aka Turin) on the 21st of November 1789. He was an Italian nobleman, patriot, politician and writer. He was also the first President of the Council of the Kingdom of Sardinia (currently known as Italy). He died in 1853, in Torino, before the Risorgimento (unification of Italy).
He was the son of Prospero Balbo. His father was a connected man and a count. His father’s career included being the mayor of Savoy City, an ambassador to Paris and his mother was Enrichetta Taparelli d'Azeglio. He grew up in privilege and was exposed to the cultures in various European cities, due to the continuous wandering his father’s career.
During this time the Cesare came into contact with the new Enlightenment theories which, in those years, were becoming increasingly popular in the major European cultural centers. The cultural and literary influence of Count Vittorio Alfieri; the Italian dramatist and poet, who was considered the "founder of Italian tragedy". Alfieri was strong influence at this time, and the patriotic ferment instilled led the young Cesare to find the Accademia dei Concordi in 1804, with other young men of letters with whom he shared his liberal -modernistic ideals.
These ideals lead him to be exiled by Carlo Alberto, the King of Sardinia. Cesare was exiled and confined to his castle in Camerano between 1821 and 1847. Camerano is a small village on the eastern shore of Italy on the Adaridac Sea, south of San Marino, far form the court in Piedmonte. Here he lived in near total isolation: but here he was able to cultivate his great passion, writing. His ability allowed him to compose treatises so convincing that Carlo Alberto granted him rapprochement at court.
In December 1847 Cesare founded, with Camillo Cavour, yes, the sameCavour whose name you see so many places in Italy, the liberal, nationalist newspaper “Il Risorgimento“. The following year he was appointed to lead the first constitutional cabinet. One of his most important works, The Hopes of Italy, had been published in 1844.
So, it seems, he was a guy who got around a bit, knew some famous people published a few books, and had something to with the creation of Italy. Unfortunately, he died in 1853 before the Risorgimento actually took place. Maybe he would have been a bigger name had he lived another decade.
The Risorgimento took place. Peace was beginning to take root and the City of Torino had a park created some forty years earlier which had now become abandoned and need to be redone. The larger Ripari park was redone and divided into smaller parks, and the Piazza Cavour was created. In 1874, the park we were sitting in, designed by Edoardo Pecco, was laid out. The first sculpture to be added, by sculptor Vincenzo Vela (1820-1891), was dedicated to our friend Cesare Balbo.
One park. One sculpture. One thousand words. Just how many parks are there? People who were important once now forgotten, except by a few historians concentrating on a limited time period. It is sad there is so much history which seems to slip through the cracks. History it seems get dwindled down to a few names, a few dates and eventually completely forgotten. Consider the American Revolution. It some ways it seems George Washington did it all himself. Ok, there was this guy Paul something on a horse out of Boston, but then he really didn’t do that. There were thousands of people involved and there are probably hundreds of small-town squares that a statue of “Johnny” so and so who did such and such. No one cares. We simply don’t have the capacity.
This same park, which is frequented by so many every day, has effigies of the Venetian patriot Daniele Manin (1804–1857), also be Vela, and the actor and patriot Gustavo Modena (1803-1861) by sculptor Leonardo Bistolfi (1859-1933). Maybe it is my American public-school education but there is no mental recognition there. It just seems sad.
Jeff and I had a nice visit, then I returned to our Airbnb. It had gone well half past noon. We have an appointment with Serra and Pietro to see their new home at 2. We met them and walked to their new place which is on the other side of Piazza Vittorio Veneto and one block to the northwest of Via Della Rocca on Via Giulia di Barolo.
Their new home is absolutely beautiful. It has a really nice outdoor patio, hard wood floors, and a ventilation system to give them clean fresh air. The layout of the new place is much better than the current one. The view of the Mole is really nice. You know you’re in Torino. I think they will be very happy here.
Cathleen and her family joined us on the tour. The faces were familiar but the names, lost per usual. Magnolia was Marie’s friend. Her there was no recognition at all. To me they are both still six. The eleven- or twelve-year-old in front of me meant nothing until Mary told me who she was. Then I could see her and started to place her face.
After the tour we walked back to the piazza and stopped at Café Antonelli, apparently their favorite coffee shop. New Year’s Day afternoon, people were beginning to come out so it was really busy but we had a coffee at the before taking a New Year’s Day stroll. Luisa was tried and eventually feel asleep. So we walked more. It has just gone four when we left the group and returned to the Airbnb.
Time for some more packing. Tomorrow is out transition day. Harry V is coming to Milano with us. He will be a great help in getting the luggage sorted. There was a final gathering at Serra and Pietro’s tonight. Harry IV and Taylor and their families. The Rodins, Renata, Cathleen and her family, and who knows who else. Just snacks and drinks.
Pietro held a wine tasting class for the teenagers. The rest of us played with Luisa, watched the Wisconsin football game and visited. Too much noise for me so I retreated to Luisa’s room. The teenagers when out to dinner after the class. Pizza was ordered and delivered.
It hadn’t gone much past 8:45 when we returned to our Airbnb. Still and little packing to do before heading out in the morning. Need to get some sleep. Sweet sleep.
Buonanotte, Vi amo tutti, Ciao Enrico
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