“The time stops when you step through this door,” Cassiano says when he was about to open the wooden door in front of us. He stuck the key in and turned it four times. The door shrieked as he pushed it inwards. I could see fleck of dust, shone by the sunlight, were flying out. I squinted my eyes as I stepped inside, trying to adjust them with the only transom lights coming in from the right-corner of the room and a small window on my right.
Read MoreThe incident that almost ended his life, was actually a turning point of his life and work. It made him re-evaluate his approach on architecture. During his hospitalization, he began to theorize about the structure of his body as a series of fractures that had to be put together again (by ArchDaily). The fractures would be later perceived as fragments, quoting his writing “the question of the fragment in architecture is very important since it may be that only ruins express a fact completely. I am thinking of a unity, or a system, made solely by reassembled fragments.”
Read More“Hugo per te.” A cocktail based on prosecco, elderflower syrup, sparkling water, and mint leaves mixed in a white wine glass was brought to the high table where I was sitting. Grey and quiet Monday morning. Never loved it. I’d thought that a bit of alcohol could have given me more spirit to start the day where I took a remote working day from the mountain. The bartender went back to clean his bar and arrange the bottles sorted in a way that I had thought by the size of the labels. I sipped my Hugo and let one of the smaller ice cube slipped into my mouth and crushed it between my teeth.
Read MoreEvidently, with only three cannons, the people of Altamura had defended the city from the siege of the Bourbon's troops in 1799. What are the odds the city could have won? Zero. The people were raped, humiliated, and looted. It was completely a total lost. Having little knowledge about the city, it was actually supremely ironic that earlier within the year of the siege, the city had just actually proclaimed its Republic and planted the Tree of Freedom as the symbols of the French Revolution, to flourish the freedom, equality, and fraternity. However, despite the lost, they still fought for their life, struggled to survive, and now it has become a self-prosperous town. It even influenced the whole Italy and its unity in 1860 with their spirit and courage. They undoubtedly deserve to be called as "The Lioness of Puglia”, a proud and rebellious city.
Read MoreWhat do we know about the Dark Ages? The period where everybody thinks of the massive warfare across Europe after the downfall of the Roman Empire by the barbarians, or the slaughters of the scholars due to their misinterpreted intelligence as witchcraft? Well, stop there. They are all myths. In fact, the downfall of the Roman Empire brings the economy to be a lot localized and the Roman kings were out of cash to pay hordes of armies. And the scholars developed new military technology and agricultural techniques and handcrafts. These transitions are the moments celebrated every year by Monteriggioni, embracing the rising of the Dark Ages which are not dark at all.
Read MoreLarius.
How it was used to be known.
A land which bore a man who wrote a lot of accounts on the Italian wars and battles in the 16th century. His eyewitness accounts were some of the few significant prominent sources in that period. Paolo Giovio. A chronicler he was.
Among of all his notes, one was about this land. It was firstly published in Venice, then went viral among the Romans. From there, the land became an important hub. It connected Italy and Northern Europe during the Roman Imperial period.
However later, the land’s name transformed.
Como Lake it is now.
Monza, January 1609.
I stood there with a body laid hopelessly on the ground. The second blood had been shed. Corrupted by a misshapen love.
Nine stabs. I have done it to him as what he had done to her. Or shall it be even thousand more as the pain would be closer to how I felt of losing her? I looked down to him. Lifeless. I felt an urge of champion feeling coming out from my vein which with every beat it rushes out, screaming a winning shout to the dark sky. I smiled.
I then took off my white veil which had been stained with his blood. I covered his face with it. I knelt down, and I prayed in silence. It all went back to my head, the memories.
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Temperature dropped as low as minus 7 as the winter slowly crawled under the horizon and was showing no holding back. The ice formed the calm water from the shores, a thin layer spreading across the surface of Lago di Comabbio (Comabbio Lake), and then downward to nobody knows how deep. The superimposed ice had formed a thick layer from the rain, which had been fallen on the day before I came there, and had been seeped up through the cracks in the ice. The lake became frozen.
Read MoreThe sound of the trams passing all over the cities, the hustle and bustle of the shopping plazas and streets, and crowd of people commuting to work are everyday views in Milan as the capital of business of Italy. We spend most of our time at work cramped with the meeting shcedule and spend overtime without realizing that our nerves get strained. Weekend always comes like a hero in the movie who always comes late when the world is on the verge of appocalypse.
Valmalenco would be a splendid choice to go for a weekend trip, to escape from the reality, and to relieve the stress. It is well-connected from Milan by public transportation in only 2-3 hours. The view is top notch as it is surrounded by the Italian Alps. The ambience is tranquil and sort of hidden where not many people are aware of it, even the Milanese, which are the reason it is my favorite spot to hike.
Tighten your shoes, get your hiking pole ready, and let’s set out.
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Kuraih tangannya. Kucengkeram. Kutarik dia dan kuikat ke punggungku. Matanya masih terpejam. Badannya berguncang kencang. Ku berbisik,
“Hey, adik manis, kamu tahu lagu La Montanara?” seruku mengalihkan rasa takutnya.
“Tau,” suaranya bergetar, nyaru diterpa angin.
“Yuk kita nyanyikan. Kita akan baik-baik saja. Mama udah nunggu di atas.” Kubuat suaraku setenang mungkin walau takut pun menjalariku.
Perlahan-lahan kudaki lagi jurang itu. Batu-batu kerikil berjatuhan setiap pijakanku, dan jari-jariku merogoh-rogoh batu yang bisa kujadikan pegangan. Sambil ku bernyanyi,
La montanara o-he
si sente cantare,
cantiam la montanara
e chi non la sa?
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English inspired taste and Scandinavian designs meet in Milan’s Chinatown, a sublime cultural contamination. It will simply satisfy your eyes, appetite, and mood.
Da Otto is just located in the middle of Via Sarpi, which is well-known as Chinatown. On the way there, don’t get lost by the rows of chinese fashion and accessories stores and tons of chinese restaurants as the café stands out among others as the only Scandinavian style structure with large windows.
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