Collection

When the River talks

The decoration depicts a glimpse of the Arno, the river of Florence, imagined from a window of the Vasari corridor with the buildings reflected in water that does not reflect the lights. Over time, the Arno has told unspeakable or epic stories, such as that of the liberation of the city from Nazi occupation or of a nature that rebels in the form of floods, an increasingly frequent phenomenon in this era of climate crisis. It draws inspiration from a poem by Pablo Neruda, one of the two he wrote about the city of Florence.

"I entered Florence. It was
at night. I trembled hearing
almost asleep what the sweet river
told me.

…

In the voice of the Arno I recognized then
old words that sought my mouth,
like one who has ever known honey
and then recognizes its delight.
So I listened to the voices
of the river of Florence
as if before being they had told me
what I was listening to now:
dreams and steps that united me
to the voice of the river,
beings in motion,
strokes of light in history,
triplets hanging like lamps.
The bread and the blood sang
with the nocturnal voice of the water."

(From “The River” by Pablo Neruda, 1951)

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by Daniele Calamandrei

mercoledì, novembre 27, 2024