Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The day started on an extremely sad note for all of us in the Varese Skorpions family.
Attilio Chiurato
R.I.P.
Attilio Chiurato, who was instrumental in the founding of the Skorpions in 1983 and served as a guiding light to the team for over 35 years, died in his sleep last night.
Attilio was present at all of our games and many of our practices last year but was largely a quiet presence when he came to Skorpion Field. This was by his own design as he did not like the limelight but instead preferred to work in the background to help his beloved Skorpions.
Giorgio Nardi came into our apartment to talk about the loss of a friend last night and to reminisce about Attilio. Giorgio related that Attilio was the type of man who when someone mentioned that something needed to be done for the team would say little but would always get the job done without fanfare by the next day.
Attilio was a fine, humble, hardworking man that will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Lunch with Marta Crosta
and Nicolas Principi
I had a lunch date with this fun couple who spent part of last Summer with us in both Camarillo and, in Niciolas' case, in beautiful Chihuahua, Mexico for our Europe Warriors game.
This small ristorante specializes in grilling meats of a delicious kind. I opted for the pulled pork sandwich and a dolci of tiramisu.
The cuisine was delightful as was the chance to visit with these two good people.
Interesting door decoration
near the Ripoli
After our excellent dining experience, they dropped me off at the Varese train station as I desired to make my first foray into Milan of 2019 to see what, if anything, was new.
In a great display of Transportation Karma, the train to Milano's Cadorna Station left about a minute after I arrived and it was the express train to boot.
The Needle and Thread sculpture in
front of Milano's Cadorna Train Station
looked good to me!
Entering the Sforza Castle
Entering the Sforza Castle Courtyard
Exiting the Sforza Castle Courtyard
The Sforza Castle Fountain
in front of the Main Entrance
Wait, what is different about
the old Post Office Building?
GOODNESS GRACIOUS!
It's now the Starbucks Reserve Roastery
Years ago, when Starbucks was founded in Seattle, Washington, the owners swore never to open a store in Italy.
It was on the Italian peninsula that they had first gotten their idea to open what became their mega-chain of coffee houses and they felt that they could not compete with the long standing, deeply ingrained Italian coffee culture.
Since we left Varese last July, not one but two Starbucks have opened in Italy, both in Milano.
This particular spacious incarnation of Starbucks is really more of a coffee tasting spot than a traditional Starbucks.
The Starbucks motif was interesting
The famed Starbucks mermaid logo
was in the house
As is my sworn duty, I looked but did not purchase a coffee in this den of overpriced caffeine iniquity.
No Starbucks in Europe, I shop with the small merchant in mind. At least I'm being true to the original Starbucks Italian policy.
My trek continues . . .
The Duomo was still looking good
As was the Galleria
Chestnuts roasting . . .
Chiesa San Carlo
This is new too, I like Five Guys at
home and will give it a try eventually
I believe
The other Starbucks in Milano
I entered this much more traditional Starbucks to observe there goings-on. Again, no sale for me but I must admit that both Starbucks were doing brisk business on this chilly day.
A church on the Piazza San Babila
Which reminded me . . .
A recently read, fascinating
book about life in WWII Milano
The book describes the amazing life of a teenage Milanese boy, Pino Lella, who survived the horrors of the Allied bombing in Milano, helped guide Jews over the Alps to safety in Switzerland and then became a spy for the partisans while working inside the Nazis' headquarters.
I had written down a few notes from reading this tome of places important to Pino's story that I wanted to visit.
No time like the present since he lived in the San Babila area.
Via Monte Napolone 3
In the 1930s, this was the site of Pino's family business Le Borsette di Lella that made and sold high end leather goods.
The Lella family lived upstairs above their shop.
Via Monte Napoleone is still THE poshest street of the high end fashion industry that is Milano's lifeblood.
Today's Fendi store at #3 still
sells high end leather goods
to be sure!
On the way to the next
Beneath the Scarlet Sky spot I
passed a pasticceria
I was strong but, for the life of me, I don't know why.
Via Pietro Verri 7
About a large block away from the Lella shop and home was Pino's uncle's luggage store located at this address.
Pino's uncle was his partisan contact and, for most of the war, the only one who knew that Pino was spying on the Nazis.
This secret made life difficult for Pino as many of his friends and family believed that he was a Nazi collaborator.
I love Milano's arcades that
protect shoppers from the
snow that was gently falling today
Another pasticceria
I must admit that my restraint impressed even me!
Piazzale San Loreto was also
featured in Beneath the Scarlet Sky
Most famously, this was the site where Benitio Mussolini, his mistress and other high ranking Fascists' bodies were hung on display in April of 1945.
Previous to this ghastly event, this piazzale was also the scene of two key events in the book.
First, a partisan on a bike launched a homemade grenade into a truck carrying Nazi soldiers, killing several soldiers and, unfortunately, the father of Pino's best friend whose vegetable market on the piazzale was right next to the grenade's explosion.
As a result of this attack, the Nazis opted to randomly and publicly execute 15 Italian prisoners in retaliation for the partisan attack on the same piazzale.
A monument to the 15
executed prisoners
Their names are listed on
the back of the monument
Tullio Galimberti was one of the
executed and was a close family
friend of the Lella family
So much of a history of tragedy in such a beautiful city.
California comes to Milano?
It was time to start heading home after enjoying a solid dose of being a tourist in my own town today.
I had to go back by
Sforza Castle to be sure
The Main Tower was dazzling
in the dusk
Same tower viewed from
inside the Sforza Castle courtyard
Today's Transportation Karma continued to smile on me as first the return train to Varese left the station about two minutes after I boarded and then, once in Varese, the C line bus that was to whisk me up to the Villa Skorpions II arrived at my downtown bus stop only 30 seconds after I did.
Even though I experienced many good and interesting people and things today, the loss of Attilio still cast a pall on the day.
We lost a good man today.
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