There are two things that never fail to bring on a feeling of melancholy sadness to me. One of them is a shuttered seaside resort on a bleak, gray winter’s afternoon. The other is an empty piazza, devoid of life. This one in Aulla is particularly evocative because of the half-hearted attempts at placing lights in windows or on balcony railings for pasquetta* celebrations.
“Sad,” it says to me. Triste, in Italian.
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*Pasquetta is the day ofter Easter. A quiet day. You picnic, take long walks with your family, or attend a market or fair. We’re going to one in Bagnone today.