Posts Tagged Recanati

What’s beyond the hedge of the infinity?

The hedge “that excludes the greater part of my view of the farthest horizon“, as wrote Leopardi in his immortal poem, The Infinity.

The end of a journey? The beginning of a new one?

For me it was just like that: on august 31, 2006, in Recanati, the last stop of the journey on my Vespa that reserved for me never ending emotions and surprises, I climbed the hill of the infinity, where is located the native house of Leopardi, and accompanied by a guide from the Centro Nazionale di Studi Leopardiani, I reached the hedge and… looked beyond it!

The quiet panorama beyond the hedge, with Monti Sibillini in the background, mixed with what eyes couldn’t see: the tide of sensations I felt along the journey and the uncertainty of the future that was waiting for me once back in Como.

Three years later I almost feel like being there again, thanks to the photo of the hedge I always keep on my desk.

The 52 photos of the twentieth gallery are dedicated to the last stop of the journey, between Loreto and Recanati, with the last one shot in Rimini before going back to Como.

I hope that through the report of the Vespatour I managed to give back a bit of the pleasure of traveling while discovering new people and things.

It’s also my Thank You to whom recommended me where to go before leaving, whom welcomed and helped me during the journey and whom, after reading the report on the blog, will be willing to visit the wonderful places I described.

Safe Travels!

Do you remember Giacomo Leopardi’s poem The Infinity: “Ever dear to me was this lonely hill”?

Well, that in the picture is actually the famous hedge on top of the hill!

It’s the hedge, “that excludes the greater part of my view of the farthest horizon“, illuminated by the sun in august and with the brick wall partially covering the view towards the Sibillini’s mountains.

Last summer in Recanati, the last stop of the Vespatour around Italy, I had the unexpected chance to climb upon the top of the hill which inspired Leopardi’s masterpiece, something made possible from 2003 thanks to the Centro Nazionale di Studi Leopardiani.

The picture is now on my office desk, it’s a suggestion to look beyond and to ask myself what that hedge is hiding, what surprises the future holds.

I even shot what you can see behind the hedge and I’ll put that picture online in the Vespatour’s gallery I’m setting up.

Every now and then I shift my eyes from the monitor, I get lost in thoughts while gazing at the photo and I recall the Leopardi’s writings: “and sweet is the shipwreck in such a sea“…

It really helps having a pleasant and comfortable working environment with little important things such as this!

Once I was back from the Vespatour I’ve been busy in setting back on track the projects I was working on, but at the same time I managed to make a selection of the pics I took along the tour to show them to friends.

It was much more difficult than it could appear, since every pic has a story to tell, so you can understand how engaging has been selecting only 4 out of them to post on the blog.

Before getting to the pics the image on the left is a representation of the 4200 km route I followed: from Como to Milano, Torino, Genova, Rapallo, Monterosso al Mare, Marina di Massa, Forte dei Marmi, Lucca, Pisa, Pontedera, Livorno, Vinci, Firenze, Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Montieri, Siena, Cortona, Arezzo, Assisi, Norcia, Melezzole di Montecchio, Marmore, Roma, Caserta, Bisceglie, San Giovanni Rotondo, Vieste, Loreto, Recanati, Rimini and back to Como.

The first pic is a total surprise: she is Sophia, the Vespa Peter Moore rode in his trip around Italy. I couldn’t believe I would have found it in the workshop-museum of Marco Quaretta in Livorno, so I took the chance to take a pic with Peter’s book.

The second one was shot in Forte dei Marmi while I was having an aperitif with Federico Farioli, country manager of Handango Italia, the italian branch of Handango, the leading content provider for mobile devices. Federico is a as much young as talented in my opinion, so I’m sure the new portal will grow fast.

In the third one I had a unexpected meeting with Alberto, Angelo and Claudio from Mantova’s Vespaclub when I stopped in a restaurant in Palazzetto for lunch on my way to Siena. We had a very pleasant conversation and had a big laugh when they called me the “Vespista del 2000” (2000’s Vespa fan) when they noticed my Vespa with the GPS.

The forth is very special, it’s my Vespa on the Colle dell’Infinito in Recanati, with the Monti Sibillini as background. I took it the last day of the journey from just below the wall with the hedge that inspired Giacomo Leopardi to write his masterpiece poem, L’infinito.

Being able to visit that particular spot – it’s possible only since 2003 – has been one of the numerous surprises the journey reserved for me.

I’m working on a photographic album. I’ll print it to show it to friends and I think I’ll be able to make it browsable even online.

For the rest of story you’ll have to wait for the book, including the name I decided to give to the Vespa, just as Peter did…