"No pacts are made between lions and men".

"You will have no eyes tonight, no ears and no tongue. You will wander in the blind, deaf and dumb otherworld; and the dead shall say:

Behold Hector, the fool who thought he had killed Achilles".

from Troy

The Iliad and its characters have always fascinated me, and this duel from the film Troy could not have been more epic: for me Brad Pitt would have deserved the Oscar just for these ten minutes.

Let's talk about wine 🍷 and the most famous grape variety in Tuscany: Sangiovese!

Bunches of Sangiovese

Sangiovese is an Italian black grape variety. It is among the most widely planted (cultivated areas cover 11 percent of the national wine-growing area); it is grown from Romagna to Campania and is traditionally the most widely planted grape in Tuscany.
It enters the blends of hundreds of wines, including some of Italy's most prestigious wines: Carmignano, Rosso Piceno Superiore, Rosso Conero Riserva, Chianti and Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Montefalco Rosso, Sangiovese di Romagna, Morellino di Scansano and many lesser-known but equally valuable ones.
The origins and provenance of Sangiovese are uncertain: the first reliable information dates back only to the 16th century, when Giovan Vettorio Soderini, in his treatise "The Cultivation of Vines," speaks of it, saying that "Sangiocheto or Sangioveto is a remarkable vine for its regular productivity."
We generally speak of Sangiovese, but in reality this term defines a large number of varieties (or clones) into which it has differentiated over the centuries and in different territories.
In Tuscany, for example, two large families of it can be distinguished: Sangiovese Grosso, (known throughout history by other names: Brunello in Montalcino and Prugnolo Gentile in Montepulciano), and Sangiovese Piccolo, used in much of the region. It is not without interest to note that Brunello is the name that was given locally in Montalcino to what was believed to be a grape variety. In 1879 the Ampelographic Commission of the Province of Siena determined, after several years of controlled experiments, that Sangiovese and Brunello were the same grape variety. In Montalcino, the name Brunello thus became the designation for wine made purely from Sangiovese grapes. Brunello rose among the stars of Italian viticulture by Franco Biondi Santi, after the wine was offered to Queen Elizabeth at a luncheon at the Italian Embassy in London by President Saragat on official view.
For this reason, it is difficult to give an absolute description of the wine made from it, which certainly has some common constants (good tannins and high acidity) but can vary from the cheapest red wine to the qualitative heights of Brunello, a high-value wine produced in the Montalcino area; here, in the unique habitat of the Montalcino hills, it produces a red wine that is among the most appreciated in the world for its structure, fullness of flavor, elegance and aging ability.
Sangiovese is also experiencing great popularity in recent years in California, thanks to the international success of so-called "Super Tuscans" wines. From Napa Valley it has spread to major California wine areas, from Sonoma County to San Luis Obispo.

All that remains is to open a bottle and cheers to all! 😊🍷🍷

Feb. 25, 1988: chronicle of INXS concert at Rolling Stone in Milan; does the venue always eXist?

 

My ticket

(From "6 Australians") The Rolling Stone was full to the brim (probably more than it should have been) and the concert started off with the support band Cruzados, a group from Los Angeles who presented their album After Dark. They played quite well, it was a kind of broad, multi-ethnic rock, full of Mexican influences. However, after the fourth or fifth song the audience started whining and the singer, with an admirable use of self-deprecating humor, calmed them down, saying that he knew that we were all impatiently waiting for INXS and their own performance was coming to an end.

 (…)The lights dimmed, the first members of the band came on stage. On the notes of Kick, as soon as Michael’s curly hair showed up, I lost control of where I was, unfortunately breaking the promise made to Piga’s father, that is, to look after his son.  I’ve seen many concerts apart from INXS, but I felt such bedlam and uproar among the audience only on that night in Milan; I was literally in the hands of the crowd and it took some time before I realised it was better not to resist that uncontrollable riptide.

(…) The rhythm was sprung, the songs were powerful and Michael stood tall.

He was in total control and I was impressed by the self-confidence he was flaunting: he was wiggling and dancing from one end of the stage to another, without pausing, without any decline in his voice. The band didn’t spare themselves either and played the whole album Kick and some gems from the precedent production, such as What you need, The one thing, Listen like Thieves-War, This Time, Shine like if it does, The Original Sin and the wonderful Kiss the Dirt …

 ****

The history of the Rolling Stone in Milan.

As early as the mid-1970s, rumors were circulating that David Zard (historic music promoter) had the idea of creating a rock disco, but it was Enrico Rovelli (Vasco Rossi's historic manager), in 1981, who took over Studio 54 and turned it into the Rolling Stone (opening 18/03/1981) The idea was a winner right away and among the first to perform were Iron Maiden in an unprecedented jazz-style double concert, one at 4 p.m., the other at 9:30 p.m. They will be followed by such high-caliber artists as INXS, Nick Cave, Joe Cocker, Ramones, Simple Minds, Bryan Adams, Bad Religion, Beastie Boys, Richard Ashcroft and many more. The venue was particularly prized for its acoustics that were difficult to recreate in larger spaces such as the Palatrussardi first and the Assago Forum  later. For this reason, Italian and foreign artists compete for the Rolling Stone stage. Over the years, the opening of other venues, people's changing tastes, and despite ninety concerts a year with a loyal audience, on January 30, 2009, Enrico Rovelli announced, in an article in the Corriere della Sera, the parting of the ways, the closing of the Rolling Stone and its subsequent demolition in favor of a 12-story apartment building. However, it seems that some portions of the old building remained intact underground and retained all the energy released in the concerts. 

It has been rumoured that some residents, at night, heard wonderful music echoing in the garages and blamed it on drinks in some pub. 

It's not the alcohol my friend, it's that rock never dies! 👅

“Come on, Come on, Come on

I look around
Unsatisfied
At what they're giving me
Then I think
To myself
Is there someone else
Who feels the same as me
Do you feel the same baby

When my back is broken
When the mountain moves away
All the dreams and promises
That we give
We give away

Sometimes you kick
Sometimes you get kicked
Sometimes you kick
Sometimes you get kicked

(…)

(INXS, Kick song by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence)

Intimate moments with nature (from Glory moments)

With my dog Charlie I go for walks in solitary places surrounded by nature; our little escape from routine walks in the neighbourhood. He always goes ahead of me and even when we stop or sit down, he has his back to me, perhaps because he feels protected and quiet this way; this allows me to observe what attracts his attention, giving me intimate moments with nature.

Little snack in Rome (from "Dangerous work in Rome", Glory moments)

Roman "phone" supplì

We arrived at the trattoria at 3pm with a lion's hunger; the place was very cosy, with slightly dimmed lighting. We were met by a pretty brunette waitress, and the Architect immediately took the floor and asked her with a mischievous smile if we were still in time for lunch.

The roles  were now reversed: the Waitress had become the Architect and the Architect  the inquiring Entrepreneur: “Listen Miss, would you kindly tell us the absolutely typical dishes you have, from starters to dessert? My collaborator has never been here in Rome (lie!) and I would like him to taste your delicacies!”.

“Yes, then… ”, replied the Waitress, “we can bring you crostini di sugo, mixed sliced meats and supplì as starters, then spaghetti alla carbonara or spaghetti alla matriciana; abbacchio alla scottadito with artichokes alla Giudìa and roast potatoes as main course; for dessert sour cherry tart, wine ring-shaped cakes, ricotta cake and the classic profitterol, tiramisù and panna cotta with caramel”.

“Great, great” muttered the Architect “and excuse me, what would supplì be, I don't really remember well!”.

“They are breaded and fried rice
balls filled with cheese similar to mozzarella; you'll enjoy eating them because as soon as they are opened and steaming hot they will form a long string like the ones on the vintage telephones!”.

“Then bring us these supplì right away with a fresh Frascati (white wine) and then, with the first courses, a fuller-bodied red, also fine house!”.

From there on it was a succession of courses, laughter, jokes to the waitress but above all comments on the morning business meeting and my “essential role” as collaborator!

Energy flows

Someone refers to quantum physics, someone talks about synchronism and someone refers to ancient eastern philosophies; different ways to explain something that each of us, perhaps at different moments in lives, feels. When we try our hand at something creative it is as if we draw directly from this primordial energy, leaving our ego astonished, that is, that mountain of superstructures that we carry on our shoulders. 

What do you think about it? 

6 Australians and Glory moments: author's presentation

6 Australians, published in October 2020, recounts the magical bond between a teenager from a village in southern Tuscany and the Australian band INXS, led by the charismatic and beloved Michael Hutchence. It's a journey of just over ten years (from 1986 to 1997) into the wonders of memory, music, history, geology and beautiful landscapes.

"Slowly but surely, that diary I’d started from scratch turned into something more complex.
Youth memories started unraveling and instances of joy, laughter, friendship, camaraderie and love came to light".

Glory moments, published in June 2023,  maintains the narrative characteristics of 6 Australians: the opportunity to arrange old drawings and photographs triggers a process of focusing on the past, and the memory of loved ones, amusing stories, impressions and the connection to legendary figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Gilles Villeneuve and Michael Hutchence resurface. 

"When, among the thousands of images you glimpse on the horizon, one calls out to you and captures your attention, there is the unveiling of the truth: you can understand your nature, the reason for your choices in life and enjoy that sense of fullness that makes you happy".