Maurizio De Giovanni, an author from Naples, has written many well-received gialli (mystery novels). He is known for a series set in the 1930s featuring Commissario Ricciardi, a diligent investigator cursed with the supernatural ability to see the last moments of the dead. This strange, loner detective and his faithful sidekick Maione are brilliantly depicted as is the fascist era in its menace and limitations. Also playing a vivid role is the city of Naples itself. Fans of noir fiction should like this bleak series – which has been translated into English. De Giovanni has also started a new Neapolitan series, this time, set in the present. The “prequel” Il metodo del coccodrillo (available in English) introduces Ispettore Lojacono, a Sicilian detective transferred to Naples. The following two novels feature Lojacono and his colleagues at the precinct of Pizzofalcone – a precinct which has a last chance to validate itself to the authorities and is staffed by people with “issues.” I like this series better: it’s an Italian police procedural, there are no paranormal phenomena, while grim the plot lines are slightly less dire – there’s even (a little) comedy – and the characters are developing and becoming more three-dimensional. As always, it’s great to be immersed in the wonderful chaos that is Naples.
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I was amused by the kerfuffle over Mayor De Blasio’s use of a knife and fork while eating pizza in Staten Island. New Yorkers seemed to be universally appalled by this odd behavior – after all New Yorkers (and maybe Americans in general) use only hands to devour pizza. The mayor defended himself by saying that by using utensils he was being true to his roots because in Italy pizza is eaten that way. He’s right: Italians who visit or live in New York often comment on the odd custom Americans have of eating pizza with their hands… In an informal survey of Italian friends here in NYC, all (from Romani to Torinesi to Perugini to Napoletani) eat pizza with a knife and fork. That is, pizza al piatto (an individual pizza on a plate eaten in a pizzeria) is eaten with a knife and fork. The typical Roman pizza al taglio (fast food pizza, cut into rectangles and wrapped in paper, eaten as a snack or at lunch) is eaten with the hands, usually while standing or walking. So, is there one true way to eat pizza? Not really: it all comes down to culture, habit and preference.
Francine Prose writes about three quiet – and very different – Roman museums in an article in the New York Times’ travel section. Of the three, the most likely to have a few other visitors is the Galleria Doria Pamphilj on Via del Corso. It is housed in the family’s palazzo and gathers, in a baroque and sumptuous setting, paintings from the Pamphilij collections, including a very familiar Velazquez portrait of Pope Innocent X. Prose points out that even though the collection contains works by masters such as Caravaggio and Titian, one can discover many other artists with whom one is less familiar. Prose goes on to describe the strange and empty Museo delle Anime del Purgatorio in the church of Sacro Cuore which she finds affecting and powerful. Her final stop, in this article is at the Centrale Montemartini. It’s an old electrical power station from the early 20th century which now houses an amazing collection of Greek and Roman statues and mosaics. It’s an Art Deco industrial space with much of its original interior preserved and its juxtaposition with the ancient art is truly brilliant. As a bonus, it really is one place, that even at the height of the summer tourist season, is cool and where one is likely to be almost alone.
Italians are supposed to be voluble, excitable and incapable of talking without using their hands. This last, although a stereotype, seems to be particularly true: neither I nor any of my friends are capable of talking while sitting on our hands. The New York Times dedicates an article, accompanied by a video and an interactive “tutorial,” to Italian hand gestures and body language. Beyond the amusement factor, gestures are readily recognizable forms of non-verbal communication that are used for emphasis and to highlight emotions about the topic of conversation. Italians use gestures not simply as signals but to add inflection to what they are saying. Look at the interactive feature: it’s fun!
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