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TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO DREAM Pupi Avati squints those eyes of his, which have a sort of restless beauty, as if they were always gazing at something in the distance, and says, “No one dreams anymore today. What’s missing is the flavor of illusion.” The 81-year-old film-maker from Bologna has just arrived at the Manifatture Digitali Cinema, housed in the former convent of Santa Caterina, to hold an acting masterclass organized by the associa-
tion Play Arte in Movimento. Mr. Avati, what is your current pet project? A film on Dante Alighieri. In 2021 we will celebrate the 700th anniversary of his death. I’d like to tell the story of Dante’s life on that occasion, starting from his first biography, written by
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no less than Giovanni Boccaccio. Twenty years after his death, Boccaccio went to Ravenna to bring 10 gold Florins to Dante’s family as compensation for how Dante was treated by the Florentines. There he began gathering information on his life. I’ve been mulling over this idea for ten years. Meanwhile, your new film will be coming out in spring. Il Signor Diavolo. For this movie I went back to popular films after so many year, and with great pleasure, and produced a Po Valley-Gothic work with a totally unpredictable ending. What is talent for Pupi Avati? We all have a talent, but we must go look for it, like the Holy Grail. Three places you’d recommend to go to in Bologna? Certainly Trattoria Diana in the city center. Il Monticello in Via Saragozza is a more casual eatery. If you love mortadella, you have to go to Tamburini, not far from San Petronio. And anyhow, I wasn’t familiar with this tradition of yours. It’s a really cute house.
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A BIKE RIDE THROUGH THE HILLS OF LEONARDO Vinci is nestled on the side of the Montalbano which slopes towards Empoli and the Fucecchio Marsh. It is famous for being the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, who will be honored this year worldwide on the 500th anniversary of his death with exhibitions, conferences and special events. The itinerary we recommend draws from the guide book In bicicletta dei dintorni di Firenze e Prato (a bike ride through the environs of Florence and Prato), by Sergio Grillo and Cristina Pezzani. It is a loop that starts on the Prato side of the Montalbano and touches upon the places where Leonardo lived. The starting point is Carmignano, then you go in the direction of Verghereto and Empoli. The main road runs downhill towards Empoli and leads to Vitolini. Once you have crossed this town, you will arrive at a crossroad. Go straight here until you get to Vinci. At Leonardo’s hometown you can visit the Museo Vinciano (open every day from 9.30 to 18). In the center of Vinci there is an intersection. Do not follow the sign that reads Cerreto Guidi, but the one indicating Casa di Leonardo. Turning therefore right, you will be on the street that runs through the northernmost part of Vinci. When you get to a fork, turn onto the narrow uneven street on your right,
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which runs uphill all the way to the road signs indicating the short street leading to Leonardo’s birth house, Casa Natale di Leonardo. Shortly after the fork with the street leading to Leonardo’s house you will come across another junction. Stay on the main road, which bends right. It is a comfortable ride all the way to Faltognano. After Faltognano a short uphill stretch tells you that you are back on the road you began on. From here, you will simply be backtracking to Carmignano.
28 A TEXTILE ENGINEER BY THE NAME OF LEONARDO Leonardo was certainly familiar with the universe of Prato and its textile productions, given both his grandmothers were from the countryside of this town, ruled by Florence (see issue number 40 of our magazine). His knowledge of the sector can be inferred by the great deal of drawings he produced of machines for the textile art, which he saw develop both in Florence and in Milan during his life. The exhibition Leonardo da Vinci, Ingenuity and Textiles,