WANNA BE FANCY

WANNA BE FANCY MARIIA KAPITONOVA

WA N N A B E FA N C Y MARIIA KAPITONOVA

What I expect “Located on the Naviglio Grande’s rive gauche, designed by Leonardo da Vinci in the Renaissance Age, the Ca’ Bianca Corte del Naviglio Hotel is within easy reach of a convenient central Milan location. A combination of 17th century architecture and country-style restored building, Ca’ Bianca Corte del Naviglio Hotel with 51 rooms stands in handsome and spacious garden: the ideal place for pre-dinner drinks or afternoon tea. This is the quiet haven of peace from which you can enjoy the bustling heart of the city – and still avoid the crowds. Ca’ Bianca Corte del Naviglio Hotel, once the country residence of the Marchese Barona, is nestled on the bank of Naviglio Grande. Ca’ Bianca Corte del Naviglio Hotel is a perfect destination for business, pleasure or a special celebration wich combines the grace of a bygone age with all the modern amenities of a 21st century hotel1”, - this was the advertizing from the main internet page of the hotel Ca’ Bianca Corte del Naviglio Hotel.

I decided to prepare to my first visit checking the booking.com2 and trip advisor. com3, reading reviews, remarks and comments which are left on the website by the customers. Some guests wrote about it in a ecstatic way “a very pleasant surprise , much better than the photos”, “nice atmosphere”, “excellent hotel for weekend to stay with car”, “it was a great experience”, mentioned big garden, feeling “like home” and a free parking place. Some of them commented it as “Old and tired” and found their stay in a hotel quite disappointing.

This duality has intrigued me, I continued to research further and noticed a pleasant restaurant. I was wondering how this place was redeveloped upon its own history, and transformed from an old ‘cascina’ into a fancy place - four star hotel.

A monastery, a cascina, a mansion?

The two receptionists told me that this was a church. “Isn’t it a cascina?”- I asked, “No, no, church, nuns were living here,” they were insisting. The waiter and workers had no idea. The biggest success I had with a Letizia Rittatore, she is responsible for press and communication of Ca’Bianca.

She told me that it is the former Villa of the Marchese Barona and dates back to the XVII century. Official documents4 approved her information, assessing that it was a cascina, the oldest dwelling dated from XVI century, others from the XVII, while the typology of buildings consists in residential villa and services.

From what I had read and after a first visit, I thought that the whole hotel is built on the concept of careful attitude to history and every place emphasizes the link to it.

Related to the history I found only old black and white photos of Naviglio Grande on the walls of the restaurant, but it was not exact place and without any comments. In fact, each visitor can create his own interpretation of its history: adding nuns, farmers or awnings in their fantasies according to their preferences!

But what happens in the Ca’Bianca now?

Which events are set here? A variety of processes, images, people, are superimposed one upon the other. This seems to me far more interesting and worthy of a closer sight.

Searching for a history What is this place? It is an area close to periphery of Milano, mostly residential, not very attractive, not fancy, very quiet, except the noise from the San Cristoforo train station. The only attraction that is located

Fig. 1 Fragment of Milano map 1865 by G. Brenna.

1. http://www.cabiancamilano. com/cortedelnaviglio/ (01/2015) 2. http://www.booking.com/ (01/2015) 3. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ (01/2015) 4. http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/ schede/LMD80-00461/ (01/2013) Fig.1. http://www.stagniweb.it/ mappe.htm#mappemi (12/2009)

nearby is the area of clubs and restaurants located along the Naviglio Grande, famous for its night life. Approaching the site, the first thing that you see from the street is a long old white wall with several entrances.

Almost all of them are closed including the entrance to the restaurant and cabaret, the only open are inviting gate to a huge parking and green arch that brings you to the reception of the hotel.

Following the most attractive entrance you find yourself inside a court with a splendid garden with pavilions and pergolas, sculptures of horses and fountains were golden fishes are swimming. The most impressive characters of the all court are the two giant poplars, which if not older than the 16th-century Villa, are her peers. For me it would be not surprising to see there some artists painting in impressionist manner in the shadow of the trees depicting the light that poplars caught with their enormous branches!

As for buildings, the Ca’Bianca represents the set of different instances from unrestored villas ruins until renovated buildings of the 70s. The hotel itself was founded in 1975 and in order to increase the number of rooms two blocks of 4-storey buildings were added. Wooden sculptures by Pietro

Fig.2.

Illustration by author (01/2015) a-oldest XVI century building in ruins; b-restaurant and cabaret, former XVII century cascina; c, d - restored excascina buldings, now hotel; e - hotel 1970s; f, g - old historical poplars; h - internal garden; i - event hall; j - parking; k - internal court with restaurant; l -internal court with canteen; m - main entrance with a green pergola.

Arnoldi and vertical gardening were added to the landscape. These buildings do not belong to any particular style and represent a typical residential building of the end of the XIX century.

The cascina itself consists of one U-shape white restored building from the XVII century where now the restaurant and cabaret are located. According to the legend this used to be the mansion of the marchese , several buildings for services that now transformed to a hotel guests rooms and one XVI century red brick building that also was a villa and nowadays represents historical ruins without roof and greenery inside. The main cascina building creates the warm atmosphere of provincial Italy, small details such as wrought-iron lanterns, wooden shutters and tiled chimneys help to recreate it completely. “Structural configuration is primary overlooking the shore of Leonardo Naviglio Grande. Along the wall there is an impressive frame for round arch. The court is characterized by presence of a beautiful porch lintel on two floors with Tuscan columns.

Inside the main building there are rooms with wooden coffered ceilings. In the internal part of a court located a garden with pergolas with interesting perspective ef-

Fig. 2 Axonometry of Ca’Bianca Hotel

fects. You can find thereas well an adjoining coeval oratory5”.

When I was walking along the wall I noticed that the door of cabaret was closed, and I was wondering is this door a historical artifact or it is still working institution.

The window was dusty and there were no billboards about their shows nearby. But Letizia Rittatore told me that now the cabaret is used for jazz evenings that are taking place every Friday. In the beginning I misunderstood her and thought that they have jazz concerts every day, but she explained me that nowadays Ca’Bianca hasn’t got so many customers as it used to have in its golden age.

“You can find there a rich musical program for the enthusiasts\fans of jazz music, cabaret and the art exhibitions, which are curated by Carlo Peroni. This space was inspired by legendary “Capolinea” (Terminus) space, unforgettable den of the Italian jazz, where played the most famous Italian and foreign performers. Finally in this new space, that was recently opened in the Lodovico il Moro 17 Street, where all this artist could find a brand new stage within the Ca’ Bianca space, in the special part of the structure, so called ‘’Spazio Capolinea Jazz6”.

Fig. 3 Poster from 50th festival of Italian song

Inside the cabaret on one of the walls I noticed the poster from the Sanremo festival where Ca’Bianca participated with its own show in 1998 and another one telling us that in 2000 Ca’Bianca hosted the 50th festival of Italian song. Probably that time was the time of dawn for this cabaret, when Ca’Bianca became a ‘temple of music’. It seems to me that from cabaret the place transformed to a restaurant and a club with live music and now they come out with a jazz, but...

Last year in a cooperation with “Champagne production”, that is a theatre, vintage events & show creation company, Ca’Bianca organized the “Burlesque therapy” dinner. “An unforgettable dinner with Burlesque atmosphere, this time you will be dealing with the theory of “pseudo science” of Dott. Rachmaninoff and his crazy research on the effectiveness of burlesque.

Doctors, assistants will register you sexual fun. Come to get this “effective treatment!7” - was announced in the advertisement. So the Cabaret seems to be still alive and erotic shows take place there!

At this point I saw traces of superimposition: the same place is used for jazz evenings, festivals of pop songs and erotic

Fig. 4 Advertizing of jazz concerts in Ca’Bianca

5. http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/ schede/LMD80-00461/ (01/2013) 6. http://milano.corriere. it/ore_piccole/articoli/2003/10_Ottobre/28/ cabianca.shtml (10/2014) 7. http://champagneproduction.org/2014/04/03/cenacon-burlesque-burlesquetherapy-al-cabianca-milano/ (04/2014) Fig.3.

Photo by author (01/2015) Fig.4. http://www.bystaff.it/ ristorante/villa-ca-bianca_ milano.htm (01/2015)

8. http://www.comicclub.it/ (09/2013) 9. http://www.artribune. com/2012/06/sui-naviglinuova-vita-per-ca-biancasuite-piu-diner-in-hotel-ecco-come-gustarsi-nemirovsky-debussy-e-puccini-contanto-di-menu-francese/ (06/2012) 10.

Lovigin P. 2009: “Costaricasoul”, Machaon, 128; http://petrlovigin.com/ Fig.5. http://champagneproduction.org/2014/04/03/cenacon-burlesque-burlesquetherapy-al-cabianca-milano/ (04/2014) Fig.6. http://www.eventinews24. com/2014/04/umbertosmaila-al-ca-bianca-serata. html#.VORV_PmG98k (04/2014)

shows. Are these events run by the same people or different ones? I suppose that each type of events has different atmosphere and disjoint target groups…

strictly consisting of French cuisine. The idea is to offer other themed Suite and to organize suites for Spain, England, East, America, etc..9”

I was thinking that nothing could amaze me more, but I then found that the same place is used as a comic club. Ca’ Bianca invites artists from the theatre Studio “Comic club” and they show a series of short performances, each of which is not longer than 15 minutes. ”The result was surprising: the show fascinates and entertains the audience of all ages in a show that is packed with laughter, music and colors8.” The partnership between Ca’ Bianca and Comic club is so serious that Ca’ Bianca changed the logo of the restaurant into “ Ca’ Bianca restaurant and comic club”.

Crossover and provocation

At the same time another type of events overlaps and is organized in the same place. They are called “Suite dinner” what

So, what I found in Ca’ Bianca was an interesting example of crossover, emerging from the mutation and transformation of an historical cascina. Crossover is the fact of liking, using, or supporting different types of things or groups and also the change that a popular performer makes from working in one area of entertainment to another.

This place trying to attract customers in all possible ways, grabbing and mixing new tendencies with activities that took part there long time really suits this word. Difficult to say who is the typical customer: they are dreaming to see refined and cultural Borghese, versed in music and art, but unfortunately they are not enough and

Fig. 5 Advertizing of Burlesque event

Fig. 6 Advertizing of Comic Club performance

combines listening classical music, reading parts of classical literature and eating the traditional “cucina” of a thematically selected country. The first event took place on the 18 of June 2012 and it was an idea of new management team under Roberto Gnaga with a participation of the writer Rafael Mangano to establish high level of cultural events for the jet set.

they lower the strap with Comic club, erotic shows and pop music. I guess that searching for a customers and having a flexible politics in the events is very typical for such kind of institutions.

“The first event - Suite française - takes its name from the two initial parts of the novel, Irene Némirovsky, to consist of five volumes, as the five parts of the musical Suite.

Two actors, Alessandra Mattei and Andrew Narsi, reading passages, and Aki Kuroda accompanies them with music of Debussy, in honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth.

(August 1862).

Half an hour after the musical and literary performances, you will invited for lunch,

I was attracted by unexpected combinations of different atmospheres in Ca’ Bianca, it was like I am flipping through a random selection of postcards. Some places reminded me scenes from the movies, others recalled old photos and paintings.

Ca’ Bianca - how I saw it - is very connected to the art, culture and creativity and also open to experiments and provocations. I was inspired by this mood and also by one Russian photographer Petr Lovigin10 and his work which is in some way a piece of art.

In my photostory I want to show you the variety of atmospheres which Ca’ Bianca can provide!