Jan

Everyday Aha Moments in Italy

by Joyce McGreevy on January 21, 2019

Santa Croce and passing trucks in Florence inspire an aha moment about everyday Italian rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Santa Croce inspires. So do the delivery-truck drivers on their daily predawn rounds.
© Joyce McGreevy

Discovering Beauty in Life’s Little Rituals

It’s no revelation to say that icons of awe-inspiring beauty are everywhere in Florence. For some visitors, the rarified aha moments induced by a surfeit of grandeur can even become physically overwhelming.

But as Italian psychologist Piero Ferrucci writes, we can also “discover [beauty] in everyday life: a song heard on the street, a crumbling old wall, the reflections in a puddle.”

The Arno at sunset in Florence Italy inspires an aha moment about life’s little rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A walk along the Arno at sunset is glorious, but . . .
© Joyce McGreevy

A little dog and its human in Florence, Italy reflect the piaceri piccoli (small pleasures) of everyday life. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

. . . a walk home from the local grocery can also be good for the soul.
© Joyce McGreevy

These are the piaceri piccoli, small pleasures, the everyday aha moments that balance “the exasperating vicissitudes of daily life.” My piaceri piccoli include everyday Italian rituals. Come, I’ll show you.

Let us begin at the end, on an evening when the sky exhibits a variety of blues, like someone choosing among silk scarves. Imagine you are returning from work, expecting to open the door, toss the key, and turn on the news.

Not So Fast—This is Florence

The towering double doors, i portoni, conceal a smaller door, una porta. Extract the proper key, enter the vestibule, and pause to admire the wrought-iron cancello, or gate.

An exterior and interioA portone (grand door) seen from both sides inspires an aha moment about the small pleasures of everyday life in Florence, Italy. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Now you see it, now you don’t: the porta within the portone.
© Joyce McGreevy

It is a sentinel, this cancello. One passes around it, not through, by means of swinging doors. Spingere, says the first door. Tirare, replies the next. This means only “Push, Pull.” But the joy-inducing rhythm makes your mind sing Spingere, tirare. Girare è volare! “Push, pull. To turn is to fly!”

A cancello, or wrought-iron gate in Florence Italy inspires an aha moment about small pleasures and life's little rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Cancello (Italian) and cancel (English) share a common origin. To cancel written text,
one crossed it with a latticework of lines.
© Joyce McGreevy

Now you are in the cortile, a courtyard, where an advisor to Anna di Medici once walked. The apartment complex was formerly one magnificent home, and its beauty includes ancient frescoes. Just as beautiful is how the layout guides you to take steps mindfully.

If you are laden with groceries from Mercato Sant’Ambrogio, a second key opens the narrow elevator. If not, insert a third key into the next cancello. It opens with a satisfying pop.

Press a button to light the lantern. Then mount stone steps that bear the imprint of centuries. At your apartment, brass lions guard the door. Never mind that Florence is one of the safest cities in the world.

A post box and a door knocker in Florence Italy inspire an aha moment about the small pleasures of life's little rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Everyday rituals: it’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it.
© Joyce McGreevy

Extract two more keys. The lock that lifts an interior metal bar likes to challenge you. When you succeed in turning it, it spits the key upon the floor to keep you humble. The smaller lock is kindly and ushers you in to coziness.

Life’s little ritual of homecoming is now complete. Sei qui—you are here. The world of offices and schedules, traffic and to-do lists is there. And there it stays.

A fresco inspires an aha moment about the pleasures of everyday life in Florence, Italy. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

There’s beauty in the rituals of accomplishment (above), but also
in the rituals of learning one’s craft (below).
© Joyce McGreevy

A young man sketching as a boy looks on inspires an aha moment about everyday Italian rituals in Florence. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

The Daily Dance of Adaptation

A change of environment disrupts our automatic routines. Our response reveals whether we feel invited—or put upon—to try something new. Says Ferrucci, “We can proceed according to the planned itinerary, strenuously trying to make life conform to our expectations, or we can adapt to whatever we meet, and flow without effort.”

Oh, I see: Everyday Italian rituals shed light on life’s little rituals in our own localities. They make us more attentive to the piaceri piccoli that punctuate a day.

Via de' Tornabuoni, Firenze festooned in gold decorations inspires an aha moments Italian rituals of celebration. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

There’s beauty in our special occasions (above, Via de’ Tornabuoni), but also
in our times of solitary effort (below, Via del Moro).
© Joyce McGreevy

A man cleaning a restaurant kitchen in Florence, Italy inspires an aha moment about life's little rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

The Choreography of Chores

Emptying the spazzatura has its rituals. (Yes, even “garbage” becomes beautiful in Italian.) You sort the spazzatura by type, then deliver each type to the correct municipal cassonétto. (That’s Italy’s poetic upgrade for “dumpster.”)

This takes time, because leaving the apartment for anything less than a fire means putting on polished boots, a colorful scarf, and gloves di buona qualità. The sporting element kicks in as you arrive at the receptacles. Let the games begin!

Don’t let the bin’s exterior muss your clothing, because to be Florentine is to be impeccable.
Do protect your posterior from vehicles rushing by like the Arno at flood tide. To be Florentine means appreciating life, and it helps if one is alive to do so.
Urrah! Celebrate with another Italian ritual, la passegiata, the walk taken for pleasure, always at evening.

A woman taking out the garbage in Florence, Italy inspires an aha moment about everyday life and life's little rituals. (Image © Victoria Lyons)

Taking out the garbage in Firenze is a satisfying ritual for the street-smart.
© Victoria Lyons

All in Good Time

Other everyday Italian rituals have their timing, too: Drinking cappuccino before 10:30am only. Knowing when to cede the narrow sidewalk to a fellow pedestrian. Anticipating when they’ll courteously jump off the curb for you. Stowing away cellphones to enjoy the pleasure of conversation.

Even sneezing involves ritual. In Italy, the proper response is: Felicità! “Happiness!”

“If we live in the here and now,” says Ferrucci, “each moment is a surprise, every instant a new wonder.”

Aha Moments at the Laundromat

A laundromat in Florence, Italy inspires an aha moment about everyday life and life's little rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

While not the storied “room with a view,” a laundromat offers you
the pleasure of Italian conversations with your neighbors.
© Joyce McGreevy

It’s true, even at the lavanderia, where you help each other fold double sheets and discuss the weather and the books you’ve brought. But what about the sockless teenage customers, who pass the time hunched over video games, or elbowing each other and chortling at in-jokes?

Each time somebody enters or departs—no matter who they are—the boys pause, look up, and say Buongiorno or Ciao.

And there it is, the aha moment in an everyday Italian ritual: Acknowledging one another is essential. In this city of awe-inspiring art and grandeur, life’s little rituals reveal the true beauty of Florence.

The Calvacata, an annual procession in Florence Italy, inspires an aha moment about Italian celebrations and everyday life. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Our rituals honor grand epochs (above, Piazza della Repubblica)
and everyday aha moments (below, Lungarno delle Grazie).
© Joyce McGreevy

Shadows of passersby across a foyer in Florence, Italy inspire an aha moment about small pleasures and life's little rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Explore Piero Ferrucci’s lyrical analyses of the human condition here.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 2 Comments

Crossing Cultures/Discoveries/Italy/Life Lessons

Dec

Two Travelers, One Journey

by Joyce McGreevy on December 12, 2018

A woman gazing at Christmas decorations in Galway, Ireland embodies the joy of winter wanderlust. (Image @ Joyce McGreevy)

The sight of another’s wonder sharpens our own observations.
© Joyce McGreevy

Winter Wanderlust
Sends Siblings Packing

With wanderlust comes surprise—the weather is spectacularly sunny. Can this really be Ireland in winter? The air is crisp as a Kerry Pippin apple, but sunlight warms the flagstones of Galway’s pedestrian-only streets.

As sunlight washes over my sister and me, so does a fresh wave of surprise. It’s the ebb and flow of discovery so many travelers experience: Are we really here? We really are!

The Long Walk on a sunny winter day in Galway, Ireland shows why wanderlust inspires holiday travel. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Long Distance Calls

Coincidence inspired this surprise holiday travel:

One day, old friends from Galway dropped by Carolyn’s home in Oregon. It was a welcome surprise, but all too brief.
That same day in California, I was working at my laptop when up popped a travel post from an American friend—who was visiting Galway.
Moments later, an email from an Irish friend invited me to a special event—in Galway.

A floral mural on an apothecary in Galway, Ireland reflects the beauty that inspires wanderlust. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Like our younger sisters, Carolyn and I once lived in Ireland and we maintain strong ties there. Regular readers of OIC Moments may recall that Galway is my home-from-hometown.

Now my sis and I were feeling home-from-homesick. We got on the phone, as if reminiscing would get it out of our systems.

It didn’t.

Buttermilk Lane in Galway, Ireland reflects the charm that inspires wanderlust. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Common Sense Is Overrated

Ah, but I was buried in work. Carolyn had her own “to do” list, plus grandkids and a geriatric cat. And what about the budget yada-yada, maybe next year, you can’t do it all, etc. Such were the sensible thoughts assailing my deadline-addled brain.

I asked my sister when she’d last visited Ireland.

“1980.”

“But that’s—that’s –” (Math was never my strong suit.)

“Thirty-eight years.”

Seems she’d been busy. Something about raising several children while holding down a job in the medical field.

Ten minutes later, I’d filled out her passport application.

A sign painter and photographer at the Crane Bar, Galway reflect the friendliness that inspires wanderlust for Ireland. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Hare, There, and Everywhere

“Why is there a rabbit looking through binoculars up there?” my sister asks as we pass Tigh Neachtain.

“A what doing what?” I sagely reply.

Tigh Neachtain is a popular Galway pub. As a collegian, I’d spent more time looking at that pub from the inside than the outside. I’d never noticed the giant metal sculpture affixed to the roof.

A sculpture of a hare in Galway reflects the whimsy that inspires wanderlust for Ireland. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

A view of Galway reflects the historical interest that inspires winter wanderlust for Ireland. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Joyce McGreevy 3 Comments

Art of Travel/Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Discoveries/Ireland

Oct

Grand Openings

by Joyce McGreevy on October 9, 2018

A facade in Hobbiton, New Zealand evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

What’s behind doors and windows? In Hobbiton, New Zealand, that’s a trick question!
© Joyce McGreevy

A Cross-Cultural Tour of Doors and Windows Around the World

With more than 12 million posts and counting, doors and windows around the world are among the most shared objects on Instagram. Clearly, doors can be adorable and windows wonderful. But beyond pretty pictures, what cross-cultural stories do doors and windows tell?

A window in Lismore, Ireland evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

In Lismore, Ireland, a medieval window has been silent witness to both
Sir Walter Raleigh and John F. Kennedy.
© Joyce McGreevy

A facade in Zagreb, Croatia evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

When Is a Door Ajar?

Doors can seem ordinary; their job, after all, is to hang around the house. But doors are also sentinels between opposite worlds: the private and the public, the inside and the outside, the secular and the sacred.

Some doors are instantly recognizable even if one has never stood before them. The door at 10 Downing Street, London (despite numerous replacements since 1735). The circular doors of Hobbiton (located in Middle Earth or on a movie set, depending on your level of devotion to Lord of the Rings).

Other doors make you slow your step and wonder, “Now what’s in here?”

A door in Plovdiv, Bulgaria evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

In Plovdiv, Bulgaria, butterflies, flowers, and a glimpse of snail mail
turn an ordinary door into visual poetry.
© Joyce McGreevy

Some ancient doors, like the imun of Changdeokgung Palace, declared one’s status. An imun is a set of double doors, but of different heights. In 15th century Korea, only royalty could walk through the taller door.

Some doors are false doors, carved in stone on Egyptian tombs and temples. They can only be passed through in the afterlife.

Doors can have the blues. From the Cycladic islands of Greece to the high deserts of New Mexico, blue doors project complex layers of cultural symbolism, protective yet calm, local yet ethereal.

A collage of entryways in New Zealand, Greece, New Mexico, and Norway evokes the cross-cultural appeal of blue doors. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Doors can be downright contrary with signs like, “This door to remain closed and locked at all times.” At ALL times? But what if we need to—oh, never mind. We’ll just climb out through the window.

Keleti Train Station in Budapest, Hungary evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Open Your Wind-Eyes

The origin of the word windows is a doorway into poetry. It comes from Old Norse and Frisian phrases that mean “wind-eye” and “breath-door.” Contained in those words is the history of the window, from unglazed hole in the roof, a way to draw breath into your body, to grand portal, a way to inspire, or “draw spirit into” your soul.

Oh, I see: The most basic objects can be storehouses of cultural history.

A crumbling old house Siletz Bay Wildlife Refuge Center, Oregon evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Breaking (or Bricking) Glass

Ever heard the expression “daylight robbery”? In the late 1600s, new technology was making it easier to produce glass windows. Soon windows were opening up a whole new world for homeowners.

English King William III saw this as his window of opportunity.

In 1696, he levied a window tax. The more glass windows one had, the more tax one paid, with rates increasing exponentially. Some people registered their protests— and avoided the higher rate—by bricking up a strategic number of windows.

A glass wall in Copenhagen, Denmark evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

These Cross-Cultural Traditions Hinge on Doors

In the Chinese custom of men shén, images of the Door Gods Shen Shu and Yu Lei are displayed on doors as guardians of all within.
Some door customs come with door prizes. In Finland, the custom was for brides to go door-to-door collecting wedding gifts in a pillowcase.
In Poland, if you can’t find something in your house, go to the nearest closed door and speak through it to the Skrzaty, friendly elves who live in nooks and crannies.
Skeptical? Next time you lose your reading glasses, tell the Skrzaty, “Play and put away!” Then prepare to be amazed when you find your specs right on top of your head.

A winter street scene in Bend, Oregon evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A living room in Evanston, Illinois evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Word Windows, Discovery Doors

Doors and windows give us many cross-cultural idioms and sayings.

In Turkey, “Kind words unlock an iron door” and “Create a window from one heart to another.”
In China, “Teachers open the door; you enter by yourself,” and “Learning a language is like having another window from which to see the world.”
In France, “Everyone sees noon from his own door” (Chacun voit midi à sa porte). We each have our own perspective, our personal window on life.
Speaking of unique perspective, an early “life hack” from my own Irish culture reminds us, “Never bolt your door with a boiled carrot.” Especially if you’ve buttered it.

A street scene in Co. Cork, Ireland evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

In Closing, Stay Open

Doors and windows can open up new worlds, or reframe and transform a world we thought we knew. As you close the door on this modest cross-cultural tour, hold fast to the key of observation. For doors and windows around the world have stories to tell and wonders to reveal.

An exterior view of the Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway evokes the cross-cultural stories of doors and windows. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

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Joyce McGreevy 2 Comments

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Everyday Aha Moments in Italy