2nd polenta party - November 20, 2011

cClick here to see the program

If you were looking for a stunning venue that wasn't crowded with high-profile tourists, the MGCCI Lombardy Center first suggested it, then brought you a proposal that was a success beyond all initial expectations, with 40 crews and more than double the number of participants—enough to force a closing date for registrations. And to think that the date was November 20th, a Sunday with fog reaching beyond Milan, which certainly didn't encourage early morning driving [and "good" is just a figure of speech].

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That place is the terrace located at 1,302 meters on Mount Sighignola in the municipality of Lanzo, at the bottom of the Intelvi Valley, which opens at Argegno, on the western shore of that branch of Lake Como. And excuse me if I start at the end, but when you get up there, you'll see that everyone is momentarily speechless, as if drawn to that railing overlooking Lugano and its lake, with San Salvatore there in front, and behind, the crown of hills: "Right in front, see that hill? Underneath there is Vezia"; and the backdrop to the lake is made up of the entire snow-capped Alps, the Swiss sector. "What massif is that mountain on the left, towering over all the others?" "The Rosa!" And the tone seems a bit like a bargain, buy three, get one free. But no, if anything, we travel between suspended curiosity and contemplation, even if some people would have burst out applauding, but we hold back, so much so that we can hear the click of the camera shutters and the many beeps coming from the cell phones from the automatic welcome to Switzerland text message. Without realizing it, we have crossed the impalpable state border, at least according to the cell phone companies, traveling the last few kilometers through the beech forest to reach this large clearing that was once the forecourt of the Campione funicular arrival station and now serves as a lookout and refreshment point. The mechanical and electronic noises are followed by a succession of bangs like bottle caps, because those mischievous Lombards haven't limited themselves to the fresh air; they offer us refreshment with bubbles made in Valdobbiadene. "It's one of the best," emphasizes the great pourer as he pours the glasses on the picnic table. “If anyone wants to make a kir, you can add a splash of Aperol.” “Is it alcoholic?” someone asks, and unfortunately, it’s the question of the moment. “Just a few degrees,” the master pourer quickly dismisses the matter. “If you want water, it’s on the other table.” [Fade out]
Como, a designated parking area next to Villa Olmo welcomes the many who come to jog or stroll along the park's paths and flowerbeds, or simply sit and admire the lake and the traffic of ski-booted Cessnas and Pipers constantly coming and going from the aeroclub's seaplane base overlooking the villa. The sunny morning and the skies, billowing with appropriate clouds, make the atmosphere of the meeting even more lively. The good humor, greetings, kisses, and jokes are typical of such re-creations. We're coming from the workshop day in Rimini, we left each other in Padua, and we're meeting again here. It's a shame the dull reality of weekdays exists, because with MG it's always a great party.
Meeting point at Villa Olmo in Como. "OLMO who?" someone asks. The large elm tree that gave the villa its name was there in the eighteenth century on the slope leading down to the lake, but pathogens and pollution cannot be controlled. The commission for a summer residence was entrusted by the Odescalchi marquises to Simone Cantoni, the most prominent member of a family of Ticino master builders and architects who worked in Liguria, France, and Germany starting in the sixteenth century, his achievements including Palazzo Serbelloni on Corso Venezia in Milan and the renovation of the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa. The villa, a sort of design proposal according to the canons of neoclassicism, was intended to serve as a prototype for the architect's subsequent projects in the city and Brianza. A nod to Greek classicism revisited with the most contemporary influence of French architecture. I translate: the magnificence and theatricality of the Rococo of Versailles purified by the rationality of Enlightenment thought, as part of a program of cultural renewal for the whole of Como, which also included a suburban villa. Upon the death of Innocenzo Odescalchi in 1824, the villa was inherited by the Marquises Raimondi. In the 1820s and 1830s, it received lustre from the stay of two emperors of the House of Habsburg, who stayed at the residence on three occasions. But evidently, even the Kaiser is like a fish: after three days he stinks. We find Marquis Giorgio Raimondi among the promoters of the irredentist uprisings of 1848-49 in Lombardy. This resulted, once the uprisings were concluded and the status quo ante was restored, in his exile in Switzerland, as the Imperial-Royal Austrian government presented him with the bill, with interest on his residence [you read that right, residence all attached]. After the Unification of Italy, the villa was once again owned by the Visconti di Modrone family, known among other things for being the authors, both of the lyrics and the music, of the song Milva brought to moderate success in the late 1960s. Remember her? "What is it, what is it that makes the spinning mill go? It's clear, with people like us." Until 1924, a hundred years after the Raimondis and their noble splendor, the residence passed to the Municipality of Como and the fate of all beautiful women was repeated: it ended up somewhat neglected. In 1970, it hosted an episode of Giochi senza frontiere (Games Without Borders), and in 1980, it was the set of Celentano's film Innamorato pazzo (Crazy in Love). A very different fate than that of Villa d'Este, whose gardens open onto the shore of the Como lake a few kilometers further up. If nothing else, in a surge of pride, in 1982 it became the headquarters of the Volta Center, which organizes its international meetings there and hosts cultural events and art exhibitions. The latest, recently concluded, focused on Boldini and the Belle Époque, with his ethereal female presences on canvas.
We're off, simply turning right from the parking lot onto the lakeside road and passing through all those villages our secretary called "gems" in his cover letter, and that's enough; you'll find them in illustrated books and travel guides. It's worth noting that on the lake, the so-called mid-seasons are truly full seasons, due to the unique light, the reflections on the water, the phantasmagoria of colors—all of which can only be fully appreciated at this time of year. The crossing is accomplished, by necessity and luck, at walking pace, sometimes at traffic light pace, with groups and groups of cyclists and runners who have taken this side of the lake as a sort of open-air gym and continually emerge from everywhere, flanking and passing us. Many don't even notice us; we spare them a bit of the healthy aerosol from our MGs, but a few stop, observe us, and smile with satisfaction; we too are part of the spectacle. [Fade]
Maybe it's almost 1:00 p.m., or maybe it's the 1300-meter air, but when someone on the team gives the signal, everyone leaves behind what is pompously called the "Balcony of Italy" and, with a haste that's at least suspicious, they launch themselves down the slope, with the gastronomic appointment scheduled for the day on their minds: "pulenta e fòncc!", exclamation point incorporated. The "La Baita" restaurant is just a little further down. But let's proceed in order. When we're all seated, and the places at the table are properly numbered, when everyone is attentive, Angelo, the perfect host, takes the opportunity to thank everyone present and introduce us all, starting with the friends he has around him at the table of the Directorate, the CMAE racing team, of which he himself is a member, and they seem to have been with us forever and—Angelo adds—some of them are preparing to be with us forever, in the sense that the next baby on the way will be an MG. Then there are the Piedmontese, and here the thought goes to Silvio Alberelli, Venetians, and Romagnols, who, to come all together and stay elbow-to-elbow the entire time, as a compact group demands, rented a 9-seater Renault Trafic, etc. Then the dancing begins with mountain cured meats for appetizers, the inevitable mushroom risotto and pizzoccheri for first courses, then the entrées accompanied by polenta, stracottino, and, FINALLY, their highnesses, straight from the kingdom of Alto Palato, the FÒNCC. And we're now traveling toward four. "But you're not thinking of leaving now...", and meanwhile they're setting up the screen and projector. Before dessert, the 2012 PROGRAM of the Lombardy Center. Team members, each responsible for a different event, will illustrate the individual initiatives. If you're eagerly awaiting the program and want to know it, since it's November and it's already ready, barring any further details, Angelo will soon have it delivered directly to your home, of course via our mega-secretary, who is always on the ball here too.

Eugene