We initially made our way to the Piazza Duomo to catch a little of the MTV TRL awards. The teens were out in force and for the first time since turning into an adult (when was that?) I realized how hard it is to be a teenager. You must rove in packs -- therefore you must find a pack with which to rove. You must develop an unhealthy obsession with pop stars, stalk them, and then shriek whenever they are within a cubic kilometer. In Italy, teens must also smoke. So there were a lot of youthful folks, wandering in groups and stopping to scream whenever a particularly famous or appealing Euro pop star appeared on stage. And by the way, to put it gently, Italy is not known for it's popular music and if it is, it's not a compliment.
The MTV awards were most enjoyable for the sheer number of people they brought into the Piazza. It was full! And there were people from every age group swinging through. Keep in mind that this piazza is gigantic -- the awards host kept saying there were 80,000 people there. I would believe it. I would also believe that at least 70,000 of them were smoking.
We also went to a performance in another Piazza at 10pm. It was billed as ballet although I would offer a bit more modern description. It was really colorful and involved young people in layered costume, wisps of fire, handheld rocks and Stravinsky. The performance as a whole started with the dancers approaching from the 5 thin streets that all combined into the Piazza -- pounding rocks together in unison. The sound bounced off the walls and surrounded us. The dancers filtered through the crowd to make their way onto the "stage" -- an area of the piazza we had all stood around, with candles and other accoutrements marking the space. It was touted as featuring 80 dancers and they were all young people who were very into what they were doing.
Seeing the performance in the middle of a vast public space, surrounded on all sides by buildings featuring stately institutions (banks, etc.) was incredible. The way Notte Bianca uses the public spaces of Milan is very powerful and to me indicates a very strong value in the arts, people, and culture. And to have all of these piazzas and parks and streets come alive on one night is a tribute to the city and its vast cultural wealth.
And with all of the talk of culture & public appreciation of the arts & a night devoted to performance you might be thinking that Italy is culturally untouchable. That these people are not only the captains of design, fashion, food, and art but that their people appreciate and embrace these things in a way that sets them apart from the rest of the world. With that I introduce to your attention this piece of advertising displayed on a bus shelter in central Milan. Yes, that's the Fonz. And yes, it is 2006 in this country as well. So any time you catch yourself thinking that the Italians have got it going on -- remember this piece of cultural interest. Italy may be the home of Da Vinci, but I'll be damned if they don't still love the Fonz.
We ended our night in the park. Found ourselves a bench at around 1am and people-watched. People watching in Milan is a true embarrassment of riches. There is fashion, there are canines, and there is a lot of affection between couples. I dare say I have never seen so much public affection let alone flat-out making out. Not to say that the humans are more interesting than the dogs -- often the interactions between small dogs who don't get out of their apartments much is deeply entertaining as well. In the end it's all about the simple things.
And sometimes it's just about the Fonz.
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