Marco Aime, the well-known anthropologist and writer, characteristically provides us straight away with a critical and passionate interpretation of his city.
"Turin is a city that is trying to reinvent itself", he confides "for decades it was only FIAT , the people of Turin were born only to make cars - it is only now that Turin is building its new destiny".
take advantage of the Proustian atmosphere he has conjured up to ask
him what he likes about his town. He smiles. "What I like about Turin
are its defects, which others usually emphasise. We have a saying - 'a
smia na roba' - which means 'it seems to be a thing', a phrase that
captures the mythical sense of measure of the Torinese: his obstinately
not being obstentatious, his living a life of 'understatement', as the
English put it. That's what I love.
"After a moment I boldly say: "When staying in Turin I have always had the impression that I was in a place that contradicts the commonplace idea of molto fumo e poco arrosto (lots of smoke and hardly any roast). There's lots of 'roast' in Turin, but hardly anyone talks about it, do they?"
"You're right. We're very courageous about trying out new things, but we can never forget the eternal rivalry with Milan - and the Milanese really know how to sell the roast! Turin is a place of little smoke: it's very formal and unapproachable, hidden in the living rooms of its houses."
"But it must be possible to get round this enclosed obstacle! Where should one begin to search for Turin?" I ask, falling once more into a Proustian cliché.
"I think that an interesting way to begin is from the green areas, for example the Valentino Park and the hill. The outdoors is an essential refuge from the urban areas, built with little imagination in regular blocks."
"Let's go on to your Turin, the places where you pass your days, what would you like to tell me about?"
"Let's start with the San Paolo district. That's where I live. It's a working-class area which in its time was the birthplace of the Lancia, an area with a high percentage of immigrants, specially from the south of Italy - a district which has maintained its traditional shops and workshops, avoiding the snobbism of the city centre."
"I would imagine that once you leave your home, your walks take you a long way from the city centre?"
"Indeed, I love to walk in the Porta Palazzo area, specially on Saturday mornings when there is the Balun, the local flea market. It's totally chaotic, very unlike Turin. And then there are the mountains, on the city's doorstep. The Torinese, and that includes me, are not lovers of cocktails - going to the mountains is a real tradition."
Marco begins to tell me of the beauty of the outlying areas, the Sacra of St. Michael which inspired Umberto Eco for the setting of "The Name of the Rose ", Stupinigi and Superga, and the ring of unique places that surround the town and give one an idea of how much roast is hidden in Turin.
It's impossible to finish without a gastronomic diversion, seeing that I am no longer the interviewer but have been taken over by good old Marcel in person.
Ipse Proust.
"Red Piemontese wines can stand comparison with the best in the world, no doubt about it. I have drunk Barbera wine even in the middle of a desert. And then ravioli del plin. And what about bicerin, a milky coffee with melted chocolate. This is an eighteenth-century tradition which you can still find in Piazzetta della Consolata at the appropriately-named "Bicerin" cafè. Marco is silent, I suppose out of politeness, waiting for my next question. In fact, I was thinking of my trips to Turin without ravioli, without Balun, without walks to the Valentino park. Marco understands: "The next time you come, you can stay with me if you like".
About the article
Marco Aime is an anthropologist and writer. He has carried out
research in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and in the Alps. He teaches at
the University of Genoa. He has written, among others, "Le radici
nella sabbia" EDT, 1999; "Sapersi muovere. Pastori transumanti di
Raschia" together with S. Allovio and P.P. Viazzo (Meltemi, 2001);
"Eccessi di culture" (Einaudi, 2004); and "Gli specchi di Gulliver" in
difesa del relativismo (Bollati Boringhieri, 2006). He supports lettera
27 Foundation .
