interview in the legislature

good morning.

one of my projects here in italy this summer is conducting research for an interactive database on the geography of dante. although the protagonist of the Divine Comedy (dante the pilgrim) undertakes a journey through the metaphysical terrain of the afterlife, dante the poet makes that journey real to his readers by frequent allusion to landmarks and vistas that he himself experienced in 13th century italy and that are still (to some extent) available to modern readers. my project is to take photos and collect information on the various locales that are part of dante's life and the tradition that continues to develop out of his work. whether it be a place where dante himself stopped or stayed during his exile from florence, a place he may not have seen but mentions in the Comedy, or places that travelers have explored since - imagining themselves following in dante's footsteps: my assignment is to catalog these places in image and text and then weave together the various itineraries into a coherent network of interactive web pages.

as part of this project, this past thursday i conducted a preliminary interview with il Dottor Pierluigi Rossi, an official in the regional government, doctor/nutritionist, and local television personality. this week on 'terra di arezzo' he presented his findings collected over the last year surrounding the Battle of Campaldino (11 june 1289), in which the florentines literally massacred the aretine army and their two commanders, Buonconte da Montefeltro and Bishop Guglielmo degli Ubertini. beyond the fact that dante himself was in the florentine cavalry for this battle, Buonconte has a prominent role in Canto V of the Purgatorio volume of the Divine Comedy and Guglielmo was the bishop who initiated the construction of the Duomo in Arezzo. This Dottor Rossi and others have found the skeleton of Guglielmo buried beneath a small Fransiscan church near the battlefield alongside two others - one of whom he believes to be Buonconte's. as far as the dante database goes, it's kind of a big deal.

in any case, the actual content of the interview aside, thursday was an interesting insight into italian local politics. il Dottor Rossi told me to meet him at 11:30 at the Sede della Provincia - the regional government offices. the Sede della Provincia is probably slightly more prestigious and powerful than a county legislature, but housed in a 14th century stone building with an interior of hardwood and fresco. il Dottor Rossi arrived at 11:50, we made our introductions, and he led me into the Sala dei Grandi - the room where the legislature meets and where it was, in fact, in session. il Dottor Rossi led me into the center of the room and gave me a quick visual tour of the room, including a detailed description of the far wall, covered with beautiful 18th century portraits of all the historical greats born in the province of Arezzo. now, il Dottor Rossi was completely at ease, but this was a slightly awkward situation for me. i needed to appear simultaneously attentive and respectful to him - he will probably become one of the most important contacts in this project - while also conveying to the entire assembly that i didn't intend my presence in the center of the room as a sign of disrespect. which it almost certainly was. a man immediately to our right was, in fact, making an impassioned oration about public health, and there i was, getting the dime tour.

after 3 or 4 minutes of being stared at by 75% of the regional government (perhaps the only that day that a majority was achieved), il Dottor Rossi told me to wait off to the side - he would sit for a few moments, sign the register to indicate that he had been present for that session of governance, and we could go out to the terrace for our interview. that is precisely what happened. il Dottor Rossi took his seat and chatted for about 7 minutes with the woman next to him while this man (apparently from the opposition) railed on and on about small town health care. a page came by with a beautiful leather bound portfolio; he signed his name, got up, and left. our interview and tour of the area lasted about an hour. i had to go to another appointment, and il Dottor Rossi had to go to lunch - no doubt worn out by a contentious morning of governance.