Eric, your writing created in me exactly the pins and needles (English metaphor!) that was essential to his work. Like a heist ! Most enjoyable. I found I was reading faster and faster….then….punch. That great ending!
I struggled with how much to explain about the end, and I decided to leave out the details and focus on Barillari's instinctual reaction. But the man the ambulance was treating didn't survive. His identity is known. I'm not going to publish it, but I'll say he was prominent, but not in a way that would have made the photos interesting.
Eric, this is a terrific story! I must say I am unable to completely relate to someone who willingly puts themself in harms way. I attended a Secchiaroli show in Milano recently, and I spoke to the galleriest about the work and the archive. It was definitely a different time. When Cinecitta ruled, everyone was in Rome. Must have been a fun time.....
I don't get that desire, either. But Barillari is proud of the number.
He got in a big dust-up last year with Gerard Depardieu -- it was a 79-year-old and a 76-year-old. Look it up ... I didn't mention it in the story because it didn't fit the narrative I had in mind. But it's crazy that that kind of thing is still happening!
I read about the Secchiaroli show but I have't been. It seems like a good one.
It was certainly a sexy, exciting, fast-moving time. I don't want to be a party pooper, but a lot of the problems of today started then, beneath the surface.
I really DON'T want to be a downer ... this isn't supposed to be a "heavy" post.
But ... I think the glitz of that time was a distraction when the country should have been dealing with the leftover trauma from fascism and WW2. That never completely took place and it's too late now. It happened in Vichy France and in Germany. But in Italy, I think the "Dolce Vita" kind of changed the subject.
I also see the period as when Italy started to import American-style consumerism (not just Hollywood, but cars, appliances, splashy advertising, being jealous of the neighbors) without importing American efficiency and meritocracy. It made the country seem modern, but that didn't eliminate the feudal system that's still survives in many ways (Mafia, raccomandazione, provincialismo, a caste system that's just now weakening, a lack of faith in government).
As you can tell, I've thought a lot about this and it's on my list as a potential topic for a future newsletter post. I have a lot of notes on the topic. But I keep putting it off because it seems like it'd be too depressing to write -- and to read!
The popping sound of flashbulbs: what a distant memory. Was at a Christmas party over the weekend and someone brought old 45’s to play on a turntable, and that brief popping sound of the needle being set down on the vinyl was as evocative as the vintage songs.
Lots of analogue sounds create nostalgia in me: the ones you mentioned, of course (especially records), but also ticking clocks, typewriter keys, rotary phones.
Now I feel like some old-timer lamenting the arrival of teh automobile!
An incredible story wonderfully written!
Thank you, Glenda! I'm always pleased when another writer enjoys one of my posts!
Eric, your writing created in me exactly the pins and needles (English metaphor!) that was essential to his work. Like a heist ! Most enjoyable. I found I was reading faster and faster….then….punch. That great ending!
What a nice thing 2 say
This is such a thoughtful comment, Alecia! Thank you. That's exactly what I hoped would happen!
Yes, exactly! I didn't know how to describe it as well as you did! I'm scared to ask if anyone knows who was the man and the ambulance and was he OK.
I struggled with how much to explain about the end, and I decided to leave out the details and focus on Barillari's instinctual reaction. But the man the ambulance was treating didn't survive. His identity is known. I'm not going to publish it, but I'll say he was prominent, but not in a way that would have made the photos interesting.
Eric, this is a terrific story! I must say I am unable to completely relate to someone who willingly puts themself in harms way. I attended a Secchiaroli show in Milano recently, and I spoke to the galleriest about the work and the archive. It was definitely a different time. When Cinecitta ruled, everyone was in Rome. Must have been a fun time.....
I don't get that desire, either. But Barillari is proud of the number.
He got in a big dust-up last year with Gerard Depardieu -- it was a 79-year-old and a 76-year-old. Look it up ... I didn't mention it in the story because it didn't fit the narrative I had in mind. But it's crazy that that kind of thing is still happening!
I read about the Secchiaroli show but I have't been. It seems like a good one.
Well that was fun, Eric!
It would have been a cool time to be in Rome in the 1950's and 1960's, right? I mean, at least if you had money and access.
It was certainly a sexy, exciting, fast-moving time. I don't want to be a party pooper, but a lot of the problems of today started then, beneath the surface.
How do you mean exactly?
I really DON'T want to be a downer ... this isn't supposed to be a "heavy" post.
But ... I think the glitz of that time was a distraction when the country should have been dealing with the leftover trauma from fascism and WW2. That never completely took place and it's too late now. It happened in Vichy France and in Germany. But in Italy, I think the "Dolce Vita" kind of changed the subject.
I also see the period as when Italy started to import American-style consumerism (not just Hollywood, but cars, appliances, splashy advertising, being jealous of the neighbors) without importing American efficiency and meritocracy. It made the country seem modern, but that didn't eliminate the feudal system that's still survives in many ways (Mafia, raccomandazione, provincialismo, a caste system that's just now weakening, a lack of faith in government).
As you can tell, I've thought a lot about this and it's on my list as a potential topic for a future newsletter post. I have a lot of notes on the topic. But I keep putting it off because it seems like it'd be too depressing to write -- and to read!
Yesss! Those were the days, the glamour, the creativity and Rome must have been incredible to live in!
For the right people, Rome was supposedly the "coolest" city in the world from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s.
The popping sound of flashbulbs: what a distant memory. Was at a Christmas party over the weekend and someone brought old 45’s to play on a turntable, and that brief popping sound of the needle being set down on the vinyl was as evocative as the vintage songs.
Lots of analogue sounds create nostalgia in me: the ones you mentioned, of course (especially records), but also ticking clocks, typewriter keys, rotary phones.
Now I feel like some old-timer lamenting the arrival of teh automobile!
Yeah, sorry! I wasn’t expecting your essay to make me go into an old man reverie.
Haha. It was the same for a lot of us
I love that icecream shot!!
I only ever saw him on TV ... it must have been cool to hear some of his stories.
He's got a million of them!
What a face!
You mean Barillari with Sophia Loren? I really like his expression there ... that's why I picked it for the cover. It's a goofy shot!
Fun photos ... but it's a hard life specially at his age