Good-bye Rome
In Rome I said goodbye to friends. Where are you going? I'm going to Perù.
But are you mad?
I was leaving the Rome of prostitutes, bourgioise, fascist, the Rome of "all the best" and "keep going", the Rome of pizzerias, latterias, of tobacco agents, of herbalists and greengocers, the Rome of chestnut sellers, of buns with cream or without cream, of mostacciuoli and sweets, of supplis, of lupini, of mosciarelli.
I was leaving the Rome of pizza makers, of porters, of brothels, of approximations, of swindles, of appointments with people who do are always late, of payments that never arrive, the Rome of post offices and registry offices, of functionaries , ministries, of clerks and bankers, the Rome where applications are always too late, where you always need recommendations .
I was leaving the Rome of pissers, of public lavatories, of fountains, of lapsed priests,Circolare Sinistra, Circolare Destra, of the Vatican, of a thousand churches, of Cathedrals outside the walls, the Rome of nuns, of monks, of priests, of cats .
I was leaving the Rome of attics with panoramic views, the Rome of Piazza Bologna, of Parioli, of ViaVeneto, of Via Gregoriana, the Rome of D'Annunzio, baroque Rome, eternal Rome, ancient Rome, tourist Rome, Rome by day, and Rome by night, that of the small orchestra in Piazza Esedra, the Fascist Rome of Piacentini .
I was leaving the Rome that all envy, caput mundi,the Colisseum, the Foro Imperiale, Piazza Venezia, the Altare della Pace, the University of Rome, the Rome with sun in summer and winter, which is better than Milan. ..
I was leaving the Rome where they piss in the street, the stinking Rome, white collar Rome, of half litres, of coda alla vaccinara,the Rome of rich boutiques; the Rome of Gucci, of Ianetti, of Ventrella, of Bulgari, of Schostal, of Sorelle Adamoli, of Carmignani, of Avenia, the Rome where there is no work, where there isn't a lire, the Rome which is the "heart of Rome" .
I was leaving the Rome of the Monte di Pietà (pawn-brokers), of the Banca Commerciale Italiana, of Campo de' Fiori, of Pizza Navona, of PizzaFarnese, of "Got a cigarette?", "Give me a hundred lire," the Roma of CONI, of the Concorso Ippico, the Rome of the Forum which bore and bears still the name of Mussolini, I was leaving the Rome of shit! Mother Rome: Goodbye!
We don't manage to see any more
The problem, gentlemen, is we no longer manage to see
We think we see . but really we see things
That have already been seen, by others .
I see down there a girl, a woman with red hair
But for me who am also a painter,
a woman with red hair is Munch.
If she were brunette, nude, estended on a divan she is Modigliani,
in a meadow of daisies she is Klimt .
a prostitute who warms up with blankets on the motorway is Fellini
a beggar, is Pasolini .
a tree, a tree is Mondrian
a green lawn with poppies is Monet,
with sunflowers she is Van Gogh .
the sun, the sun is Turner
the sea, the sea is Pino Pascali
a cow, gentlemen, a cow is Segantini,
a sheep is Brunuel,
a goat is Picasso,
a horse, no matter if of two colours, a horse of the Carabineri is Fattori,
a white horse with mane in the wind is De Chirico,
a white horse and a black one is Gauguin,
a sea gull . a sea gull is Checov . is Cardarelli, is Bellocchio,
a stray dog is Bacon,
a dog that moves its paws is Balla .
Blue is Klein, red is Burri, white is Fontana
Rose is Matisse, yellow is Van Gogh, black is Goya .
La Gioconda, gentlemen, la gioconda is not Leonardi Da Vinci,
she is Duchamp .
a cardinal is Scipione, a general is Bai
a very lean man is Giacometti,
a very fat woman is Fellini .
a conductor is Fellini
a clown is Fellini .
. Fellini we see him everywhere
a shoe, a shoe is Jim Dine
a tie is Jimm Dine
a street sign is Mambor
a pipe is Magrite
a broom is Man Ray
a bottle of Coca Cola is Andy Wharol
Marylin Monroe is Andy Wharol
A hamburger is Oldenburg
Guernica . there exists a Spanish city called Guernica
But Guernica is Picasso,
Rome is Fellini,
Milan is Zavattini,
London is Hitchcock,
Manhatten is Woody Allen,
Bruxelles is Ensor,
Dublin is Joyce,
Prague is Kafka,
Vienna is Freud .
We no longer manage to see masters .
