Hamlet 5.i
And so to Castiglione della Steviere. Before I came here all I knew about it was that it was far away from the nearest train station, had a population of about 20,000, there is a ‘rebuilt’ castle and that the International Red Cross had its birth here (kind of). Thanks Wikipedia. However, after just one day’s examining and listening to candidate’s presentations, I now know much more. Here are ten of the gems I picked up today - which of them is your favourite?
- Castiglione della Steviere is just referred to as Castiglione
- The Red Cross had its origins here after Henry Dunant, on his way to see Napoleon III to get business concessions in north Africa, witnessed atrocities at the Battle of Solferino, 24th June 1859.
Pizza WΓΌrstel is more popular among local kids than Pizza Margharita.- The cinema is in an annexe next to the cathedral (apologies for inappropriate capital 'c' - I know it's there, but it's saved now)
- Luigi Gonzaga is the city’s saint and his head is in the basilica. He was a local nobleman who died after contracting the plague when helping local peasants.
- There is an under-18 disco called ‘Evolve’ once a month, held next to the old castle gate.
- The town gained city status in 2001 (a touch generous, perhaps?)
- The local ossuary is in Solferino with over 10,000 skulls.
- There are several factories out of the town producing pasta, ‘potato chips’, socks and tights, drawing in workers from the south of Italy, the former Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria.
- The local cinema is called ‘King’ and The Fast and the Furious 5 is currently playing there.
I’m considering adding some points to the Wikipedia entry when I’ve time...
On the learning curve as always, I’m sure I’d heard the word ossuary before but wasn’t really sure what it was. In case there are any of you out there who are also unsure, it’s essentially a mass tomb. In times of war and so on, to get all the bodies popped into coffins is all a bit time consuming and fills a lot of space. So, to save time and space, just get all the bones and pop them in a big tomb, with the name deriving from the Latin for bones, os, and the suffix for a ‘recepticle’ or ‘place’, arium. Unfortunately I was unable to get to see the bones in person, but have managed to find a picture of the ossuary for inclusion here. Lucky us, eh?
What I did get to see, however, was the museum of the International Red Cross (pictured). For it was in Castiglione’s churches that the dying and injured were taken after the Battle of Solferino (in the 2nd war of independence – an attempt to unify Italy, which interestingly, celebrated 150 years of unification on 17th March this year). I’m not sure what I expected to find, but had I thought a little about the work of the Red Cross, I’d have probably realised it wasn’t going to be all ‘colours and clowns’. The audio guide helped lead me round the museum which was certainly interesting and, at times quite moving, probably on account of the photographs of situations the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) find themselves in which were on display. The work done by Mr Dunant was quite magnificent and was one of those illustrations of what one person can do with zeal, belief and perseverance.
If you’re looking for something a bit more upbeat, however, you might be better waiting until the circus is in town. One interesting nugget I did pick up was that the symbol of the crescent was adopted in 1926 in Muslim countries and the red diamond in 2006, because of continuing religious connotations with the symbols ‘causing problems’ in the Mediterranean, despite the fact it is an a-religious organisation. There were also some posters; I rather liked this one of the Chinese red cross happily waving you into their apocalyptic industrial wasteland, where everyone can breathe in the carbon monoxide in an enjoyable atmosphere of comradely friendship.
A final three things from the world of examining:
Speaking about cities in the USA, one candidate asked, “Do you think Los Angeles is a perditious city?” I’m afraid to say that because of time available, my answer didn’t really do the question justice.
When talking about cooking, one candidate told me about making ‘Pandora cake’, which the internet has told me is like a panetone cake but without the fruit. The ingredients include: “flour, eggs, easter and sugar”. I think ‘easter’ might be another of Yotam Ottolenghi’s (Guardian recipe man) hard to come by ingredients.
And finally, I caused quite visible shock and amazement in one middle school when after being asked the question, ‘How often do you eat pizza?’, I replied, “three or four times a year”. I think the kids are still wondering what else there is to eat on a Saturday with friends and family.
The final blog tomorrow, just before I return to the UK at the end of another tour, and to celebrate, there’s a competition!
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