Some Account of Biennale di Venezia 2004

An installation in the Italian Pavilion.


前一陣子在因緣際會之下，替台灣某雜誌寫了一篇有關這次威尼斯建築雙年展的報導，對建築所知不多的我，為了寫這篇有關義大利媒體觀點的文章，連續蒐集了好幾天的報紙報導，在短短不到一個星期的時間，完成了一篇還差強人意的文章，也正因為如此，在這次建築雙年展剛開始之際，便對展出內容有了點概念，心裡也打定主意，抽空到威尼斯看看。

For some strange reasons, I’ve got the request to write an article about the Biennale di Venezia for a Taiwanese magazine. Not knowing too much about architecture, I’ve collected newspaper cuttings for some days to have a broad picture about the view and opinion from the Italian media. Within a week, I was able to complete a decent article. Due to this reason, I’ve got some ideas about the Biennale at the beginning of the exhibition and decided to go take a look in Venice.

一個風和日麗的星期日早上，我們和另外兩位友人一同動身前往威尼斯看展。抵達主要展場綠園城堡時，已經將近午時，到窗口取了票，入場以後，我們便從西班牙館開始，一一瀏覽綠園城堡區內的各個國家館。
A beautiful Sunday morning, we went to Venice to visit the exhibition with two friends. When we arrived the Giardini, it’s almost noontime. After collecting our tickets and entered the Giardini, we started visiting pavilions of all participating countries from the Spanish Pavilion.

花了一個下午，我們只大略瀏覽了綠園城堡，根本就來不及去另一個展場軍火庫看看。綠園城堡區內的國家館，給了我很奇怪的印象，由於事先就已經注意到媒體評論以及得獎名單，我對幾個受到好評的展示區特別多看了兩眼，卻讓我大失所望。整體而言，在這次建築雙年展中，裝置藝術與建築的界線並不是那麼明顯，在義大利館內尤其如此，其他幾個較受好評的館，包括英國、德國、日本、還有得獎的比利時等，只有英國與德國有讓人眼睛一亮的感覺，尤其是英國館內有關Dublin Spike的架設過程，更是讓我大開眼界。某位評論家所大力推薦的日本館，以御宅族為主題，在我眼中，不過是西方社會對於日本文化的好奇心驅策下的產物，這與建築有啥顯而易見的關聯，我到現在仍然百思不解。
We took the whole afternoon visiting the Giardini. To get to the Arsenale was just impossible. The overall impression I got from the Giardini is quite strange. Having read some criticisms in advance, I paid some extra attention of the areas that received positive comments. However, it’s such a big disappointment to me. It seems to me that the boundary between installation art and architecture is diminishing, and it’s especially obvious in the Italian pavilion. Other pavilions that are highly praised include UK, Germany, Japan and Belgium. However, only the British pavilion impressed me, especially for the video about the construction of the Dublin Spike. In my opinion, the Japanese pavilion with its exhibition about the Otakus that was highly recommended by some critics is only a curiosity that was born due to the western curiosity to the Japanese culture. The link between the exhibition and architecture is not so obvious and I’m still wondering about it even now.

在專家的眼中，這是一次不容錯過的展出。不過在參觀過極受好評的綠園城堡區以後，我反而比較好奇想要看看軍火庫，以我自己的眼睛來加以評斷。
In the experts’ eyes, this is “The Biennale” that one shouldn’t miss. After visiting the Giardini that is said to be better in sense of exhibition, I’m more curious to judge the Arsenale area with my own eyes.

A Painter Who Paints Jazz

蜜爾卡和他老公毛羅，是老公中學時代的好友。這對夫妻，是我剛到義大利時初認識的幾個朋友之一，加上他們家裡特殊的故事，第一次見面就讓我留下深刻的印象。自我搬到義大利以後，偶爾也會去找他們聚一聚，這才知道蜜爾卡原來是在義大利小有知名度的畫家，而我在毛羅店裡看到的那幾幅風格特異的創作，原來是出自蜜爾卡的手下。
Mirca, her husband Mauro and my husband were high school classmates. They were one of the few people that I got to know during my first visit to Italy. With their special family story, I was deeply impressed at the first time we met. After I moved to Italy, we sometime go visiting them and I got to know that Mirca is a painter. The particular paintings I saw in Mauro’s shop are actually her art works.

今天晚上，蜜爾卡的畫展在維琴察市內某座原為教堂的展場舉行開幕典禮，這個熱鬧當然得去湊一下。當我們準時晚上六點抵達會場時，裡面已經有不少人在等待，進去和蜜爾卡打個招呼，我們便逕自看起畫來，同時並等待主辦人致詞。
There’s an opening ceremony of Mirca’s exhibition tonight. The place used to be a church and now serves as a place for artistic exhibition. We arrived on time at 6PM. and there’re already many visitors. After we greeted Mirca, we started to make a short tour of all the works, until the organizer was ready to give a talk.

從蜜爾卡的畫中，我可以感受到另一個她，那是完全不同於平日，一個很深沉的她。參加她的畫展，這已經是第二次了，從前看的時候，總有種說不出的特殊感受，然而我一直找不到適當的言語來形容；今天，當主辦人在展場中心致詞的時候，提到了爵士樂，我腦海中馬上閃起驚嘆號，就是它了，是的，對我來說，蜜爾卡的畫就像是爵士樂，時而深沉，時而輕快，不過卻帶著極為強烈的意念。
I can feel another self of Mirca from her paintings. It’s not the same person that I see normally. It’s someone of profound character. This is the second time I attended her exhibition. There’s always a special feeling when I saw her works, but I just couldn’t find the right thing and right word to explain my feelings. Tonight, when the organizer was giving his speech at the center of the exhibition hall, he mentioned jazz. At that very moment, there’s a “!” in my mind. That’s it! Yes, Mirca’s paintings are like jazz music to me, sometimes deep, sometimes light, but with strong messages.

我不懂畫，以前排斥看畫這件事，覺得這不是我的東西。不過到義大利住了幾年，耳濡目染，想法漸漸地改變。到現在，反而覺得，其實看畫也是件蠻有趣味的事。
I don’t know much about paintings. I was even against the idea to go to art galleries, because I felt I didn’t belong. After I moved to Italy, probably due to the “air”, I started to change. Now I’d even enjoy it. It’s actually quite fun to go see paintings.

Mom's Visit - Walking in the Fishermen Island

目前仍有少數漁家避居此地的漁人島，是湖中著名的觀光地點。仍然保有樸實古風的小鎮，是我到馬焦雷湖遊玩時非常喜歡的一個定點。在島上舖滿石板的狹窄巷道裡穿梭，享受著慵懶的氣氛，有著一種時光靜止般的奇妙感受。
Though the island itself has become a popular tourist attraction, there are still some fishermen who live a simple life on this tiny small place. The antique and rustic atmosphere makes it my favorite among all places I’ve visited around Lago Maggiore. Walking through the narrow alley with stone pavement and enjoying the relaxed air about it, time seemed to have frozen in this old village on the lake.

Mom's Visit - Isola dei Pescatori

時間在聊天賞景中流逝，轉眼間，我們已經抵達漁人島，看看手錶，竟也坐了一個多小時的船，不過離午餐尚有一點時間，因此我們決定先在島上走走。
Time flied so fast when we were chatting and enjoying the landscape. It seemed that we arrived the Fisherman Island (Isola dei Pescatori) within short time, but in reality it took us more than an hour for the trip. It’s still early for lunch. So we decided to walk around on the isle.

Mom's Visit - Lago Maggiore

天氣清朗時，義大利的夏日湖畔，景色特別宜人。
When the weather is nice, the landscape is especially beautiful around the lakeside.

趁著週末，開車去米蘭西北方的瑪焦雷湖，順便央著路卡，開船載大家出航去。誰知，週五晚上竟然刮大風，氣溫驟然下降，八月盛夏，半夜的氣溫降到十五度，也是夠奇怪的一件事。隔天早上，看著湖上一陣一陣的浪，開船出去大概是不可能了，所幸航行湖上各島嶼間的交通船還有開，我們也就只好跳上交通船，準備到漁人島和貝拉島走走。
We decided to go to Lago Maggiore at northwest of Milan during the weekend, so we could ask Luca, my husband’s best friend, to take us for a boat ride on the lake. However, the weather turned windy on Friday night. The north wind brought down the temperature. It’s strange enough that the temperature was only 15℃ in the hot summer night. In the next morning, it’s still quite wavy on the lake and made it impossible to go out with smaller boat. Luckily, we could still choose to take the cruise to travel among the isles. At that moment, it’s the only way if we wanted to visit Isola dei Pescatori and Isola Bella.

坐在平穩的大船上往外看，點點帆船與水上波紋反射出的耀眼陽光，把整個湖點綴的好不熱鬧。
Sitting on the big cruise and looking outward, there’re lots of sailing boats taking the chance for a nice ride. With the reflection of sunlight, the whole lake seemed so busy.

Mom's Visit - Arena di Verona

2001年當我在義鄉舉行婚禮之際，丈母娘的身分，讓我娘在婚禮的前一晚，無法像其他來參加婚禮的親戚一樣，到維洛納去觀賞露天歌劇，留下了遺憾。所以這次當然義無反顧，說什麼也要帶她去親身體驗一下維洛納最著名的夏日歌劇節。
When I got married in 2001, my mom brought a group of relatives to come and participate my wedding. Because she needed to help me with the preparation, she couldn’t join the group to see the opera in Verona on the night before the wedding. It was one of the many regrets of the trip. This time, we definitely wanted to take her to the opera and experience the famous opera season in Verona.

為了避免在烈日下汗雨淋漓排隊的慘況，我們買的是有劃位的票，兩張票卻也付了將近兩百歐元。平常我和老公去看歌劇，都是買最便宜的票，多花點時間排隊，不過這次為了省體力，只好拿白花花的銀子來換，老公也因此決定放牛吃草，讓我獨自和老娘兩個人摸到維洛納看歌劇，等到結束以後再來接人…這才知道，原來他現在對我自己一個人在義大利趴趴走這麼有信心啦！
To avoid the long queue under the sun, we bought the tickets with assigned seats. To enjoy this privilege, we did pay some money for it and altogether it’s about 200 Euro. If I go to Verona for the opera with my husband, we always buy the cheapest tickets, spending some more time on the queue. To save some energy, we decided to pay the expensive price. Therefore, I could only leave my husband at home and go with my mom alone, to save some money. It is not until we decided to do this that I know my husband is so confident about my Italian and he wouldn’t mind I go around by myself any more.

簡單吃完果腹式的晚餐（一份三明治加上礦泉水），也將近晚上九點了，我還是第一次在演出快開始的時候，才大搖大擺地走進劇場，想想，以前都是從五點多就在裡面坐到開演，幾個小時下來，大理石台階的座位早就讓人腰酸背痛，等到演出的時候屁股早已發麻，能夠這麼舒服地看歌劇，這還是頭一遭。
We had a simple dinner, only a sandwich and a bottle of mineral water. It’s about 9PM. To be honest, it was the very first time for me to arrive the venue just before the performance started. In the past, we always arrived around 5PM to join the queue and wait until the hour when the performance began. After a couple hours sitting on the hard stone seat, it’s giving me backache and my butt was numb. It’s the first time I could comfortably enjoy the opera.

隨著領位人員，我們找到了位置，真的是好的不像話，正中央的位置，旁邊就是給貴賓走的紅地毯，之前網路購票的時候，因為不能選位，本來還讓我頗擔心，沒想到主辦單位還蠻公平的，果然是按照先來後到，也更讓我有值回票價的好感。
We followed the service personnel to our seats. I was worried because we booked the ticket through the net and couldn’t choose the seats with the system. It proved that the organizer did according to their promise and assigned the seats with a “first come first serve” basis. Our seats were just at the center, beside the red carpet for the VIPs. At least I didn’t spend the money for nothing.

演出前，舞台上有人拿著大鑼跑出來預告了三次，之後整個燈光暗了下來，主辦單位也請觀眾按照傳統，點起手上的蠟燭，會場中頓時點點星光，真是浪漫到不行~~~
Before the performance started, a guy went up to the stage with a big gong and announced three times. After that, the light went off gradually. The organizer invited the audience to light up candles according to the tradition of Arena di Verona. Suddenly, spots of candlelight filled up the space, creating a very romantic atmosphere.

Mom's Visit: Vicenza

「來了幾次義大利，都沒有好好地逛逛妳住的這個城市…」娘如是說。其實，維琴察也不是不好玩，只是每次都礙於種種因素，無法帶著娘好好認識這個地方，這次終於有點時間慢慢看，所以就挑了個下午，到市中心去逛一逛。
"I've come here for several times... but I've never visited the city where you live." Mom said. Well, Vicenza is actually a good place to visit, but for various reasons I just couldn't find the time to take my mom around during her last two visits. She's finally staying a bit longer this time, so we picked a nice afternoon to visit the historic center of Vicenza.

維琴察除了每年有三次義大利最著名的黃金飾品展以外，也是建築人朝聖地之一，原因無他，就是為了十六世紀著名的建築大師帕拉底歐的作品，因此，許多建築人常常會到維琴察來個帕拉底歐之旅，仔細地參觀各座出於大師之手的豪華宅邸。在維琴察的市中心，必訪之處有二，一是到主廣場Piazza dei Signori看Basilica Palladiana，二則是Teatro Olympico，都是大師之作。事實上，維琴察又有帕拉底歐之城的美名，整個市中心也因為大師留下來的重要作品，被聯合國列入世界遺產名錄之中。
Every year, three major gold fairs are held in Vicenza. However, Vicenza is not only famous for the gold industry, it is also a pilgrimage place for architects due to Palladian villas of the 16th century. Many architects come to see the grand villas designed by Palladio. There are two must-go in Vicenza center. One is the Basilica Palladiana in the main square Piazza dei Signori. The other is Teatro Olympico at one side of the major street Corso Palladio. Both sites were important works that Palladio left behind. Vicenza actually enters the World Heritage List for its richness of Palladian works.

早早吃了午餐，就央著老公開車把我們送到市中心，時間上剛好可以先去看看劇場和博物館，然後到鄰近的商店主街瞎拼一番。八月初的義大利，許多城市都在唱空城計，度假月嘛，不在度假勝地的很多店家，也會放著白花花的鈔票不賺，關門玩耍去。不喜歡人擠人的話，八月的義大利，除了熱了點，逛起來倒是很舒服的地方。
We had an early lunch. My husband sent us to the center. The time was just right for visiting the theater and museum, and then for some shopping. August is time for vacation and many cities are actually empty. In less touristic places, some shops are closed for vacation. It is a good time to visit Italy for those who do not enjoy crowds but can endure hot weather.

Mom's Visit: Venezia

老爹說：「都已經是第三次到義大利找女兒，還去威尼斯嗎？」
"It's the third time you visit your dayghter in Italy. Are you still going to Venice?" Dad asked.

當然！美麗的水都百看不厭，加上前兩次行程匆促，說真的也沒有看到什麼該參觀的景點，反正搭火車也不過一個小時，為何不去？
Of course!! It's impossible to be tired of the every changing beauty of Venice. Also, the previous two visits were in such a hurry that my mom didn't really get to see some tourist attractions. After all, it's just an hour of train. So why didn't we go?

讓老公過一天Chinese-free的日子，我決定自己帶著娘去探險。雖然還算常去威尼斯，不過說真的，到目前為止我還是沒有把任何一條路記起來，每次都是靠著方向感走到聖馬可廣場…「你怎麼沒有帶我去上次買玻璃墜子的那家店？」娘這一問起來，我才想到，似乎又轉錯條街，大概是不太可能走回去了…我們兩就這麼在大街小巷閒逛，順著指標往聖馬可廣場前進，真的看到聖馬可教堂的時候，也已經是午飯時間，於是就決定找一家店坐下來吃點午餐。
My mom and I decided to go without the company of my husband, so he could finally enjoy a Chinese-free day. I go to Venice pretty often, but to tell the truth, I still can't remember any name of the streets. All the time, I follow my sense of direction to arrive the San Marco Square. "Why didn't you take me to the shop where I bought glass pendants last time?" My mom asked. No until that moment I didn't realize that I've turned at the wrong corner again. It's impossible to go backward just for that single shop. So we started to wander around, and followed the indication for San Marco Square. When we saw the San Marco Church, it's already time for lunch. We then decided to find a place for some light snack.

用餐完畢，一到總督府（Palazzo Ducale）前面，我們兩就傻了眼，大排長龍的隊伍，讓人看了有點心慌，不知是否應該加入行列…「下次人少一點再進去，既然以後還有機會，就等著下次和老爹一起看吧！」
After we finished our meal, we went to Pallazo Ducale and saw a very long line in front of the entrance. I was a bit worried, not knowing if we should join the queue or not. "We can wait for another occasion. In any case, I will still come here to visit you. We can wait until your dad come next time."

夏季…果然不是參觀威尼斯的好時間。
Summer... is not a good time to visit Venice.

Mom's Visit: Marostica

馬洛斯帝卡，是一個很有中世紀風味的古城。城牆連接著位於平地的下城與居高臨下的上城，整個位於城鎮被厚重的城牆圍了起來，遠遠望去，清晰可見。

每兩年九月，小鎮最重要的傳統節慶，吸引著世人的目光，接踵而至的遊客，來到這裡享受中世紀風情，欣賞由真人實物演出的西洋棋局。傳說很久以前，統領馬洛斯帝卡的國王，有著一個貌如天先的女兒，鄰近兩國的王子，都積極地爭取聯姻的機會。為了怕引起戰爭，國王於是決定，邀請兩國王子以博奕的方式決定勝負，並將公主許配給贏家，輸家則迎娶國王的妹妹。流傳至今，故事的真假已不可考，不過卻逐漸演變成了小鎮最重要的節慶，被選上在節慶中扮演各種角色的居民，更是雀躍不已。

現在的下城，是當地政府的辦公室與遊客資訊中心，同時也特別闢室展示許多該地某收藏家多年來累積收藏而捐給當地政府的中世紀服裝。上城則成了一家私人經營的餐廳，是非常受歡迎的婚宴場地。來到此地，即使不到餐廳消費用餐，還是要爬到上城廢墟，飽覽平原風光，絕佳的視野，不容錯過。


Mom's Visit: Matostica

Mom's Visit: a short trip

從我搬到歐洲以來，娘前前後後總共來了三次（包括這次），第一次是結婚時從台灣帶了一團親友團，第二次則是趁著台灣過農曆年，跟著老爹來〝沾醬油〞五天，不過這兩次，她都是來去匆匆，時間總在忙碌的參觀與訪友行程中度過。

我今年雖然因為工作回台灣待了三個月，不過因為工作忙碌，實在也抽不出空陪她出國走走，因此便有了夏天訪歐的想法，從我五月底回到義大利，就開始努力構思行程。

原本的計畫，是要到奧地利去走走，不過誰知在我排完行程訂完旅館以後，才知道我那今年過期的居留證，竟要等到十月初才會下來，對酷愛旅行的我來說，真不啻為晴天霹靂，然而在此地政府辦事員的警告之下，我們還是決定按著規矩行事，以免到時候出了不必要的麻煩，所以到頭來，娘的歐洲之行還是變成了第三次義大利行。

既然這有點是狀況外，貼心的女兒和女婿還是努力把忙碌的工作時程排開，帶娘在北義趴趴走，去看看一些很久以來就想要帶她去走走的地方。