2016 – spring skiing in Abruzzo
The news drifts through, fearful and frozen, from isolated villages in the mountains of Italy. I sit and watch on a device I can fit in the palm of my warm hand, in front of a fire in a well-lit room … at least there are no reports of casualties.
That was last night. Today is the news that a hotel in Abruzzo has been hit by an avalanche – 30 feared dead. A chill creeps down my spine … I read reports of the first, frantic, unheeded efforts to raise the alarm.
This piece, first published in April 2016, was written after my first visit to the Madre in Naples. I loved the museum’s calm space, the range of its exhibits … and its roof terrace.
Internal courtyard of the Museo Madre in Naples, Italy with art by Mimmo Paladino on the roof
Art is a place to be, a place that tries to reach us, provoke us. It swallows the rules, the clocks, the to and fro, and waits for us to respond.
Much of Naples itself is art – ancient, modern, faded, alive – but it does not have the quiet, the spaces between, that the Madre brings to its displays. This is the luxury of a visit to the Madre, the chance to leave the hectic city and step into its calm.
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Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson
Cities are like people … some are packed with character, and others less so.
The city of Naples in Italy is a character, one that can raise you to heaven or leave you in despair. Johann Goethe was ecstatic; Mark Twain fairly grumpy; Shirley Hazzard inspired; and Elena Ferrante fierce and irresistible. Now, published in 2016, here’s Katherine Wilson whose style goes straight to the heart of the city.
The Phraser 