Do you see that building across the Piazza? The one with the dark rectangular window openings? That is a picture of the Locanda/the Albergo di Verrazzano…a Locanda is a place where one can stay overnight and where one can eat. This Locanda is perhaps the oldest in the world…been going since 1400, give or take. (Even older than the U.S.) Guests used to arrive on horseback. Today they come every which-away. A story: My wife and I had been living here, across from the Locanda for about 6 months…when she had a conversation with a woman two terraces over from ours. The woman said, “My sister owns the Locanda…and we know you have not eaten there…and we know it is probably because you are vegetarians…but if you go over and make a reservation, she will make you a special meal.” Of course we immediately ran over and made a reservation for the following night. Two days later, our terrace neighbor asked us how we liked the meal. Small town. Everybody here knows everything about everybody here. This is not a place to be if you are on the lam.
Of course if you eat at one restaurant all the other restaurants know you ate there, so you have to go to all the others to make up for your transgression. It can get complicated. I lived in NYC for a long time and nobody ever knew where I went or what I ate. It was good there; but I think I like it more here – even though the people here know more about what I am doing than I do.
- “The nice thing about living in a small town is that when you don’t know what you’re doing, someone else does.” -Immanuel Kant
- “A small town has as many eyes as a fly” -Sonya Hartnett
- “It’s the little things that smoothes people’s roads the most” -Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn
