By Amy Burke
Photos by Vincent Thorn.
The men of "The Wall" chatting on a pleasant June day.
A little past 6 p.m. six men sit along a wall on a kind of bench, a ledge in the gray stone wall of the Palazzo Pubblico, Cagli’s town hall facing Piazza Matteotti at the center of town. In front of them cars circle the piazza, motorini speed by, and Cagliese sip drinks across the piazza under the awnings of two popular caffes. Clearly the men are anything but alone.
Taking their place in the same place every day and hailing friends passing by, Ezio Mariotti, Constantino Lepri, Leone Buroni, Sergio Mariotti, Giovanni Sgarbi, and Domenico Magnoni join about 30 other local men.
“We like staying here together in the shade; it is the one place in town that is not too hot,” Magnoni says as he gestures toward the setting sun.
Peering through his jet black sunglasses, Lepri says that depending on the weather conditions, they arrive at the wall around 4 p.m. every day and stay until about 7:30 every night, except in winter. Having grown up in Cagli, the six men say they have known each other since they were young boys.
Almost in unison the men agree that the best times to sit against the wall are in the spring and summer because they get to see the not only the sights of locals dining and driving around in the piazza but to enjoy the warm weather as well.
Magnoni says that they usually start coming out to hang around the piazza in April and remain until October.
“With all the spare time we have since we are not working any longer, we all just come to the wall to meet other people in town and talk about everything going on,” Lepri grins. “There is a lot of gossiping and news gathering that takes place.”
This town hall where they gather was built in 1287. However, after Cagli was destroyed by fire in a war between noble families and wealthy merchants. After the town was rebuilt, fire destroyed the town hall. It was rebuilt two years later in 1289 after the town found it necessary to build a new city hall for the mayor, the courts, and a prison. Later in 1476, Federico da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino, became interested in rebuilding the medieval palace again. Apart from updating and interior restoration, the building remains virtually unchanged over the past 500 years.
Relaxing on "The Wall"
The national elections in June, which included voting for a new mayor of Cagli, meant the wall sitters spent most of their time discussing their favorite candidates and the similarities and differences among the people and parties who ran for office, Buroni says. Their discussion did not end with the declaration of winners.
Not surprisingly, the sitters backed different candidates and remained split about the prospects of each candidate.
After a few jokes are exchanged, they agree and say that they are all happy with the results of the new mayor, Patrizio Catena. Although they say he is young (he is in his fifties), they agree he will do a good job.
“I am happy Cagli won the party that it won,” Magnoni says. “Then again, I am always happy as long as there is health.”
Comparing the Italian elections to those in the United States, Magnoni says he doesn’t like the way the election is structured.
“We have too many parties running for office,” Magnoni says. “It would be much nicer to have only two or three like the Americans.”
“In addition to politics, most days we usually spend time talking about the people passing in front of us while adding a positive commentary about girls,” Buroni says, nudging Lepri and tilting his head back to laugh.
“We comment on the girls because the older we get the more we like and respect women,” Magnoni adds as he sits with his hands clasped together.
Other topics that interest them are talking about sporting events. In particular they like to watch a lot of calcio, especially the Italia vs. the United States soccer game.
“We are all friends, but when we start to talk about politics or soccer, we argue,” Magnoni says. “It is more interesting for us to stay here and talk all night long than be at home.”
Sgarbi says the Italian players, like Giuseppe Rossi, are very good, and he feels that while Americans are good at sports like basketball, track, and football, they are not as developed and good as Italians in soccer.
While the men admit that there is not much to do in Cagli, they say they enjoy some of the bigger festivals that come to town such as the June 2 Fiesta della Repubblica (Italy’s version of the Fourth of July). It celebrates the unification of Italy and is a national holiday complete with a speech by the mayor, a parade around the piazza, and balloons for the children.
“It is a very important ceremony for the republic because we are a republic that is founded by workers,” Magnoni says.
Among other festivals held throughout the year is the feast of Corpus Domini (called Corpus Christi in many other countries) held in June. In the Catholic church this feast honors the Holy Eucharist. A grand procession begins after mass in the cathedral along streets decorated with designs on the streets in flowers and fresh marjoram plants. A priest carries a consecrated host in a monstrance under a canopy to most of Cagli’s 16 churches and with a special stop at the hospital for a blessing of the sick and their families.
“I enjoy the whole ceremony,” Magnoni says. “I like everything that goes on throughout the day: the priests, the flowers, and the songs. We believe there is only one God so it is a good way to celebrate him."
After a long day of catching up on news and relaxing all six men agree that sitting in the piazza will never get old and that it is by far their favorite part of town.
“This is the most important part of the city,” Buroni says. “You can see everything from here; the church, the mayor, restaurants and the bars, what could be better?”
Enjoying the simple things in life.
While the elders maintain their view of the piazza, the youth live "unplugged"
Web production by Michele Flannery
