Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Virgilio Giotti



One of my favourite statues, out of the many dotted around the public garden, is this one of
Virgilio Giotti (1885 -1957), the greatest poet in Triestinian dialect. The themes prevailing in his marvellous poetry are landscapes, his family, time and death, and they are beautifully rendered thanks to the musical soul he finds in the Triestinian dialect.

"La strada"


Vardo 'na strada de la mia zità,
cha ghe sarò passado mile volte,
e no' me par de averla vista mai.
Le fazzade zalete, le boteghe,
un bar, dei àuti, e el fiatin de viavai.
Come la nostra vita, sì: vissuda,
finida ormai, e mai ben conossuda


"The Street"

I look along a street in my city,
one I must have passed a thousand times,
and I feel as if I've never seen it before.
The yellow facades, the shops
a bar, a few cars, and a quiet bustling.
Like our lives, indeed: lived,
almost over now, but never really known.

6 comments:

Saretta said...

Bella la poesia! E' così vero... La statua è un pò strana, così longilinea...sarà stato così lui?

Unknown said...

I think the lady in the background really suits the photo. Nice composition!
I had no idea you have your own dialect... I find it a bit harder to understand than 'common' italian. Allways learning! :-)
Also like the b&w pond on the previous photo.

nobu said...

Impressive photo and poem.

Bolina Stretta said...

La poesia e' bellissima. Chissa' perche'non ne ho mai sentito parlare tanto. A scuola non si parlava tanto di autori/scrittori locali...

La foto ha un che di diverso, quasi ironico. Mi piace.

Diederick Wijmans said...

So essential and true!! Mi piace la composizione della foto. E' perfetta con il testo!!

Eki said...

That woman behind the statue makes the picture more alive ...

I LOVE your yesterday's post, Rob.