We’re kinda lost, but not really, because I know the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is around here somewhere. That being said, it’d really be nice to know which direction to go from here. Our choices are to take a guess and hope for the best, or to ask someone. I’m going to ask…
Perso a Milano (Lost in Milan)
Being able to ask where something is located in another language is one of the best “language” things to know. In italian, you say, “Dove si trova…” Literally, it means, “where does one find… “
Asking is the easy part, because after you ask, you have to be ready to receive the answer. Hopefully it’ll be a word or two that you recognize. Sometimes, though, you’ll get machine-gunned by words and gestures that could be in eskimo for all you know. The best thing to do in that case is to say, “Ah, yes. Of course! That’s right where I thought it was!” and then get out of there.
I went ahead and asked a man who was walking towards us. “Mi scusi. Dove si trova la Pinacoteca Ambrosiana?”
The gentleman looked at me, smiled, and pointed down the street. We were looking at it! I lucked out. I’m not complaining, but you’d think they’d put a bigger sign on the place.
Saint Ambrose
“Pinacoteca” can be translated as “museum.” “Ambrosiana” signifies that it’s named after Saint Ambrose. He was the first bishop of Milan, way back in the year 374. Whoa. The year 374? He must have been one of the first bishops anywhere, eh? Now he’s the Patron Saint of Milan.
Saint Ambrose is a very popular guy here. Places all around Milan are named after him. Rumor has it that Ambrose’s favorite side dish was a salad made with fruit cocktail mixed with sour cream, shredded coconut, and miniature marshmallows.
Today we know this dish today as “Ambrosia Salad,” most likely named after Saint Ambrose himself. The question is… how were they able to open cans of fruit cocktail back in those days? And where did they get miniature marshmallows? OK, I just made that up about the ambrosia salad. None of it’s true – as far as we know!
Milan’s Oldest Museum
The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is Milan’s oldest museum. In 1609, Cardinal Frederico Borromeo started a school for artists. He collected art so his students could see first-hand how the pro’s did their magic. His collection became this museum.
Cardinal Borromeo also started a study center. He collected books from all over the world for people to study. That collection became the “Biblioteca Ambrosiana.” (Biblioteca = library). Now it’s part of the pinacoteca.
Other collections of books existed at the time, but Biblioteca Ambrosiana, (shown at the top of this post), is reportedly the first library to have books on shelves that a person could grab, sit down, and read.
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana owns the world’s largest collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks. The most famous set of Leonardo’s notebooks is called the “Codex Atlanticus.” Leonardo made drawings and notes about all kinds of gizmos in these notebooks. Selected pages from the Codex Atlanticus are often on display in the biblioteca.
Seeing Leonardo’s notebooks will be neat, for sure, but there’s something in Pinacoteca Ambrosiana that I want to see more. It’s a book.
The 14th Century
Let’s go back in time to the 14th century. France and England were fighting the 100 Years War. The Black Death wiped out a third of the European population. The Pope relocated from Rome to Avignon, France. Western civilization was emerging from the Dark Ages.
During this time, the family of young Francesco Petrarca moved from Florence and settled in Avignon. Francesco’s parents sent him to a school nearby. Few people could read in the 14th century. What would be the point, since there wasn’t much to read, anyway? Johannes Gutenberg wouldn’t invent his printing press for another 100 years.
But Francesco learned to read and write very well – in multiple languages. He wrote so well, he became one of Avignon’s most famous residents. He wrote in Latin, mostly, to reach as many people as possible. Writing under his pen name, “Petrarch,” he became the 14th century version of say, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, or J. K. Rowling, or possibly all of them rolled into one.
Petrarch was the first person in the modern era to make a living as a writer. He wrote about one thing in particular that people couldn’t get enough of. Of course there was a woman involved.
Petrarch’s most prized possession was a copy of the works of the Roman poet, Virgil. He studied that book and used it like a workbook, making notes in the margins. He took it with him wherever he went. Petrarch’s personal copy of Virgil’s works is the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. I want to see it.
To be continued…
Just for fun…
Pinacoteca – Museum
Biblioteca – Library
Perso – Lost
Mi scusi – Excuse me, pardon me…
Dove si trove…? – Where is…? (Where does one find…?)
