Sunday, January 8, 2017

A Presidential Visit


Yesterday I went to see the visit of the Italian President to Reggio Emilia. He was here to celebrate the 220th anniversary of the invention of the Italian Flag. I was not interested in the tired ritual of the official visit, but I wanted to see a huge 1700-metre-long flag that was hauled through town.

I caught the preparations for the flag quite by accident as they were unfurling it just outside the bar where I have breakfast. I took a few shots on the iPhone.
 
Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations.
 
Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations
The disruption in town was tremendous with crowd barriers dividing the city in two along with a massive police presence. One really got the feeling of the isolation of the establishment from the unwashed masses behind the barriers.
Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations
I managed to get a good position to see the procession of our local worthies before the agitation of the guys in dark shades left us in no doubt that the top dogs were arriving. I also narrowly avoided getting interviewed by the local TV who to their rhetorical questions expected a rhetorical patriotic response to generate a bit of “fake news”.
Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

President Mattarella, Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations
Seeing one of these visits is quite interesting and instructive to see the stage management of these events and the distorted vision I got from reading the local newspaper this morning.
Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations
Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations
Then the flag arrived down the Via Emilia, our high street. It was quite an impressive sight. The road from start to finish was green white and red. Quite an impressive sight, almost impossible to describe in a photograph.
Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations

Reggio Emilia 7th January flag day celebrations
My wife and a friend who I met for an aperitive afterwards were concerned that I might be suffering from a nasty dose of patriotism.

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