So It Starts....

I wonder how much time it took Italo Calvino to write this book. How could he come up with so many cities! So it starts the wonderful journey which Marco Polo invites us on. From the beginning of the book, simply by looking at the table of contents, I knew this was going to be a tough book to read and understand. After I read the first pages and the first descriptions I asked myself “Is the whole book going to actually be like this ? City after city description after description ?” So I skimmed through the pages and noticed it was. I also noticed that Calvino’s description of  each city is filled with symbolism .

  I really liked the description of Isidora from the very first sentence “When a man rides a long time through wild regions he feels the desire for a city.” This quote reminded me of  my family trip, last December to “Golfo De Morrosquillo”. It was an eight hour car ride. We rode through the beautiful mountains, until we reached a tiny village. Of course these villages didn't even compare to Isidora. However, it relates because  after riding a long time through the mountains. I had the desire for one of these villages. Calvino describes a Isidora as a city were “perfect telescopes and violins are made”.This made me think of Isidora as a city where old men come to remember their past and look at the future. Violins are a classical instrument that might be associated with the past. A telescope can easily be associated with looking at the future since you can see what is coming.

 However, my favorite part of Calvino’s description was “Isidora”; the city of his dreams, but with one difference. The dreamed-of city identified him as a young man; “he arrived at Isidora in his old age. In the central square there is a wall where old men sit and watch the youngsters go by; he sits in a row by the wall with them. Desires are already memories”.This description made me think of Isidora as an even more romantic and beautiful city, where everybody must feel a certain nostalgia. A city where old men come to remember their past and look at the future.