Pavement progress...
The march of Progress runs unabated here in Codiponte. We’re on a proverbial roll for civic improvements. No sooner had Epiphany… La Befana to Italians… come & gone, putting a close to the tortuously long Italian Holiday Season, the latest work-crew… there have been five separate squads of work-guys from the start of our infrastructure renewal program begun with the Medieval Bridge last May of 2019… embarked upon the task to pull up the cement as prep for our village’s piazzetta and its brand new stone pavement. Will wonders never cease? Certainly not! Promptly at 8:00AM, five work-guys arrive, jackhammers at the ready, for their daily eight-hour stint, and they consistently do so from Monday until Friday, to render Codiponte’s as charming as possible for generations to come with brand new stone pavers.
Imagine… in the short span of a few Wintery weeks, your journey to Codiponte may begin by crossing the completely reconstructed Medieval Bridge, today revealed to be a roller-coaster of stone arches bouncing over the Torrente Aulella. The Medieval Bridge’s span ends adjacent to the once-upon-a-time Pay-the-toll window. A Gothic cornice is all which remains at the former Guard House, today, a complex of three apartments belonging to three sisters from Sweden. Their parents immigrated North where there was available work after WWII. At this point, via Comunale, sporting its new stone pavement… and with a nifty center-line of mini-pavers… curves underneath loggias and tunnels on its way to Codiponte’s piazzetta, the old hub of the village. The wide expanse of what will be a newly refurbished piazzetta will encompass the space from the low wall of the stream racing water to the Torrente Aulella… a former open sewer… the four sycamore trees, the quiet sentinels of the Monument to the Fallen in WWI and the eternal…. we hope… fontanella still trickling water despite numersous modifications done to the piazzetta’s plumbing & drainage. The marble tub is a convenient location to wash one’s hands after having pried a disgusting bone from the clamped jaws of a rather persistent & single-minded Weimaraner puppy. Plans will also include new benches and lighting. Hey! That’s Progress.
The piazzetta has notoriously served as a parking lot for a few fortunate citizens of Codiponte. A tacit arrangement for the privilege of convenience. I am not a member of the illustrious club though You & I are the owners of the largest property of houses & gardens in Codiponte. Ought to count for something, don’t you think? Nope. It is frowned upon when, on the rare occasion, I park my SUV on the piazzetta. To holler that there was a space available holds no weight. And, it is a hard topic to broach with any of my fellow citizens about NOT returning the piazzetta to its previous life as a micro-comunal parking lot. What with the new stone pavement, the weight of even a FIAT Panda might shatter or, break the newly laid stone pavers. My uncounted Vote is to enjoy the piazzetta as a civic space for all, and not spaces for the few. I can adapt and go elsewhere to park.
So, NO PARKING. But does anyone read here? A sign has been posted at an appropriate spot. Typically, people once in the habit of racing to their parking space on the piazzetta now run screeching into a temporary fence, baring their entry onto the present work-site. They were WARNED! Means they have to manoeuvre their vehicles back to the New Bridge only 100 meters down the same lane they just tore down. Or, as an Option B… which is not often offered in Italy… they can make the turn onto the ramp leading down to the river to park their FIATS next to the grotty trash recycling area. I’d take the exceptional occurrence of an Option C continue to the right and along the dirt track following the torrente There’s ample parking below the Swede’s houses and with cut-throughs to the via Comunale and home! Many have already taken over this track to park since, the Medieval Bridge became a Luna Park.
