Gino Rivieccio, my city: “I feel like a mussel and Naples is my rock”
I Neapolitans, Gino Rivieccio, I divide them into two categories: rock and high seas. It seems nothing but there is a substantial difference. The first – explains the actor – I know comm and mussels. To detach them from the rock it takes the hand of God; the latter, on the other hand, go swimming offshore and when they return, they almost always return as tourists.
Which category do you belong to?
“To the rock of course. Keep in mind the kneecap? The right fit for the rock that comes out of the water when the wave retreats? So I am: na bella patella and Pusilleco ».
A Neapolitan of those so-called sucker.
“Actually I was also a Neapolitan from the high seas when I lived in Milan, and then also in Rome, just to give two examples. And the same thing always happened. The farther I went from the shore, the more I wanted to return to my rock. Do you know why?”.
No because?
“The city seen from the sea, and therefore from a distance, seems even more beautiful than it is.”
Above all because from the sea – as you say – you do not see the inconveniences, problems and difficulties that those who live on the rock suffer.
«I often repeat a phrase of my friend Salvatore Pica, a true Neapolitan, eclectic and brilliant, I will never forget it».
What did Salvatore Pica say?
«Where logic ends Naples begins. In other words: everything that is absolutely normal elsewhere becomes an exceptional fact here ».
Give some examples.
“How much you don’t want. Part with the most banal. Not finding traffic on the Tangenziale, marò nu miracolo; or wait for the bus just a few minutes and who are staying in Milan ?; or to attend to a practice at the Local Health Authority without necessarily losing the whole morning that bouquet held “.
Old story: what should be the rule instead continues to surprise us.
“Exactly. We are too used to disorder and chaos in every circumstance that when everything goes smoothly it becomes an event of a divine nature ».
A city apart.
“There is a friend of mine, it seems a joke but he isn’t, who doesn’t go on vacation because he says that in August in Naples he does everything he can’t do during the year”.
Really?
“Seriously. He tells me that he works great, goes from one end of the city to the other in no time, finally finds a place for his car, doesn’t queue at the counters and doesn’t have to hang out with people. It’s not cheap ».
A bit like living in Switzerland.
«Of course, everything is more comfortable. But we are used to this mess. And there is a reason: Naples is not a city ».
And what is it?
“A mood. You have to understand it and you also have to interpret it in the right way, otherwise you can’t live here: go crazy first ».
On the other hand, the figures speak for themselves: in the annual rankings on the quality of life – from safety to services passing through the environment and mobility – we are always at the bottom.
“Forget it. It seems to me that this is the city for which the presumption of guilt is in force: all to shoot judgments and prejudices, to machine-gun sentences and, in some cases, definitive sentences ».
So do you think those rankings are wrong? Here we live very well and if we are not aware?
“The question is very simple: it just depends on what we mean by quality of life. If you ask for income or welfare. I am interested in well-being and Naples has no rivals from this point of view ».
It’s safe?
«A friend of mine from Milan told me that as soon as he retires he moves here. The last years of his life he wants to live in Naples. And frankly I don’t feel like blaming him. “
Did he ask him what in particular attracts him?
“He explained it to me: you can play tennis until December, half an hour by hydrofoil and you arrive in Capri or Ischia, eat well, drink well, and the women are even more beautiful than elsewhere. It’s not stupid. Ah, I was forgetting Maradona, unique and unforgettable Diego, he loved Naples almost more than Argentina ».
How rich is your friend? Judging by the program he has in mind, he will have a gold pension.
“It is clear that a little money is needed if you want to live in a certain way, but it must also be said that Naples is a very generous, welcoming and hospitable city: even those who are not so wealthy live well on average”.
Generous and hospitable, she said.
«I would like to know in which other city in the world if you are not feeling well there is always someone who goes to the shop and takes it home. And if you need medicine, and word gets around, a whole pharmacy arrives. “
True. Solidarity is not lacking here.
«It is not lacking and improves the quality of life. Trust me, especially at a certain age, it’s nice that there is always someone ready to give you the thermometer ».