Japan In Architecture @MAM

My trips to the city center have become rare and often motivated by a specific, planned occasion.

One of such occasions, recently, was to go to the ever favorite Mori Art Museum in Roppongi district for yet another wonderfully organized exhibition titled "Japan in architecture: genealogies of its transformation".

The exhibition marks the 15th year of the museum activities, and the curators well thought of celebrating Japanese architecture and the giant architects behind all the works shown.
As usual, the quality of MAM exhibitions is overall great; but...this time the rules imposed pretty much no photographing. This when all we saw in the museum were photographs or scale reproductions of the actual buildings...I don't get it. I was even stopped when I was taking a photo of the introductory explanation text! The text!!

Anyway.

The exhibition was subdivided into 9 sections, which all see one facet or one use of architecture.

The first section highlighted the architectural versatility of wood: the exquisite and expert technique of building timber structures via locking (no nails whatsoever), the added environmental value of wood, the many uses of wood, from just support to whole buildings, temple gates, and so on. What I liked in particular of this section was the creation of modern structures inspired by the strength of wood like the Tokyo Sky Tree: its design was based on the same engineering that makes 5-storied wooden pagodas in temples survive earthquake after earthquake, thanks to a structure developed around a central pole as a support.

Next followed a section on the transcendence of buildings and on the importance of roof building. All works shown in these sections highlighted the aesthetics and at the same time the utility of buildings, either wood or concrete. in particular, there are examples of how roofs, as a symbol of both protection and harmony (the layer between inside and outside) have been a constant inspiration for modern architects as well (like the splendid reinterpretation of the roof in the gymnasium built for the 1968 olympics).

Another section highlighted the somewhat modular look of many Japanese buildings, due to the joining of several "crafts" (as architectural components) together to form an architecture. Examples of works in this section are the Louis Vuitton shop in Ginza, where a tiled outer shell covers the building walls to form an artsy facade (without visible joining of all the parts), or the Japanese pavilion designed for the Hannover Expo in year 2000, an intriguing combination of layers to form a resistant but light structure that could later be dismantled and disposed of without a big impact on costs and environment. Nice ideas. And really stylish. Modularity and crafting arts have another merit as they make the basis of the metabolism current, which I also had the luck of seeing organized into another fantastic exhibition (HERE).

Something that, in my opinion, very much defines Japanese culture is shown in the section about linked spaces: how beautifully can houses and buildings be built without separations, such as the sliding walls of the imperial villa in Katsura, for instance, or the very house of one of the giant Japanese architects Tange Kenzo (whose works are featured throughout the exhibition, like the stadium mentioned above).

Another section brings the visitors into the architecture with and for community (community being another Japanese favorite): spaces designed for groups of people living and working in open spaces; these same communal spaces could be employed as future nursing homes for the growing elderly population or in cases of disasters.

Also, Japan has been an inspiration for architects worldwide, as Lioyd Wright could perfectly prove; on the other hand, Japanese architects have been active outside of Japan. A part of the exhibition is dedicated to these works and these architects, examples of which are the Les Cols Pavellons by RCR architects, the Imperial hotel built in the 20's by Lioyd Wright, The Rockfeller House and many more.

A very nice section grouped then all architectural interventions that blended with nature, and that doesn't just include wooden buildings or structures created using other natural resources (architecture is made of nature, in this sense). Japanese architects have been experimenting a lot in this area, creating buildings carved out of the ground, putting buildings underground in order to protect them or not to spoil the surroundings, designing buildings floating in water (the chapel on the water by Ando, or the Itsukushima shrine), growing grass on their roofs, using space acoustics to enhance nature's sounds (like in the Japanese Teshima and Naoshima art islands).

Though this exhibition I could appreciate and re-appreciate even more the numerous works of the world’s architectural gurus, in particular the Japanese ones, the big names like Tange, Ando, Kuma and so on. Everyone into this topic will surely know who and what I mean. These people were and are ahead of their times, they think outside the box, so to speak, and are capable of giving a soul to whatever they put their attention on.

Digital media too were shown. In particular, a video that showed the relative sizes and proportions of people and objects in real places, and an app that allowed anyone to design and visualize their own building. Not sure about the minimum level of architectural or interior design knowledge required, but the idea is nice nonetheless.

There were also alternative forms of architecture featured in the exhibition. One guy known as the "Gaudi of Mita" decided to build his own peculiar house (Arimasuton building) following his own concrete mixing technique that promises to make the building last for hundreds of years, and experimenting new designs. The house, which is taking something over a decade already, is not going to be completed any time soon. I must go and see with these very eyes one day.

And, very much fitting the exhibition theme, a visit to the museum can't but finish with a round of the observation deck just below the museum, so to take the expanse of Tokyo's modern urban jungle in.

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Le mie capatine in centro città si sono fatte rare e spesso motivate da una specifica occasione.

Una di queste occasioni e’ stata di andare al mio museo preferito, il Mori Art Museum nel quartiere di Roppongi, per un altra mostra fantastica sull’architettura in Giappone e la sua trasformazione.

La mostra, tra le altre cose, marca il 15 anniversario del museo, e i curatori hanno ben pensato di celebrare l’architettura giapponese e i grandi architetti dietro alle opere in mostra. Come sempre, la qualità delle mostre a questo museo e’ ottima; e pero’…stavolta le regole sulle fotografie erano proprio serratissime, praticamente no foto. E questo quando tutte le opere esposte sono o riproduzioni di edifici oppure foto maxi….dico, non mi era permesso neanche fotografare i pannelli con il testo esplicativo! Dico, una didascalia!

Comunque.

La mostra e’ suddivisa in 9 sezioni, ognuna delle quali sottolinea un aspetto dell’architettura.

Una prima sezione riguardava la versatilità del legno: le tecniche eccellenti delle costruzioni a incastro (neanche un chiodo uno!), il valore ambientale del legno, l’uso come supporto o come materiale da costruzione per edifici, eccetera. Mi e’ piaciuto in particolare il processo di creazione di opere moderne ispirate alla resistenza del legno come l’esempio della Tokyo Sky Tree: il progetto e’ infatti basato sul sistema che rende le pagode dei templi resistenti ai terremoti per centinaia di anni, grazie allo sviluppo della torre attorno a un palo di sostegno centrale.

A seguire, un paio di sezioni riguardanti l’estetica degli edifici e allo stesso tempo la loro utilità, come anche l’importanza delle coperture come simbolo sia di protezione che di armonia tra il fuori e il dentro, che raggiunge i giorni nostri (con la splendida reinterpretazione del tetto dello stadio per le olimpiadi del 1968).

Una sezione era dedicata alla modularita che molti edifici in Giappone sembrano avere, grazie all’utilizzo dell’artigianato come elemento architettonico. Esempi di questi interventi sono la facciata del negozio di Louis Vuitton a Ginza, ricoperta da un guscio fatto di piastre a incastro che creano un effetto artistico, oppure il padiglione progettato per la Expo di Hannover nel 2000, una combinazione di vai strati modulari volta a formare una struttura leggera ma resistente e allo stesso tempo facile da smantellare, senza impatto sull’ambiente. Belle idee. E molto di stile. La modularita e l’arte hanno poi un altro merito in quanto formano la base della corrente del metabolismo, che ho anche avuto la fortuna di vedere in un’altra fantastica mostra (QUI).

Una cosa che secondo me inquadra perfettamente la cultura giapponese e’ trattata in una nuova sezione riguardo la comunicazione degli spazi: edifici e ambienti possono essere progettati e costruiti senza separazioni, tra cui la villa imperiale e le sue pareti a scomparsa, o anche la casa di residenza di uno dei grandi dell’architettura Giapponese Tange Kenzo (le cui opere punteggiano la mostra, come lo stadio sopracitato).

Una sezione della mostra porta i visitatori nella sfera dell’architettura per la comunità (essendo il concetto di comunità caro ai giapponesi): spazi progettati per gruppi di persone che vivono e lavorano in spazi comuni; questi stessi spazi hanno poi il potenziale di poter essere usati come case di riposo per la popolazione di anziani in aumento, o nel caso di calamita’.

Poi, il Giappone e’ sempre stato un ispirazione per tutti gli architetti nel mondo, come ne e’ stato la prova vivente Lloyd Wright; d’altro canto, gli architetti giapponesi sono stati attivi al di fuori del Giappone. Una parte della mostra e’ proprio dedicata a queste opere e questi architetti, esempi dei quali sono la casa Les Cols Pavellons di RCR architetti, l’imperial hotel a Tokyo costruito proprio dal sopracitato Lloyd Wright negli anni 20, la casa Rockefeller, eccetera.

A seguire una bella sezione raggruppava tutti gli interventi architettonici che si fondono con la natura, e non ci limitiamo agli edifici in legno o materiali naturali (in questo senso l’architettura e’ natura). Gli architetti giapponesi hanno sperimentato tantissimo in questa sfera, scavando edifici sotterranei, costruendo edifici seminterrati per protezione o per non rovinare la vista circostante, creando edifici a pelo sull’acqua (come la chiesa galleggiante di Ando, o il tempio di Itsukushima), mettendo erba sui tetti, sfruttare l’acustica di uno spazio per far risuonare meglio la natura intorno (come a Naoshima e Teshima, le isole d’arte giapponesi).

Con questa mostra ho riscoperto e riapprezzato le tantissime opere dei guru dell’architettura mondiale, in particolare i grandi giapponesi come Tange, Ando, Kuma, eccetera. Chiunque sia appassionato sa di chi e di cosa sto parlando. Questi individui erano e sono avanti, pensano fuori dagli schemi e sono capaci di dare vita a qualsiasi cosa decidano di dedicarsi.

C’erano anche opere digitali. In particolare, un video che rapportava le dimensioni di oggetti e persone relativamente all’ambiente circostante, e una app che permetteva di progettare la propria casa. Non so che livello minimo di conoscenza architettonica bisogna avere, ma in ogni caso l’idea non e’ male.

C’erano anche interessanti e alternative forme di architettura che hanno guadagnato un posticino nella mostra. Un tipo, noto qui a Tokyo come il “Gaudi’ di Mita” ha ben pensato di costruire la sua molto unica casa (chiamata Arimasuton), seguendo una tecnica di asciugatura del cemento di sua ideazione che, pare, dura centenni. La casa e’ ancora in costruzione, e anche dopo più di un decennio, non sembra essere vicina a completamento. Mi sa che devo andare a vedere coi miei occhi uno di questi giorni.

E, cosa molto attinente al tema della mostra,una visita al museo non può che finire con un giro dell’osservatorio e rendersi conto dell’estensione della moderna giungla urbana che e’ Tokyo.

There's a new Doctor in town

I confess I am rather reluctant to share posts when it comes to tell about my daily life at work…but that’s only because I don’t think it’s so interesting. Besides, it is science. And as I am not a science communicator -you know, one of those who can explain about genetic drifts and neural networks as if they were talking cake baking- you convene that trying to convey complex concepts via a simple message is just not happening.

I once tried to explain what it is that people like me -bioinformaticians- do, with little success IMO (here).

Anyway.

I have been working in the life sciences field for over a decade now, doing research on human and other species genomes, trying to understand what they are made of and what all those parts do. Some 5 years ago, I embarked on a new adventure: a PhD while continuing working as a researcher. I have not mentioned much of it, neither have I elucidated its highs and its lows, maybe except for in this post.

The place where I work is a research institute. We have a nice (-ish) campus in a crappy industrial area of town. In the campus there is a graduate school for students to learn the basics of life sciences. Now, this graduate school offers PhD programs to workers: it gives the possibility to employees in my research institute seeking education and career advancement to obtain a PhD degree while working full time. The thing is called “Paper Doctor”, meaning the pursuit (claim, kind of) of a doctoral degree by publication of scientific work.

The advantages of such an option are several: one can keep working full time (earning a full salary), no university fees have to be paid, no courses to be taken. Sounds the perfect deal, right?

The requirements to apply for joining such a program, however, are rather strict: the applicant must be a published first author of THREE scientific articles. All articles must be already accepted for publication or there’s not application procedure. This means that if anyone wants to think about getting a PhD degree this way, it may well be 5 to 10 years, depending on projects, luck, supervision and such. And that’s just to be eligible to apply for doctoral degree. After that there are exams, and thesis and the whole shebang.

Now, five years after I decided to undertake that path, I am thankful for whatever and whomever made me go through it, of course, but…I will not do it again could I go back.

In a nutshell, my experience was not like walking through a flowery meadow, but I am sure ALL other PhD students did, do and will share the same feeling.

Initially, requirements for course PhD student and external PhD applicants were same, that is publication of ONE scientific article. It all sounded indeed very doable. I was already working on a project that could be used just for that purpose, so why not. Too bad that the paper took 6 rejections, three years and one nervous breakdown till publication. I did consider quitting, and honestly I don’t know what made me continue.

Meanwhile, the university well thought to modify the requirements, so that THREE published articles were needed, while course students still stick to one. And it’s not just ANY three publications: they have to be original research. That really bummed me, because by then I could add one more publication to my growing list. Only, it wasn’t original research.

Back then they said it would only take me max 2 years to finish the program…On the fourth year, after putting myself together and changing projects three times, I was finally granted the possibility to work on two projects I liked and knew I could finish in record time. The planets seemed to have aligned eventually, because within the year not only I completed what I set out to complete, but increased my published works count by 4, reaching double the minimum papers required.

The fun, though, had just started. I mean, it was not fun:

-It was not clear whether I needed to prepare a thesis, but I should write some consistent story that links my publications anyway to evaluate the level of English proficiency. Apparently writing all those papers was not enough. In the end I didn’t have to, because, eh, those rules were for the “new” paper doctor application but were “old” rules….sorry for the confusion rah rah rah. Yeah, paperwork level: Japan.

-It was not clear whether I had to defend all the publications I submitted for the application. This because it was still not clear whether that “thesis” happened at all. In the end I had to pick one out of those publications and stick to it for all the rounds of examination and final defense.

-It was not clear whether I was done. I eventually defended, yes, but I didn’t know the decision right at that moment. Guess what: I had to take a written test (“academic proficiency”) that was forgotten until the last moment. After that I still had to wait for a final official response until all professors discussed all applicants (in-course and external).

All the steps from PhD degree application to completion took about 6 months. In the end I was spared the thesis writing part, as, in fact, I do not have one: my PhD thesis is the printout of the paper publication I used for my exam. I guess all other phD students will hate me, as I know how tough is to put those 100-300 pages together, depending on degree.

Still, while I did not yet know what the latest rules were, I did write about 50 pages, more or less in one go, summarising all my works and putting them into perspective. All that will be only for my own sake (or my family’s sake more likely) I guess.

I did not really celebrate the graduation…First, I didn’t have the satisfaction of saying “I’m done” after the defence (which, BTW, it usually is the LAST step), so I could not sit down and relax. Second there was no graduation ceremony for me, so I didn’t have the feeling of closure. Third, by the time I was officially declared doctor (no, not dead but was close) so much time had passed that the realisation I had accomplished something simply wore off.

Wait. I actually did organise a small party at work, just to give bosses and colleagues a reason to have a drink. One month after my defence. Go figure.

But hey I can be addressed to as “Doctor” now.
End of ordeal: March 2018.

With the super duper fantastic supervisor and strongest supporter

Kazan is fun

I set foot in Russia for the first time thanks to a participation to an international conference in the city of Kazan, as I mentioned earlier.

Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan state, so it has nothing to do with Kazakistan (this is what every person in Kazan will say to you). Kazan sits by the Volga river, the longest and larges river in Europe, and because of that this city was, in the past, important for the empire expansion and wealth: one could reach the Caspian sea and consequently the south and the east, and conquering it created trade and commerce routes, not to mention mobility or modern river cruise tourism. Most of the largest and most developed Russian cities are in facts by the Volga river.

The population is of turkish, bulgar, russian and middle-eastern descent, which means the state is rich in culture, history, food traditions and religion. Indeed, I tried stuff like Turkish baklava, or Georgian pizza and dumplings, for example. Also, Kazan has as many mosques as it has churches. This is because the population is split roughly into two in terms of religious beliefs. So, as the city is tolerant of all religions, there’s plenty of worshipping places around town. There even is a building, owned by a private citizen, that is known as the “temple of all religions”, and is a mishmash of architectural elements from bizantine, muslim and orthodox and more 20-ish other religions. Its owner’s idea was to simply give a place to people for celebrating unity.

I could spend some time walking around the main attractions in the city center, thanks to the fact that the hotel where I was staying was right in the middle of it. A very long pedestrian road, called Bauman street, stretched for a couple fo kilometers within the old city center, and stands as a great example of imperial era architecture. I couldn’t but stop by each and every building, staring with awe at each and every detail. Even the building where the conference I attended was held, belonging to the federal university and not even the main one, was impressive. The main university building itself, instead, is a fine example of early 1800 architecture, and is listed in all sightseeing tours of Kazan not only because of the artistic and educational relevance, but also because it had Lenin among its students (he dropped out, though).

I decided to join a sightseeing tour, together with other conference participants, that took us around the main city landmarks and also outside, to an island in the Volga river called Sviyazhsk, an unesco site.

To reach the island, connected to mainland by a bridge, we had to leave the city center and that gave us a chance to see life outside of the wealthier neighborhoods. Slowly, the historical monuments and buildings were replaced by more “modern”, Stalin-era apartment buildings, then small villages and forest. Quite a sight.

The island was once a strategic post and a fortress for the tsar Ivan the terrible to conquer Kazan and expand his empire. The history about this island was fascinating. It is said, in fact, that all buildings in the island were built in 4 days, thanks to a clever strategy: first wood buildings were built in the place of origin, and the wood sequentially marked; the buildings were then dismantled, and sent to the island via the river and rebuilt in site following the markings (visible even nowadays). Sviyashsk prospered while the tsar’s army was there, with the building of protection walls, churches, a monastery and what not; but it was later abandoned, with only a handful of monks living there. Then the site was restored and opened for tourists as it received the unesco certificate.

Another unesco site of Kazan is right in its center: the Kremlin. Built on top of a hill and facing the river, today’s governor workplace/office is surrounded by walls and turrets, like any typical fortress from a few centuries ago. Inside the perimeter of the wall are several buildings from year 1500 that stand as memory of the former citadel conquered by the tsar Ivan, like the Soyembika tower, leaning on one side and pretty much the symbol of the city, the cannon foundry, the cadet school and the Annunciation cathedral (the orthodox main church, completely covered in gold inside), and the Kul Sharif mosque, that was built only in modern days in the place of the former mosque, said to be the biggest around. Going inside the mosque women had to cover their heads; to enter the cathedral (and all orthodox churches) women had to cover their heads AND their legs (if wearing pants or skirts too short, go figure). Today other offices and a couple of museums are in the kremlin as well. All these buildings are illuminated at night, offering a great picture night view from the riverside below. There is a panoramic viewpoint inside the kremlin, too, allowing to see the wealthy neighborhood, some amazing classic buildings, like the agriculture ministry (lit green at night), the river all the way to the other side, and other notorious buildings. 

Thanks to the endless source of information the tour guide proved to be, I learned also that Kazan is among the most prosperous cities in Ruissa, due to the many development and redevelopment works. Because of the thousandth anniversary of the city, and the university olympics a decade ago, Kazan now boasts dozens of sports centers, stadiums, amusement parks, roads and the like, all of them functional -a matter of pride for the people and the town, as we often witness the state of abandon of all those buildings after the games are over…

More is being built for the upcoming world cup, played in 12 different Russian cities, among which is Kazan.

Sadly, English is not as widely spoken as I’d hoped, except of the young generations, and there are no signs in languages other than russian, except for the airport (even in there, most workers did’t speak english). By far everyone was friendly and welcoming in their own way, which compensated for the lack of foreign language support. 

I don’t think I can describe more with words. Kazan was a great surprise, a crossroads of populations, cultures, religions, rich in natural resources and with a very interesting history made of wins and losses over the centuries.

So I stop here and leave you with some pictures.

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Come accennato precedentemente, ho visitato il suolo russo per la prima volta per una conferenza che si e’ tenuta nella città di Kazan. 

Kazan e’ la capitale del Tatarstan, e non ha niente a che fare con il Kazakistan (e tutti vi diranno questa stessa cosa). Si sviluppa lungo il fiume Volga, il più lungo e largo in Europa, ed e’ proprio per la sua collocazione che la città era importante per l’espansione e la ricchezza dell’impero: da li si può raggiungere il mar Caspio, e quindi l’oriente e il sud, e perciò conquistando la città si poteva sviluppare il commercio e gli scambi, per non parlare della mobilita, e delle moderne crociere a scopo turistico. La maggior parte delle grandi città russe, infatti, sorge proprio lungo questo fiume.

La popolazione e’ un misto di popolazioni turche, bulgare, russe e medio-orientali, il che rende lo stato ricco di cultura, storia, tradizioni, cucina e religioni. E infatti ho assaggiato robe tipo baklava (dalla Turchia) e tortelli georgiani, per esempio. Un altra cosa interessante e’ che Kazan ha tante moschee quante chiese. E questo perché fondamentalmente la popolazione e’ meta’ cristiano ortodossa e meta’ musulmana, e essendo la politica molto tollerante, ci sono tantissimi siti religiosi per tutti.  C’e’ addirittura un posto appartenente a un artista eccentrico che e’ noto col nome di “tempio delle religioni” proprio perché e’ una accozzaglia di elementi presi da circa una ventina di religioni. In pratica, il proprietario voleva semplicemente fornire un posto per celebrare l’unita.

Ho potuto dedicare del tempo a esplorare il centro, visto che l’hotel dove stavo era proprio in centro, affacciato su una strada pedonale chiamata Bauman che si allunga in entrambe le direzioni e rappresenta grandiosamente l’architettura del periodo imperiale. Mi soffermavo praticamente davanti a ogni palazzo e stavo ad ammirare rapita. L’edificio stesso in cui si teneva la conferenza, che appartiene all’università e non era neanche il principale, era incredibile. Invece il palazzo centrale dell’università e’ un esempio di fine architettura del 1800, e si trova in ogni guida turistica della città, non solo per il suo valore artistico ma anche per il suo valore storico, visto che annovera tra i suoi studenti anche Lenin (che pero’ non ha mai completato).

Ho poi anche deciso di partecipare a un giro turistico assieme ad altri partecipanti alla conferenza. Siamo passati sia davanti a molti siti rilevanti in centro, sia fuori, e siamo poi andati a vedere un’isola nel Volga che si chiama Sviyazhsk, un sito unesco.

Per arrivare all’isola, che e’ collegata alla terraferma da un ponte, abbiamo attraversato il centro storico, per poi osservare lo stile di vita delle aree meno benestanti. Pian piano i palazzi e monumenti storici hanno lasciato il posto a edifici più “moderni” dell’era staliniana, e poi villaggi e poi ancora foreste.

L’isola costituiva un tempo una roccaforte strategica per lo zar Ivan il terribile da cui poter conquistare Kazan e espandere l’impero. La storia di quest’isola ha dell’affascinante. Pare che tutti gli edifici nell’isola furono costruiti in soli 4 giorni, grazie a una strategia geniale: prima tutto era stato costituito in legno in sede, e poi marcato in sequenza; dopo gli edifici furono smantellati e il legno fu inviato all’isola via fiume; dopo di che, seguendo l’ordine di assemblaggio pre-marcato (che e’ ancora visibile oggi), tutto fu ricostruito senza intoppi. Sviyazhsk fu una prospera cittadella, provvista di mura di cinta, chiese, un monastero, eccetera. Pero’ poi fu quasi abbandonata del tutto fino al decennio scorso quando e’ stata rinnovata e aperta ai turisti, oltre che aver ricevuto il certificato dell’unesco.

Comunque, un altro sito unesco di Kazan si trova proprio in centro città: il cremlino. Costruito in cima a una collina e dirimpetto al fiume, l’ufficio del governatore attuale si trova li’, circondato da mura di cinta e torri. All’interno del perimetro si trovano diversi edifici risalenti dal 1500 in poi che riprendono il modello della cittadella originale conquistata dallo zar Ivan, come ad esempio la torre Soyembika, che pende da un lato come la torre di Pisa, la fonderia di cannoni, la scuola di cadetti, e la cattedrale dell’annunciazione (dove dentro e’ tutto rivestito in oro), assieme alla moschea Kul Sharif, che e’ stata costruita in tempi recenti ma che si trova sul sito della moschea più vecchia e originale che pare fosse la più grande mai costruita. Per andare dentro alla moschea le donne dovevano coprire il capo, mentre per entrare nella cattedrale (e ogni chiesa ortodossa) le donne non solo devono coprire il capo ma anche le gambe (nel caso in cui portano i pantaloni, vai a capire). Poi, sempre dentro il cremlino, ci sono anche altri uffici e musei. Tutti gli edifici sono illuminati la sera, offrendo una bellissima vista dal fiume. Anche dall’interno del cremlino c’e’ una terrazza panoramica dia cui si possono osservare i palazzi dei quartieri più ricchi, o anche altri edifici spettacolari del rinascimento, come il ministero dell’agricoltura (la cui cupola e’ illuminata a verde la sera), i due lati del fiume e altri edifici noti. 

Grazie all’inesauribile fonte di informazioni che era la guida, ho anche imparato che Kazan e’ tra le città più prospere in Russia, grazie a tantissimi lavori di ripresa e ristrutturazione. A causa dell’avvento dei festeggiamenti del millennio della città, e anche delle universiadi, oggigiorno Kazan vanta decine di impianti sportivi, stadi, parchi divertimento, strade eccetera, tutti attivi e in buone condizioni -per la gioia dei cittadini che non vedono le opere andare perdute come spesso invece capita dopo le olimpiadi…

Ora, visto che la coppa del mondo di calcio e’ imminente, ci sono molti lavori in corso in giro.

Purtroppo, ho notato con dispiacere che l’inglese non e’ cosi parlato come speravo, anche per le indicazioni urbane e segnaletica si vede solo russo. Tuttavia, tutti sono stati gentili e cortesi, a loro modo, che ha un po’ compensato per la carenza linguistica.

Non credo di poter descrivere meglio a parole questa visita in Kazan. DI sicuro la città e’ stata una bellissima sorpresa, un crocevia di popoli, culture, religioni, ricca in risorse naturali e con una storia interessantissima fatta di vittorie e sconfitte nei secoli.

Va beh, mi fermo e vi lascio a qualche foto.