04-03-2018
Arrigo Cipriani on the stage of the Auditorium with Paolo Marchi, Raffaele and Massimiliano Alajmo (photo Brambilla-Serrani)
The first exam in Law ended with a not very promising C. And good it did. Human kind lost a lawyer, but got Arrigo Cipriani instead. And it was so much better! During edition number 14, dedicated to the Human Factor, the patron at Harry’s bar in Venice received a homage from Identità golose. It was handed by Raffaele Alajmo, who often visits the place where Giuseppe Cipriani invented Bellini, Carpaccio and Arrigo. The establishment was founded in 1931, and Cipriani Jr was named after it, when he was born one year later.
«People ask me what’s the secret», he explained, his back as straight as a trunk, his sagacity finely wrapped in a pure silk pocket square. «On the 25th April 1945 I was in front of Canal Grande. I watched the amphibious vehicles of the Alleys arriving. They had confiscated Harry’s. I was a 13-year-old kid and felt freedom bursting in my heart. This memory has always been a part of my life».
A journey in history and anecdotes: a chat between Arrigo Cipriani and Raffaele Alajmo
Paolo Marchi teases him: «So what did you think when the Alajmos got rid of tablecloths?». Cipriani: «That they had saved 160000 euros per year». The audience roared with laughter.
Chastising mottos, historic and literature anecdotes. Harry’s bar means Hemingway. De André. Paolo Conte. All public figures, big and small, have been here, enjoying Il Lusso della Semplicità [the Luxury of simplicity, the title of one of the many books by Cipriani junior]. That is to say the soul of a place where «those who call to book a table will just hear: Harry’s, that’s it. No robotic, homologating and fake courteous formulas such as: Harry’s bar, how may I help you?».
Everyone in the audience in the Auditorium enjoyed and cheered the man who created a myth of Harry's bar in Venice
Cipriani: «Indeed. We’d never put liquorice in the risotto». Laughter, on the stage and in the audience. And cheers. What a pity, had Arrigo Cipriani become a lawyer. What a pity that some speeches are never long enough. Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
Tutto sull’edizione 2018 di Identità Golose, a Milano da sabato 3 a lunedì 5 marzo. Il tema della quattordicesima edizione sarà “Il fattore umano”
by
A journalist by profession, curious by vocation, she applies her attitude to investigative reports and food features. She's author for Repubblica, Gambero Rosso, Dispensa