Pedestrian plazas

The most inviting spot in Pordenone was the huge square, shown in several photos I’ve already posted. The place is closed to vehicular traffic and offers instead a beautiful shopping area lined with stores offering a mixture of expensive fashions, gellato, household items and, best of all, several outdoor cafe/bars. My brother Gideon and I agreed that this blissful combination could never be achieved in Greenwich, even if we had the 15th century architecture to match Pordenone’s because of our Puritanical attitudes.

No, this isn’t leading up to a defense of Roman Polanski, but the Italians are just so much more relaxed than we are. For instance, the cafes offer both alcohol and coffee, and are all close to one another. In Greenwich, we require a 1,000 foot (?) minimum distance between liquor licenses in case, God forbid, too many people might gather to enjoy themselves. And, while I haven’t checked, I suspect that we have some rule forbidding children to be in such close proximity to booze.

Outside tables? Greenwich seems to do everything it can to ban them. Smoking? I’m a sinner and brother Gideon is known to indulge in the occasional cigar. In Italy, one can light up at a cafe and not worry that some lycra-clad anorexic will start coughing and gasping for air or grab her bambinos and hurry them away. I am no longer a member there, but I understand that the Riverside Yacht Club has banned smoking even outdoors and this rule is enforced by obnoxious little peckerwoods who confront their fellow members and declaim their inalienable right to never ever have to tolerate anything they find offensive or annoying. They’d be laughed at in Italy – they’re admired here in the land of the once-free.

So cars banned from entire blocks, enough bicycles to meet even Franklin Bloomer’s approval, beautiful women, tolerant people and good conversation. As I said, that will never be duplicated here. Too bad.