European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 20, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A smiling italian gestures with his hands As he enjoys a joke with two companions. A amps file the real Italy is in the eyes of its people by James Endrst the Hartford courant when i picture Tuscany i see faces. The buildings the monuments of course Are there. But the people Are in the foreground. In years to come my memories of the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio in Florence the vineyards of Chianti country the walled City of Lucca will look like everyone else s a reduced to Beautiful but Flat postcard images. It s the people that give a City life. People like Livi the concierge at the hotel Monna Lisa in Florence. A Man of modest height and Middle age he was sitting at the front desk the afternoon my wife and i arrived in the City. He wore a Mustache a sly smile and like everyone else in Italy it seemed was smoking a cigarette. We were still reeling from the bumpy trans Atlantic flight and our first dose of culture Shock when we checked in using a Berlitz crash course in traveler s italian. Livi appraised us with a calculating squint befitting the hotel an old world fixture at 27 Borgo Pinti just a Block or two from the very Hub of the italian Renaissance a the Duomo. The hotel came highly recommended by guidebooks and friends. And looking around at the charming sitting rooms intimate courtyards and tangible bits of history decorating the place it appeared Well Worth the splurge Price even by italian standards of $200 a night. Until that is we saw our room. It was a cramped Little Box. Not the room with a View we d imagined. On the narrow Street below us motorbikes roared incessantly. Fumes and Street conversation filled the air. We turned to Livi for salvation. Rolling his eyes he informed us it was High season we thought it being october quite the opposite was True and that nothing else would be available that night. The next morning on our Way Down to what would be our usual hotel breakfast of fresh baked bread Jam cheese Salami and the first of Many Strong cups of espresso Livi announced that he had moved us to another room. This one was on the ground floor facing a Small Little travelled courtyard. Bigger far More interesting and inviting it was also blissfully peaceful. We loved it. Relieved we thanked him profusely. Twirling his cigarette Between his fingers Livi smiled broadly took a Long satisfied puff and in a grand Gravelly voice said Quot sometimes you have to go through hell before you get to  a few nights later a waiter at cargo a Small stylish and All around splendid restaurant on via Del Moro in Florence made a similar lasting impression. Young handsome his Blond hair tied Back into a haphazard Ponytail he seemed in As much demand As anything on the menu a veal smothered in porcini mushrooms a risotto magically infused with pungent cheese and accented with asparagus a Feather Light Ricotta cheesecake. But More than the meal a which amounted to a culinary Epiphany a i remember the mood the Energy and enthusiasm of the diners the glow that seemed to come from All that wonderful food and wine. And in the Center of it All our waiter. By the time our All too Short three hour dinner Drew to a close he was like an old Friend. So i jokingly asked him Why an attractive Young woman nearby had received two cheesecakes a both topped with fresh berries a when i d Only received one delicious but unadorned. With a dramatic flourish he took her face in his hands turned it toward me and replied Quot look at this face Quot but it was at Belvedere a 300-year-old Villa some 15 Miles Southeast of Florence that i discovered Italy in the face and soul of an 85-year-old Man named Eugenio Signorini. With his wife Maria Renata Alamanno Signorini is the proprietor caretaker of the Villa that sits at the end of a heart stopping ride of Steep hairpin turns that wind above Castelfranco Disopra. We had been warned that going to Belvedere a a former Medici summer Home a would pose one Small problem. Quot you have to pack a Bunch of extra hankies Quot said our rental agent Daniel Morneau Quot because the Signorini Are such wonderful people you la just cry like a baby when you have to  the afternoon we arrived at Belvedere a 40-acre property of terraced vineyards and stunning panoramic views Signorini was sitting near the Small closet of a shop where table wines oils honeys and jams produced at Belvedere Are sold. Having heard so much about my Host i asked Emili Giano the Signorini assistant and a linguistics student to introduce me to Signorini. A Dapper Little Man with a fondness for scots berets and a i soon discovered a conversation Signorini was watching the Sun go Down. I realized later he relished such meetings. He was animated interested with an impish wit. We began to talk at length in English with some help from Emili Giano about anything and everything. I told him i was a writer and he told me that Alice Walker had spent time writing at Belvedere. He asked me if i was familiar with the works of Pirandello and we talked about six characters in search of an author the Only play i d Ever read by the italian playwright. We talked about Art International politics culture. We stayed a week at Belvedere. It rained on and off for at least four of those Days. Quot the Sun it will arrive Quot promised our Host. It did to but that just gave Signorini and me More time to talk. We took several Day trips from Belvedere to Siena Radda in Chianti san Gimignani and nearby Loro Ciuffe a. Still much of what stands out in my mind comes Back to Signorini a How he told my wife that the curls in her hair reminded him of a Fra Angelico painting or interrupting one of our Many chats How he reached into my own locks to free a Butterfly. And what it was like when it came time to leave. Signorini and i finally ran out of things to say. Handing me a present of two bottles of Belvedere wine he said he hoped i would return next year. Quot i m an old Man Quot he reminded me and said he was t sure he would live Long enough to Greet me again. He kissed me on one Cheek and then the other. Quot now go Quot he said. Daniel Morneau was right. I cried. But As i walked away and turned to look Back at Signorini i saw i was t alone. 24 stripes Magazine february 20, 1992 a