(#043) My Home Town

The Honesty of a Small City

⏱️ 1 min read, 4 min video

For someone who often feels stifled in Milan—by its provincialism, and by how far it still lags behind the world’s great urban centers—L’Aquila is an unlikely place to admire.

It’s a town you can walk end to end in under an hour. The weather is bright, the air clean, the people warm. Jobs are simple and straightforward—shopkeeper, teacher, mechanic, pub host. The food is delicious. There’s a serious specialty coffee bar (something Milan can barely claim), a vintage print shop, Michelin-listed restaurants, an award-winning bakery that rivals Davide Longoni’s, and even a Sazerac worthy of the Mandarin Oriental in London. After years of reconstruction, the city itself looks like something painted into existence.

But none of these is the real reason I’ve come to respect the place. (I can find all of these elsewhere.)

What I find beautiful is its honesty.

No one here pretends to be more than they are. (And, if you’re lucky, you’ll meet people so tuned in you’d struggle to find their equal even in the largest of metropolises. I am lucky enough to know one myself.)

They know they live lives of remarkable quality, and that this comes in a less glamorous package. Fewer glimmering lights. Fewer sci-fi dreams straight out of a Nathan Never comic. All things I loved during my years in Asia, and still miss tremendously (Tokyo remains my number one choice).

But here, people understand their privilege. They may not enjoy every conveniences or wonder the world has to offer, but that’s precisely why they can focus on what matters.

I’m glad I had the chance to capture a fleeting golden hour in this city.

Enjoy the video. (And forgive the occasional disastrous white balance and exposure mistakes.)

L.F