Five years ago, Enrico Durazzo
opened a shop called "NapoliMania". By now, the
enterprise has grown into a chain of eight shops
throughout the city, more than 30 in the entire Campania
region, one in Rome and one in Milan. They are what we
might call "novelty shops"—t-shirts, beverage mugs,
coasters, pictures, and assorted gizmos and—as Italians
now say in imported English—"gadgets". (Friends are
always asking me for a precise distinction between
"gizmo," "gadget," "thingamajig," and
"whatchamacallit". Who am I, Thomas Aquinas?)
Everything in the shop has
to do with Naples: the t-shirts are emblazoned with
slogans or proverbs written in Neapolitan dialect; there
are pictures of Vesuvius and models of Pulcinella, etc. There is even
an "Emergency Kit" for Neapolitans when they travel; the
kit includes a sealed can of Neapolitan air and a small
Neapolitan coffee machine replete with instructions from
the great playwright, Eduardo De
Filippo, on how to prepare the only cup of coffee
worth drinking. This is important, because when you get as
far north as, say, Rome, Lord knows you sure can't drink
that swill they make up there.
NapoliMania capitalizes on the abundance of well-known Neapolitans in show business. There is a painting that reproduces the main facade of the Royal Palace. In the 1880s the facade was adorned with eight statues depicting the first monarch of each dynasty that has ruled Naples since the 12th century, from Roger the Norman to the first king of united Italy, Victor Emmanuel II. The NapoliMania rendition has superimposed the heads of Totò, Eduardo De Filippo, Massimo Troisi, and others on the statues. The row includes Diego Maradona, an Argentine, but, for all practical purposes, as Neapolitan as they come, since it was he who led the powerhouse Naples soccer team of the 1980s.
Along that line is,
perhaps, their most popular item: Leonardo's The
Last Supper with Neapolitan celebrities at the
table. At the center, in place of Christ, is Sophia
Loren. (I have not inquired of the artist—Durazzo,
himself—why he made that particular choice, nor have I
asked Sophia how she feels about the honor.) It is more
intriguing to see who is cast in the role of Judas.
Traditionally, Judas is thought to be fourth from the
left in Leonardo's painting. In the NapoliMania version,
that person is standing in back of the table, facing to
his left. It is actor Carlo Giuffrè. (Again, I haven't
asked.) The others are comic Totò,
three members of the theatrical family of De Filippo
(brothers Eduardo and Peppino, as well as Eduardo's
son Luca), Vittorio De Sica, comic Massimo Troisi, contemporary
singer-songwriter Pino
Daniele, actor Nino Taranto and singer Massimo Ranieri. Two of
the twelve disciples are the Neapolitan mask figure, Pulcinella, and the
traditional figure of the Neapolitan street-crier, the Pazzariello, the
character dressed in mock military garb who, until well
into the 20th century, used to parade around the streets
shouting out advertising for shops and services. Sophia
Loren is the only woman in the painting.
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