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Teatro degli Artigianelli

Desiderio Rainelli
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English Version by Riccardo Venturi
TEATRO DEGLI ARTIGIANELLILITTLE ARTISAN’S THEATRE
Falce martello e la stella d'Italia
ornano nuovi la sala. Ma quanto
dolore per quel segno su quel muro!
Hammer and sickle, and the Italian star
adorn the hall, newly made. But how,
how much sorrow for those symbols on a wall !
Esce, sorretto dalle grucce, il Prologo.
Saluta al pugno; dice sue parole
perché le donne ridano e i fanciulli
che affollano la povera platea.
Dice, timido ancora, dell'idea
che gli animi affratella; chiude: "E adesso
faccio come i tedeschi: mi ritiro".
Tra un atto e l'altro, alla Cantina, in giro
rosseggia parco ai bicchieri l'amico
dell'uomo, cui rimargina ferite,
gli chiude solchi dolorosi; alcuno
venuto qui da spaventosi esigli,
si scalda a lui come chi ha freddo al sole.
Here’s the Introducer, walking on crutches,
giving the clenched fist salute. He’s talking
his own way, to excite to laughter the kids
and the women who crowd that poor hall.
He’s talking, still so shy, about the idea
which unites all mankind in fraternity.
« Now I retreat, like the Germans » ; that’s all.
Between the acts, at the Tavern, the ruby red
friend of man is poured sparingly in the glasses
healing deep wounds and sorrows ; someone
who came there from a dreadful exile
seeks warmth in it, like basking in the sun.
Questo è il Teatro degli Artigianelli,
quale lo vide il poeta nel mille
novecentoquarantaquattro, un giorno
di Settembre, che a tratti
rombava ancora il canone, e Firenze
taceva, assorta nelle sue rovine.
This is the Little Artisan’s Theatre
as the poet did see it in Nineteen
forty four, on a September day.
The guns were still roaring, now and then,
Florence was silent, immersed in its ruins.


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