to be entitled, provides a good excuse for escape from the Venetian
summer. This time Paolina comes along with father and son, even
though the stay in Milan will be a short one; not only because
Giambattista has decided to pay a visit to family in Brescia on the
way back, but also because the house on the Ponte del Paradiso will
be ready a week later.
The new house is magnificent! The space, the light that pours in
through the exquisitely designed gothic windows… and on a corner
too! For the first time the Vivaldis enjoy the sheer pleasure of not
being crammed in between other dwellings. No shouting and
screeching of next-door children hammering up and down the
stairs all day. But what nobody can get over is the light! Almost
every room has its own window, an unimaginable luxury! It’s
agreed that Antonio will take a work-bedroom on the middle floor,
where Paolina and Anna have their own large, shared space.
Antonio stares ecstatically out through his huge window, straight
into the eyes of Maria, Mother of God, a statue that for centuries
has adorned the entrance to the Calle del Paradiso. He feels sure She
will bring him luck and he makes the sign of the cross in
gratitude.
The house does not lie directly on the square, and in many
ways this makes a quiet and welcome change. But on the other
hand, one has to walk farther to fetch water and do the washing.
This is the only adverse comment anyone can find to make about
their new home and everyone seems happy. Before winter has time
to arrive the house is fully furnished. Paolina has had a bookcase
made of lovely warm, dark wood. By now she has accumulated a
small library of books by various writers, mostly French poetry but
also discourses on the Roman Empire and the ancient Greeks. In
Antonio’s room she has appropriated a lovely corner by the window
where together they spend whole days and evenings in silence, she
deep in her literature, he searching for new melodies.
Most such evenings end with a tender goodnight kiss, after
which Paolina withdraws to her own quarters to slip into bed
262
249-304 Chapter 6.indd 262 22-11-2007 14:11:36