No, the title does not evoke Orla from 5O, this time he is innocent: it is a far more tragic story (indeed, tragicomic): pure folly (without coming back to one's senses), just like in the masterwork Furious Orlando.
Friday, December 16, a few days ago. It is the second round of the visit of my classes to the fascinating exhibition about Ariosto at the Palazzo dei Diamanti. Wednesday 14 it was the turn of the 5O: lively, chatting, but correct, as noticed by a friend of mine who loves history, Renato, and accompanies us ( "But are they always like this? Even in the classroom?" he asks, a little stunned, hearing their busy busy chatter under the entry vaults; and I answer, laconic: "Always..."). A particular "special operation" has been successful: four students of 5N, who found no place for a reservation (there are endless queues, tickets are sold like hot cakes), were added to our group; and since some of 5O, at the last minute, could not come, they sold their tickets to their 5N friends, so, without any loss. All right, all in order: also because, given that tickets can not be refunded, it is always wise to buy some less at the beginning, on reservation, and a few more at last.
So that's exactly what did not work on Friday ( "freaky Friday" ...). Let's count together (try it yourself and you'll see that you lose your thread): Beatrice, from 3M, delivered to me, before me going to the ticket office, 45 euro (= 9 tickets, € 5 each), and, at the very last minute, Federico was added, that is 10; Lorenza, from 4M, raised additional € 45, again for 9 tickets; but, at last, 6 people were added, that is 15; finally, the 4O, in the person of Marco, paid for 12 tickets, but, at last, plus 4 people, they had 16. So? 12 + 4 is 16, right? So why those of 4O were on Friday .... 13?
Bacchus' fest, by Titian (here are some exposed paintings)
As it is well-known, the Furious Orlando is a literary masterpiece that analyzes the limits of Renaissance, humanistic rationality; its characters, from Orlando on, are all a bit 'crazy, victims of their own desires. I never believed that insanity was contagious and, especially, that it could envelop a large group of students and their (innocent) prof, for miserable maths issues. So, when I found myself at the ticket office on Friday, I was super-sure (and so was the lady of the ticket - office), that prepaid tickets were 12 + 9 + 9, that is, 30; with the addition of 3 adults (me, the other Magri, that is the teacher of Art Donatella Magri, and our legendary informatic technician, Maurizio) and 10 tickets paid at the last moment (1 + 4 + 5: 10 right? I begin to have doubts even on the most basic truths: as if I were a scintist led to skepticism by the relativity theory ...), we have a total of 40 students and 3 adults; which means 43. Right? So why, at the crucial moment of withdrawing the audio guides, were the devices... 41?
Portrait of a young man, by Bartolomeo Veneto
Here began a surreal scene, in this case at the bookshop of the Palazzo dei Diamanti, a scene which still gives me the creeps, because first and foremost I disturbed others, innocent, visitors, second, I risked to not withdraw anymore my document left at the ticket office in deposit (after which, I would become a stateless person) and, above all, because, by dint of doing accounts, I believed that I was "giving the numbers", that is, becoming crazy. 15 for 4M, 10 for 3M, 3 of us ... and the 4O? Why were they 13 (at times, however, they seemed 12 or 14) and not 16 (12 + 4)? Count and recount the audio guides (which, to my knowledge, had to be 43) and they were still 41, despite my vain hope that the sorceress Melissa, very strong against enchantments, should come out with 2 more at the very last moment, the infamous 4O remained an amorphous, indefinable, fairytale and fluctuating reality, worse than the building of wizard Atlante: 13, or 12, or 14, or 16; but we did not lose anyone, let's say, hidden behind the tapestry of Francis I, lost in the mazes painted a bit 'anywhere, sucked by Orlando's horn or sliced by the sword of the last emir of Granada, Boabdil; so, at the end, we stabilized our number to 13. They looked like the fountains of L'Aquila, impossible to count ( "4O, how many are you?" was my cry of despair at the bookshop).
St. George and the Dragon, Pisanello
In the end, wisely, Maurizio recommended to bring the pans with the audio guides at the ticket office as they were: and we found that, at the ticket office, they expected 41, so I had my precious identity card returned to me. But here begins the mystery. Because, after sending away those impeccable from 3M, and even those from 4M (tired of attending to other counts and with Lorenza that, even this morning, repeated to me that they were definitely 15), it was definitively found that the maths disaster came from the 4O: but, yet, we do not understand what happened. I redid the calculations this morning, on Monday, calling them one by one: and it is clear that Marco had given me money for 12 tickets, that is 60 euro; but those who had paid at the beginning were ... 9. With 4 at the last moment, we have 13: and (apparently) 13 they were Friday. But the 3 more, where did they go?
The free propagation of students is a nightmare for teachers that, honestly, I am not ready to accept yet and I prefer to not evoke here. And we had the doubt that Marco (who, good lad, is a bit' dreamy) accidentally inserted into the envelope 15 euro more from other contemporary gatherings (Latin theater, sports museum etc. etc.). But, it seems, nothing was missing from the other sums ... Or, someone must have forcibly paid twice, and everyone turned (including Marco) in the direction of Francesco. But Francesco (as none likes to look crazy, worse, a fool) categorically denied having paid twice; meanwhile, the list of the names of the payers, a list prepared by Marco, ended in the trash: drawing with itself the solution of the mystery. It seems that the 4O is able to multiply the money, which failed even to the sorceress Alcina; but, since I do not believe in this kind of miracles, I remain skeptical. I'm more inclined to think, for some reason, that someone absentmindedly paid twice. With all that follows.
It will, however, be noted that the audio guides were 41, which would correspond to 14 from 4O, not 13. This is a mystery too. Was there an invisible student? Or Angelica, the absent member from 4O, now studying abroad, returned secretly from Canada, after putting in her mouth Angelica's (in fact) ring, that makes you invisible? All what I know is that, like Orlando, on Friday I was going crazy by dint of giving numbers: and not because of love. In fact, more and more I did my accounts and came up to different sums: 40, 41, 43, even 44. Maurizio and Donatella are still splitting their sides with laughter, because every time I jumped off to a different number. A sign that, on human reason, Ariosto ... had his reasons.
Here the link to the exhibition of the Palazzo dei Diamanti: despite my ups and downs, it is worth!
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