Causes of lower back pain after hip replacement surgery

Posted by on June 9, 2013 No comments

I compiled this information from various sources, because my father has had a hip replacement operation, and has been suffering from lower back pain during convalescence. I’m posting it here just in case it could be useful to someone else.

Tiredness and lower back pain after hip replacement surgery

The surgery involves the cutting and manipulation not only of bone but also of soft tissues such as muscles, tendons, nerves, and the capsule that encloses the joint. Such an invasive procedure is tough on the body, and recovering from it takes time. It is normal to be tired; your normal energy levels will return day by day. Don’t be too aggressive in exercising. Your body is working to recover and heal from the surgery even while you are resting.
Lower back pain may be caused by asymmetry in the power of thigh, abdominal and back muscles. Before surgery you were walking asymmetrically (your body was trying to reduce pain by restricting certain movements) and so you will have unconsciously decreased the power of certain muscles, because you used them less on one side. In addition, it is likely that your leg length is now slightly different. This in itself can cause lower back pain. Gradually, as you become more mobile, you will equalize muscle strength and lessen the strain on the lower back.
Something else that happens in hip replacement surgery is that the iliopsoas muscle running from your pelvis to your thigh gets traumatized. This can cause a degree of pelvic tilt for many weeks after surgery, as the iliopsoas remains in a state of contraction, causing imbalance. You may have the sensation of one leg being longer than the other, and this can be caused by this sort of contraction.
In some movements, your low back may tend to bend inwards (arching) as you perform the movement, causing lower back pain. It may help to tighten your stomach muscles during the movement; this helps keep the spine straight.

Often, even two months after surgery, people have pain when getting up out of a chair. The process of alleviating this is lengthy, because your muscles are still compensating for the pain in your hip, even though the operation has removed the source of the pain. Your muscles have been conditioned to misbehave, and many of them have atrophied and weakened in the years before your operation. Your gluteus muscles are weaker, likewise your sartorius, hip adductors and abductors. Quads and hamstrings have to be stretched and strengthened.

Convalescence timescale:

Full recovery: 3-6 months.
Total rehabilitation: muscle re-education will only be complete after a year.
In the early months, some good days and some bad days is totally normal. You should notice a gradual improvement over time.
4-6 weeks after surgery: zimmer or crutches
Next 4-6 weeks: a stick
About 10 weeks after surgery: walking without assistance, almost normally.
About 3 months after surgery: most of the soft tissue wounds have healed
3-6 months after surgery: gradual relaxation of hip and leg muscles.

Exercise:

You’ve been given some exercises to perform during convalescence. Remember to bear in mind all the warnings about the movements to avoid!
Don’t overdo it! Avoid high-impact exercises. Take great care whenever you are moving around to avoid tripping. Be careful going up and down stairs.
Initially you will be doing safe range-of-motion activities and muscle strengthening exercises. Exercises should be performed every day. You should allow 15 minutes, two to three times a day to begin; progress to 30 minutes, two to three times a day by the end of six weeks.
Walking is always good. Try to “walk tall,” as straight-backed as possible.

Stretching exercises:

Before you start doing these, you should talk to a physical therapist at the hospital. You have to be advised on when you can start them, and exactly how to do them. They are for hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, illiotibial band, adductors. Once a day or even several times a day. There are also exercises to strengthen the core abdominal muscles.
These exercises will reduce pelvic tilt, decrease back pain, enable you to walk without a limp, equalize hip-and-abdominal strength.

Diet:

Iron and vitamin supplements could be useful. Drink plenty of fluids. Try to limit your intake of coffee and alcohol.

Information is for real

Posted by on April 22, 2013 No comments

Information is all that stuff around us, in books, on TV and the radio, on the web, that helps us make sense of the world. As journalists, we have the task of processing information and presenting it as effectively and originally as possible. If we want people to take notice of what we are saying, we have to say something new. This is true above all on the Internet, where original content is valued more highly than secondhand content, by Google and other search engines.
According to physicists, information is not just some sort of intellectual activity. It is something as real and physical as electrical charge or heat. And it can be measured. The concept was developed by Claude Shannon, an engineer working for Bell Labs in the 1940s. He had the task of transmitting messages as intelligibly as possible over noisy channel, and reached the conclusion that messages saying something unexpected are more likely to get through than others. He was probably thinking about the hiss and crackle of white noise, and how to make the message sound as different as possible, but he generalized the concept. Thinking of today’s world, the media can be considered as a “noisy channel.” The more surprising the message, the more likely it is to get through.
Shannon worked on lines similar to those adopted by the 19th-century scientists who formulated the laws of thermodynamics and entropy. He said that the effectiveness of a message is linked inversely to its probability. For example, if the message is “tomorrow the sun will rise,” the probability is extremely high, and so the effectiveness of the message (sometimes called “notability” in Internet marketing) in a noisy channel will be very low. If the message is “tomorrow the rainfall will be 28 millimetres,” the probability of the message is low, because the number of possible messages of this type vary from 0 millimetres to a very high number.
Shannon actually formulated the information content – effectiveness – of a message in mathematical terms. His result was that the effectiveness of a message is equal to minus the logarithm of the probability of the message. So, considering the example of “tomorrow the sun will rise,” we could consider this as being certain, so probability is 1, and the effectiveness of the message is zero.
Possibly, mathematical analysis of this type is used by Google in their infamous algorithms that they apply to Internet information, ultimately determining the success or failure of websites and their ability to attract readers. It certainly gives us a clear idea of why notability of content is so important in communications. One of the Internet dicta is “content is king,” but if that content is not original, it’s not going to be king. Just background noise.

A brilliant presentation

Posted by on April 12, 2013 No comments

I teach Writing for fashion as an evening job. As the homework for one lesson, I asked the students to write a brief contributor’s presentation, of the type that often appears at the start of fashion lifestyle magazines. I asked them to put in a bit of humour. One of the students – Chinese – produced something that I think is absolutely brilliant. Here it is:

Night gathers, and now my watch begins.
It shall not end until my death.
I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children.
I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.
I shall live and die at my post.
I am the sword in the darkness.
I am the watcher of fashion.
I am the fighter that burns against the ugly,
the light that wakes the sleepers,
the shield that guards the realms of beauty.
I pledge my life and honor to fashion’s Watch,
for this night,
and all the nights to come.

The chair

Posted by on December 26, 2012 No comments
Chair by Van Gogh

Chair by Van Gogh

A philosophy class were in the hall, ready to take their final exam after a year’s course with an eccentric philosophy professor. Instead of handing out a sheet of questions, the professor got up, lifted up his chair, and placed it on his desk. Then he wrote on the board: “Using everything we have learned this year, prove that this chair does not exist.” The students worked feverishly for three hours, using all the philosophical arguments they could remember in order to prove that it did not exist. None of them really noticed when one student got up and handed in his sheet after just two minutes. When the results were posted a couple of weeks later, the students, jostling around the notice board, wondered how that one guy could have got an A-grade when he had written so little. They asked him. He told them that his answer had been just two words: “What chair?”

Ferruccio Mengaroni, the artist whose ego was a little too much

Posted by on December 12, 2012 No comments

Ferruccio Mengaroni’s ideas were always big. Almost a century before the giant lipsticks and hamburgers of Pop artist Claes van Oldenburg, he was making larger-than-life objects using ceramics. There is a giant crab in the Castello Sforzesco Museum in Milan, and a large Medusa in the Pesaro Museum, that possibly represent the pinnacle of his career.

Ferruccio Mengaroni's ceramics works in Pesaro

Ferruccio Mengaroni’s ceramics works in Pesaro

Which had started many years before. A restless and prolematic child (born on 12 October 1875), his father had secured him an apprenticeship with the ceramist Molaroni, Pesaro, probably out of desperation. Young Ferruccio spent 12 years there – from when he was 12 to 24 – learning all that he could about clay, glazes and firing. He was also a great experimenter. He threw all sorts of materials into the kiln with his pieces, and, whether by design or chance, he discovered a way of creating pieces with a very antique-looking patina. Repro Renaissance pieces were all the rage at the turn of the century, but Ferruccio found that he could earn much more by passing off his pieces as genuine 16th century. There are probably still some of his majolica plates in various museums of the world; just one of the documented incidents concerns the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge that purchased such a piece in 1926, only to discover its real origin some years later.

Plates by Ferruccio Mengaroni

Plates by Ferruccio Mengaroni

But it seems that he made his forgeries only between about 1900 and 1910, possibly to help finance his new factory in Pesaro, making fine tableware. In 1915 he opened his ‘Studio delle Ceramiche Artistiche’ in Pesaro, with the trademark of a rampant griffin and the initials SDCA, and sometimes MM, standing for Mengaroni & Mancini (the latter was his friend with whom he set up his ceramics studio). He married and had children, and his family life was relatively happy until he discovered that his wife had had the children bapized, in great secrecy. She was Catholic, he was atheist. When he found out, things were never the same again, neither with his wife, nor his children.

Sugarbowl by Ferruccio Mengaroni

Sugarbowl by Ferruccio Mengaroni

The excellence of his factory’s ceramic products made him a famous figure in Pesaro, and brought him to the attention of the young crown prince Umberto. When a royal visit was planned to the city in 1923, Umberto wanted to visit Ferruccio at the factory. But Ferruccio had made no secret of the fact that he was an avowed anarchist, and court advisors tried to dissuade Umberto from any contact with the ceramist. Not surprisingly, because Umberto’s grandfather, king Umberto II, had been shot and killed by an anarchist in Monza (near Milan) in 1900. But in actual fact, the visit was a great success, and Ferruccio apparently got on quite well with Italy’s future, and final, king.

The marine crab at the Castello Sforzesco museum

The marine crab at the Castello Sforzesco museum

But what Ferruccio really wanted was not fame in society or as an industrialist, but the everlasting fame that can be given by art. He was convinced of his skill as a sculptor, and he used his prowess as a ceramist to create his gigantic animals and crustaceans. He applied his experience with glazes to give his surfaces a life-like diversity, vibrant with countless subtle variations in colour. Those who were unable to appreciate the abstract beauty of his pieces would, he thought, be convinced by their size.

The opportunity to exhibit at a national exhibition to be held in Monza fired his imagination, and he began working on a colossal ceramic sculpture, a Medusa, the warrior with hair made up of intertwined serpents. The theme was a classic in art, with illustrious precedents including Leonardo da Vinci (a youthful work, since lost, painted on a shield) and Caravaggio. Ferruccio decided that the central face would be a self-portrait, and spent long hours in his studio, pulling faces in a mirror, sketching rapidly in order to immortalize his own features in as repulsive a guise as possible. Undeterred even by the mirror falling to the floor and breaking into a thousand pieces, he completed and fired the piece, and had it packed into an enormous circular case made of timber.

Ferruccio Mengaroni and his Medusa

Ferruccio Mengaroni and his Medusa

He was waiting at Monza when it arrived, on 13 May 1925. He was convinced that his Medusa would be the piece that would win him his rightful place in the realm of art and artists, so that he would be revered and remembered forever after. He had forewarned the exhibition staff of the size and weight of the sculpture, and so they had prepared a ramp that would enable the circular case to be rolled up the steps leading to the hall in which it would be installed. Ferruccio watched tensely as the workman began to haul the case up, straining against the weight of well over a ton. When it had reached halfway, the sound of dry cracks from one side of the wooden ramp preluded impending disaster. The massive wooden plank gave way, and the case lurched to one side. The workmen pulling from above were caught off guard and the canvas webbing straps were snatched out of their grip as the case started to roll backwards. The men pushing from below dodged out of the way and fled like frightened rabbits. Only Mengaroni remained, leaping towards the case, his arms outstretched as he tried to halt its downward acceleration. The workmen watched aghast as the case toppled and rolled, lurching downwards towards the balustrade. A moment later, it had come to a relatively gentle stop, cushioned by the body of Ferruccio. He was killed instantly. The work inside survived intact.

So, in a way, Mengaroni achieved his ambitions for lasting fame. By his death, the Medusa with his own face lived on. The accident was widely reported all over the world. Some commentators were struck by the ‘sublime gesture,’ the artist who fearlessly stepped forwards to protect his own work. Others remarked on the symbolic aspects: the artist crushed by his own ego, and the fact that the artist’s image lived on thanks to the death of its creator.

The Medusa by Ferruccio Mengaroni at Musei Civici, Pesaro

The Medusa by Ferruccio Mengaroni at Musei Civici, Pesaro

But Mengaroni’s ambitions for lasting fame were not fulfilled. Today, he is a very obscure figure. Some ceramics collectors know of the story and look for pieces bearing the emblem of his factory, which had become ‘M.A.P. Maioliche Artistiche Pesaresi.’ Today, you can see his large marine crab at the Castello Sforzesco Museum in Milan, and the murderous Medusa at the Musei Civici in Pesaro, Piazza Toschi Mosca 29. It has been affixed to the wall in the courtyard. A suggestion: don’t stand right underneath it!

A close-up of the Medusa

A close-up of the Medusa

Brand history: the incredible story of British luxury luggage marque Globe-Trotter

Posted by on November 21, 2012 No comments

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A unique combination of tradition, secret materials, and innovation

Globe-Trotter is a luxury brand that was founded by Englishman David Nelken in Saxony, Germany, in 1897. In 1901, the company returned to the UK, and it has been there ever since. The values that have always defined the style of this brand are not difficult to identify: heritage and craftsmanship. Typically British characteristics, you could say. However, what is truly unique about this House is its inimitable way of combining traditional techniques with a focus on new design, whether this regards colour, materials or design.

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The wonderful period photographs that the company possesses provide a superb portrait of the brand, in the hands of figures such as Winston Churchill who used the 18-inch attaché case while he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, Queen Elizabeth II, who used Globe-Trotter cases for her honeymoon, Sir Edmund Hilary, who found the suitcases ideal to take his kit up to first base cap during his assault on Everest in 1951, and more recently, Daniel Craig, Kate Moss, Sofia Coppola and Kylie Minogue, to name just a few. Its powerful image has led it to being chosen by other luxury brands who use Globe-Trotter products in their visual communications. Examples include 10 Corso Como, Vogue, Wallpaper, Hermès, Liberty of London, Ross Lovegrove and Junya Watanabe.

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The Globe-Trotter factory in Hertfordshire makes the cases by hand on Victorian machinery, in a unique material, “Vulcan Fibre” or vulcanised fibreboard. This was invented in the UK in the 1850s, and it is basically 14 layers of paper that are bonded together and coloured – though the exact process is a patented and closely-guarded secret. It has never been successfully imitated. Vulcan fibre is a very tough but light material, as lightweight as aluminium, but as hardwearing as finest leather. In fact, Globe-Trotter cases are extremely tough, and the company has an archive of suitcases that are up to 100 years old. The frame is in ash wood, while the lining is in fabric, and the trim is of course in leather. Cases are riveted, lined and trimmed by hand. Many of the craftsmen at the company have been working for Globe-Trotter for decades, and this highlights the great satisfaction that is derived from creating high-quality products.

The toughness of Vulcan fibre has featured strongly in the company’s communications over the decades. The image of an elephant standing on a case is not just advertising. A test was actually performed at the Zoological Gardens in Hamburg, with a 1 tonne elephant that stood on a Globe-Trotter case with its full weight. The case withstood the pressure. Still today, the factory sometimes receives 100-year old cases that are sent in to have their linings changed. Globe-Trotter luggage sets fulfil the need for lightweight suitcases in modern travel.

Globe-Trotter applies an original approach to colour. In the early days of travel, luggage was all brown and black. Even then, Globe-Trotter decided to make a splash with some new colours. Blue was one of the first additions to the range, expressing sea and air travel. More recently, the brand has introduced other colours, and original print designs. Today, the classic colours of navy, black, green, ivory and colonial brown, of timeless appeal, have been joined by more modern shades such as Jewel pink, Cruise blue, Centenary red and Orange/Tan. Globe-Trotter has not subscribed to the complex interior pockets that are a feature of many luggage brands, preferring absolute simplicity. This ensures that travellers have the maximum space possible.

Today, the company’s products include the ‘Original’ series, with the signature leather straps and a limited range of classic colours. This range has remained the same since 1897, from when the company was established. The ‘Centenary special edition’ was launched in 1997 to celebrate the 100th anniversary, and it features classic and pop colours, with high quality leather corners and straps. The ‘Safari’ series is based on cases made by Globe-Trotter in the late 1920s, and they comprise ivory-colour cases, resembling those used by explorers who travelled the world by cruise liner. The ‘Cruise’ series is striking in its royal blue colour, with navy blue straps and corner details. Inside, the lining of white cotton with pinstripe blue stripes is a superb expression of summer seaside living. The ‘Orient’ collection features a hand-lacquered gloss finish, created using valuable Urushi lacquer, with fine designer oriental silk linings.
‘Onehundred&ten’ was designed by Ross Lovegrove, and it is hand-made in Japan from 3X fibre, comprising woven carbon fibre and tri-axial woven Kevlar. These two materials are layered and bonded to create the first-ever next-generation Globe-Trotter hard case, weighing just 1.4 kg.

The Burlington Arcade flagship store (54-55 Burlington Arcade, Mayfair, London W1J 0LB, tel. +44 20 7529 5950) is an appropriately refined experience, with interiors influenced by 19th century British architect Sir John Soane. On the second floor, customers discover a totally different atmosphere with respect to the ground and first floor, and can relax amidst plush furniture and a range of images and artefacts from Globe-Trotter’s long and glittering history. Here, bespoke cases can be ordered, unique for colour, linings, leather corners, and personalized initials. Another bespoke feature available at the Burlington Arcade store are cases without wheels – in fact today’s Globe-Trotter cases are made with wheels as standard.

In London, products are also available at Harrods, Selfridges, Browns and The Conran Shop. Products are distributed worldwide by means of selected retailers, which can be seen at the store locator on the company website.

For further information on Globe-Trotter and its products, see www.globe-trotterltd.com

Published in April 2010, luxos.com

Part of the earth

Posted by on November 17, 2012 No comments

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We know the sap which courses through the trees,
as we know the blood that courses through our veins.
We are part of the earth, and it is part of us.
The perfumed flowers are our sisters;
the bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers.
The rocky crests, the deer in the meadow,
the body heat of the prey, and men,
all belong to the same family.

Chief Seattle

Cultural adjustment

Posted by on November 8, 2012 No comments

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In cross-cultural relationships, a crisis may develop from problems in verbal communications.
An article written with Giulia Remorino, psychotherapist, a specialist in ‘cultural adjustment.’ Giulia_remorino@tiscali.it

Today, people are moving around more and more all the time. One of the results of this is more cross-cultural relationships, between people of different origins. This sort of relationship may arise partly as a direct result of diversity, which can have a certain fascination. One of the effects is that the two people communicate using a shared language, the native tongue of just one of them. Often they have to speak using a language that is not the native tongue of either of them: for example, an American man and a Japanese woman living in Italy, who speak Italian together.

In the quest for a partner, one is always looking for difference, not identity: difference to oneself. For this reason, a person whose origin, language and background is different to one’s own will always appear more atractive when compared to someone with similar origins.

But, in a cross-cultural couple, coming into contact with the deepest aspects of diversity can cause a crisis in communication. Problems can arise early on, for example when a couple decide to live together, and only then begin to discover difference in tastes as regards furnishings and interior decoration, differences in minor day-to-day habits, or in the use of leisure time. Some as yet young relationships may run aground in this phase. In this sort of situation, a consultant can help establish points of contact and identify the fundamental connections.

Another obstacle may arise when children arrive. It’s hard enough for a couple from the same background, and so it can be even tougher for a mixed couple. For example, an Italian mother-in-law may be a little excessive in providing advice on how to look after the baby. In this case, the Italian man may find it difficult to defend his partner if this means taking a position against his parents. A man may find it difficult to consider himself no longer as a son, but as a husband and father; while a mother may fear that her child will be completely absorbed into her partner’s family.

Another effect that may arise is due to an incomplete comprehension of the actual situation, inducing each partner to project his or her own aspirations onto the other. When they discover that their counterpart has a totally different viewpoint, they are often incapable of communicating effectively to solve their differences. In this case, ofen the male partner falls into silence, while the woman may react with torrents of words, that are not adequately listened to or understood. The first step in a process of analysis is to learn how to listen, and then to reflect on the couple’s future.

The principal objective in the process of cultural adjustment may not necessarily be to heal the bond, but rather enable both individuals to acquire a clear perception of their identity and their role in the relationship. Both the consultant and the two individuals will be aware that this new perception may lead to separation. The basic concept is that a partner can live a relationship satisfactorily only if he or she can live satisfactorily with himself or herself. Separation could lead to the creation of an extended family, to two new couples, sharing the care for children if the couple have already had them. Whatever happens, it is fundamental to accept the situation and to apply a lot of goodwill.

In this type of consultancy, it is important to establish an atmosphere of empathy, and the consultant has to be able to understand exactly what each member of the couple is feeling. The analyst becomes a mediator and translator, helping each partner to express his or her feelings to the other. From this point of view, Giulia Remorino has an advantage as a result of her personal history: she is herself from a cross-cultural relationship, with parents of different origins and religions. She speaks Italian and English, and has a working knowledge of Spanish, German and Hebrew. Her multicultural origin enables her to understand the deep significance of gestures and terms that may arise, perhaps involuntarily, during a session.

The most positive and satisfying outcome of consultancy is when a cross-cultural couple, after having found themselves in a situation of crisis as a result of disagreements that developed during their relationship, succeeds in finding common ground from which to recommence. This common ground could be simply the desire to stay together. Sometimes the consultant succeeds in identifying and expressing something that exists in the relationship but that neither partner was capable of saying in words, so that from discord develops a new harmony.

Giulia Remorino, psychotherapist, specialist in cultural adjustment. Giulia_remorino@tiscali.it


Cultural adjustment​ ​ ​

Nelle coppie miste la crisi può nascere da problemi nella comunicazione verbale. Di Giulia Remorino, psicoterapeuta, specialista in “cultural adjustment.” Giulia_remorino@tiscali.it

La grande mobilità dell’uomo contemporaneo ha conseguenze molteplici, tra le quali l’aumento delle unioni miste, ossia tra persone di origini diverse. In una coppia mista capita spesso che la storia nasca dal fascino della diversità oltre che dall’attrazione reciproca, e che si comunichi servendosi di una lingua comune ma nativa di uno solo dei due, o anche di nessuno, come nel caso, per esempio, di un americano e una giapponese che vivono in Italia e che parlano in italiano.

Nel cercare il partner che ci complete si ricerca sempre “l’altro da sé,” e così una persona di origini, linguaggio e background diversi dai propri sarà sempre più affascinante rispetto alla situazione evidenziata dal proverbio “mogli e buoi dei paesi tuoi.”

Può però capitare che, all’interno della coppia mista, il contatto con gli aspetti più profondi della diversità altrui dia luogo a una crisi nella comunicazione. I problemi possono nascere già nei primi tempi, quando si decide di andare a vivere insieme e si scoprono, per esempio, diversità di abitudini o di gusti nell’arredamento, differenze nelle piccole azioni quotidiane o nella gestione del tempo libero. Le coppie giovani possono arenarsi già in questa fase, e in questi casi la consulenza cerca di stabilire dei punti di contatto e di identificare il tessuto connettivo di partenza.

Un altro ostacolo può comparire con l’arrivo dei figli, la cui gestione è complessa anche per una coppia omogenea e che, a maggior ragione, mette a dura prova una coppia mista. Per esempio, la suocera italiana può essere fin troppo zelante nel dare consigli alla nuora su come crescere il bebè, allo stesso tempo è difficile per un uomo italiano prendere le difese della compagna, se ciò significa schierarsi contro la propria famiglia. Per un uomo può essere difficile vedersi non più come figlio, ma come marito e padre; d’altro canto, una madre può avere paura che il figlio venga assorbito completamente dalla nuova famiglia.

Può succedere che, non essendo completa la comprensione della situazione reale, i due partner attribuiscano uno all’altro la proiezione dei propri desideri; successivamente, quando si rendono conto che la realtà è ben diversa, non riescono a comunicare in modo significativo: generalmente l’uomo di una coppia in crisi tende al silenzio, mentre la donna può reagire con il cosiddetto “fiume di parole”, che non vengono ascoltate o comprese. Il primo passo nel percorso analitico è imparare ad ascoltarsi e, in seguito, riflettere sul futuro della coppia.

L’obiettivo principale nel percorso del cultural adjustment non è necessariamente il risanamento dell’unità di coppia, bensì la chiara percezione, da parte di entrambi i componenti, della loro identità e del loro ruolo nel rapporto, con la possibilità che questa nuova consapevolezza possa portare alla separazione. In fondo, un partner può vivere bene la vita di coppia soltanto se vive bene con se stesso. La separazione potrebbe portare alla creazione di una famiglia allargata, alla formazione di nuove vite di coppia, con la gestione condivisa dei figli, se ci sono, ed è necessario che alla base di tutto questo ci sia, in caso, l’accettazione della dimensione reale e una buona volontà.

In questo tipo di consulenza bisogna stabilire un clima empatico e il professionista deve immedesimarsi nel paziente. L’analista diventa il mediatore, il traduttore, e spiega esattamente quello che un partner sta tentando di trasmettere all’altro. Per quanto mi riguarda, sono stata avvantaggiata dalla mia storia personale: provengo da una famiglia mista, con genitori di origini e religioni diverse. Parlo l’italiano e l’inglese, e conosco discretamente spagnolo, tedesco ed ebraico. L’origine multiculturale mi permette di cogliere il senso profondo di gesti o di termini usati involontariamente nell’esprimersi in seduta.

Senza dubbio, la situazione che dà più soddisfazione è quella in cui una coppia mista, dopo essere andata in crisi a causa della disarmonia rivelatasi pian piano nella vita di coppia, riesce, grazie alla consulenza, a identificare un terreno comune sul quale ripartire. Questo “common ground” può essere semplicemente la voglia di stare uniti; capita che il consulente riesca a dar voce a qualcosa che è nell’aria ma che non trova espressione, e che dalla disarmonia nasca una nuova armonia.

Giulia Remorino, psicoterapeuta, specialista in “cultural adjustment.” Giulia_remorino@tiscali.it

Artistic values

Posted by on November 8, 2012 No comments

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When restoring a prestige building, cultural content is valuable from every point of view.
An article written with Luciano Broglia, architect, lubarch@tiscali.it

Luciano Broglia specializes in the renovation and refurbishment of historic buildings. This means buildings dating to before 1900, while not excluding later works, such as those by a renowned designer, or buildings that are a good expression of its period. We have to remember a significant statistic: over 60% of the world’s cultural heritage is in Italy. To be more specific, a report published by Pricewaterhouse Coopers in 2009 states that Italy has over 3,400 museums, about 2,100 archaeological areas, and 43 Unesco sites. The latter include, by way of example, 24 Palladian villas in the Veneto region, while in the province of Vicenza alone there are at least another 60 examples of monumental architecture, in the form of villas, palazzi, churches, abbeys and castles. And this is just one province!

So in Italy, it is quite feasible that when you purchase a house, you may find yourself as the owner of a significant piece of architecture. The question is, if you want to make some improvements, how do you ensure that these are not going to damage the artistic value, which could in turn adversely affect its economic value?

The system of state Superintendencies (Soprintendenze) that supervise and protect the artistic and architectural heritage provides some guarantees. Any buildings that are over fifty years old and belong to private or state organizations are automatically registered and monitored. Buildings owned by private citizens may or may not be registered with a Superintendency, and in the former case alone they are controlled – meaning that any renovation or refurbishment operation has to be approved by the Superintendency.

However, whatever the situation as regards Superintendencies, when working on a historical building, the important thing is to preserve its distinctive characteristics, those that express the period to which it belongs. In Italy, the general approach at the present time is to restore what exists, but not rebuild. If any changes or additions are made, they should be treated in such a way as to be able to distinguish the new work from the old. This is a different concept with respect to other countries, such as the United Kingdom, where very often new volumes are built having the same characteristics and appearance of an existing architectural fragment.

Working with Superintendencies may sound like something extremely bureaucratic, restrictive and difficult to handle, but in actual fact the people working in these offices are highly professional, and often have a real passion for their job which transcends their purely official functions. Architects speciaizing in restoration have to work with officials at the Superintendencies all the time, and they are well aware that what seems to be just paperwork can actually become an interesting form of cooperation, a way of developing useful ideas for the case in hand.

Of course, in the private sector there is a vast heritage of ‘minor’ architecture that is not subject to artistic restrictions, but that nonetheless includes prestige buildings, significant in terms of their purely artistic value and for the period in which they were built. In this area, owners are often faced with the decision of whether to modify or even eliminate certain characteristic features in order to make the building more practical, or whether to preserve and highlight them. In the latter case, it is likely that the building will increase in value, both in economic and cultural terms.

In restoration and refurbishment, architects may specify traditional materials, analogous to those used when the building was constructed, or more recent high-tech materials. In some cases, a compromise has to be made, in part due to the need to comply with legislation in areas such as the reduction of energy consumption.

In any case, it is always a good idea to utilize the services of an architect who is accustomed to handling this sort of situation, which can often get extremely complicated. The architect has to identify the terms of the problem, locate contractors who possess the craft skills required, and supervise the work, dealing with the ‘surprises’ that often arise when renovating historic buildings.

How do you find (considering Italy) an architect who has experience in this area? There are no specific registers, and recommendations are generally purely by word of mouth. An architect who works in this sector has, in addition to the normal design, project management and site management skills, other areas of knowledge, including restoration techniques, and a detailed knowledge of the history architecture, so that he or she is capable of identifying the building’s history and context, and successively advising on the type of restoration to be performed, whether philological or scientific.

Luciano Broglia’s final consideration returns to the wealth of the Italian cultural heritage. A purely economic approach to the renovation of architectural works will ultimately have negative consequences on the overall artistic heritage, because the true value of such works (to quote GIovanni Urbani, architect and director of the Central Institute of Restoration, Rome, from 1973 to 1983) lies in people’s sense of belonging to their local environment, and the degree of identity that the resident feels with the building in which he resides.

Luciano Broglia, architect, lubarch@tiscali.it


Valori artistici​ ​ ​

Nel restauro dell’immobile di prestigio, il contenuto culturale è prezioso da ogni punto di vista.

Quando si parla di immobili di una certa epoca storica – consideriamo quelli risalenti a prima del 1900 (ma anche dopo per quegli edifici che per la fama del progettista o perché sono l’emblema di un’epoca, hanno comunque un valore notevole) – bisogna partire dalla considerazione che più del 60% del patrimonio culturale mondiale si trova in Italia. Tanto per dare un’idea, secondo un rapporto pubblicato da Pricewaterhouse Coopers nel 2009, l’Italia possiede oltre 3.400 musei, circa 2.100 aree e parchi archeologici, e 43 siti Unesco. Questi ultimi comprendono, per esempio, 24 ville palladiane nel Veneto, ma nella sola provincia di Vicenza ci sono almeno altri 60 esempi pregevoli di architettura monumentale, fra ville, palazzi, chiese, abbazie e castelli.

E’ facile quindi che, con l’acquisto di un immobile, ci si trovi a possedere un bene architettonico e artistico di una certa importanza. Come ci dobbiamo comportare per essere sicuri di non danneggiare questo patrimonio con le operazioni di ristrutturazione, preservandone peraltro il valore?

Il sistema delle Soprintendenze e la legislazione offrono già delle garanzie in merito. Per esempio, gli immobili che appartengono a enti, sia privati che statali, sono sottoposti a vincolo se hanno più di cinquant’anni di vita; gli edifici privati di notevole pregio dovrebbero invece essere iscritti a un registro della Soprintendenza e, solo in questo caso, essere soggetti a vincolo. (Per chiarezza, con la parola “vincolo” s’intende che qualsiasi intervento, sull’edificio vincolato, è sottoposto al parere degli organi competenti).

È evidente, comunque, che nella ristrutturazione di un edificio che possiede elementi di pregio artistici o architettonici è importante operare per conservare le caratteristiche e l’essenza della sua epoca. In Italia si tende a conservare e non a ricostruire (gli interventi di modifica o di reintegro debbono essere ben visibili rispetto al contesto preesistente); questo approccio ci distingue da altri paesi, come, per esempio, il Regno Unito, dove spesso si costruiscono nuovi volumi con le stesse caratteristiche di un frammento architettonico preesistente.

Il dover affrontare le Soprintendenze potrebbe sembrare qualcosa di restrittivo o di fastidioso; in realtà i funzionari di questi enti di controllo possiedono una grande professionalità, e molto spesso una profonda passione che va oltre il concetto burocratico del loro ruolo. Gli architetti specializzati nel restauro sanno che gestire i contatti con i Funzionari delle Soprintendenze può essere un faticoso confronto, ma anche una collaborazione ed uno sviluppo di idee.

Vi è poi, nel privato, tutto un patrimonio “minore” che pur non essendo sottoposto a restrizioni o vincoli esiste spesso all’interno di edifici comunque di pregio, sia per caratteristiche che per epoca; e qui entra in gioco la “sensibilità” dei proprietari dell’immobile che devono decidere se eliminare e snaturare questi elementi o se dar loro invece visibilità e nuova vita. Spesso il mantenere sapientemente questi elementi porta lo stato dell’immobile ad un valore più alto (solo ragionando in termini meramente economici), ma è anche un’operazione di recupero culturale che sarebbe sempre auspicabile.

Nelle opere di ristrutturazione e di restauro si lavora utilizzando sia materiali tradizionali, analoghi a quelli originali, sia invece materiali frutto delle più recenti tecnologie.

Ovviamente in talune situazioni è necessario mediare, e bisogna conciliare l’estetica ed il restauro con le più recenti normative (un esempio su tutti quelle sul contenimento dei consumi energetici).

È comunque consigliabile utilizzare i servizi di un architetto abituato a gestire queste situazioni, che spesso si presentano complesse nel miscelare tutte le problematiche connesse; che è in grado di identificare tutte le componenti, di reperire le imprese con maestranze esperte nel settore e di gestire il procedere dei lavori, spesso affrontando le “sorprese” che si presentato in una ristrutturazione su edifici storici.

È domanda lecita chiedere come si trovino architetti con esperienza nel campo specifico: in questo settore, come in molti altri, vige il passaparola. I professionisti che lavorano nel settore possiedono, oltre alle consuete capacità di gestione del progetto e del cantiere, le conoscenze specifiche in materia di restauro e un’approfondita familiarità con la storia dell’architettura, per poter individuare l’anima e la storia dell’edificio ed il suo contesto, e per orientare la scelta del tipo di restauro possibile, sia filologico, che scientifico.

Per concludere, in un contesto di così grande ricchezza del patrimonio culturale come quello italiano, una logica puramente economica applicata al recupero dei beni architettonici è destinata ad influire negativamente sul patrimonio artistico generale, perché i valori veri di tali beni si misurano (per citare l’arch. Giovanni Urbani, direttore dell’Istituto Centrale per il Restauro di Roma dal 1973 al 1983) in termini del senso di appartenenza delle persone al territorio e l’immedesimazione dell’abitante alla cosa abitata.

Luciano Broglia, architetto, lubarch@tiscali.it

The wooden leg

Posted by on November 4, 2012 No comments

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El Gamba de Legn’: ‘the wooden leg’ is an unusual name for a means of transport. It was the nickname that the people of Milan gave to the first steam-powered tram which started running on 9 September 1878, connecting Milan and Magenta over a distance of about 23 kilometres. But why wooden leg? Apparently the tram, running slowly along the tracks on Milan’s cobbled streets, made a syncopated sound, like a person walking with a wooden leg, and it rolled a bit as well.

The 17 trams had from 10 to 12 carriages, without doors or heating, and there were wooden benches for the passengers who got very cold in winter. But even so, in those days the Gamba de Legn’ was more efficient than the horse-drawn trams that could carry only a dozen people and that operated from Milan to Monza right up until 1900.

The 17 locomotives were manufactured by Lokomotivenfabrik Krauß in Munich, and they had a structure totally different from railway locos. For safety, the boiler and engine were completely enclosed by a steel screening structure, and the driver’s cabin was at the front for better visibility.

The maximum speed of the steam tram was specified by Milan’s provincial administration: 15 kilometres per hour in the countryside, along roads lined by mulberries used for silkworm raising, and 10 km/h in the city. When it was foggy, speed was reduced to 5 km/h. At every village and in Milan, an employee wrapped in a cloak and equipped with a lantern, bell and whistle waited for the tram and then walked in front of it to warn pedestrians of the oncoming danger. Before the First War, the tram ran five times a day. During the Second World War, many people were forced to live outside the city because of air-raid damage, and so all the goods trucks available were pressed into service, and even so, many passengers were forced to ride on the roofs of the normal carriages.

After the War, things returned to normal, and the last tram every day left Milan at 0.40 a.m., taking people back home after their evening out at the cinema or theatre.

The Gamba de Legn’ ran for about another decade after the war. Even though the residents of the villages and towns through which the slow and shuddering tram ran would have preferred to have kept the steam-powered version rather than the new electric trams, it finally went out of service in 1957. The last journey of the Gamba de Legn’ was acccompanied by huge crowds of people, who put flowers on the locomotive.

You can see this short, squat steam tram in the Padiglione Ferroviario at the Science Museum, Museo della Scienza e della Tecnica Leonardo da Vinci, along with some other much larger steam locos and one of the horse-drawn trams that the Gamba de Legn’ replaced. In this shed, the first thing that you notice when you go in is the smell, an unmistakable tang of iron, old coal residues, and ancient smoke. And while it’s terrifying to think of all those tons of trees and coal and coke that were burnt, it would be really nice, one day, to see El Gamba de Legn’ take to the streets of Milan one last time.