But there is something much more delightful and pleasing about stumbling upon a new, unbeknownst trinket in a city the size of Bologna, that simply isn't experienced in the same way in a metropolis as large as London.
When it comes to London, I am fully in the know that I haven't even scraped the surface of the city; there are whole zones that I have never visited and many a main streets that I don't even know exists. Bear in mind, this is after two years of living in the very heart of it. The countless alleyways, various nooks and innumerable crannies mean that when you do stumble upon something new, it is a sort of unanticipated expectation; pleasant all the same but more a matter of what and when you will discover something, on any given expedition, than if you will or won't. You could stay in London your whole life and still have plenty of places waiting to be discovered, tucked away in the crease of a map or hiding behind a double decker bus. In comparison, Bologna comes across as much more conquerable, almost to the point of being boring; it is easy to forget that despite its modest size it is just as venous in its network of vicoli and backstreets.
So, when, with the guidance of your local friends, you veer into a sliver of the city that you have never explored, it is like uncovering a gem that you've been sitting on all along. Spending more time with my Bolognese friends has, unsurprisingly, led to a couple of new discoveries - little venues off the beaten track of Bolo, happily minding their own business, happily hidden, yet also happy to be found.
I present to you:
Bar Senza Nome
Literally meaning "Bar No Name" this cosy little venue serves nibbles and drinks and plays good music. It's quietly propped on one of the many alleyways of Bologna, just at the rear end of the Mercato delle Erbe. So what makes it so unique? Well, it was first described to me as il "Bar dei Sordi" which translates to "the Bar of the Deaf", as it is a bar run by a small group of deaf and mute people. Naturally, ordering your drink comes to involve a lot of hand-gesturing (even for Italian standards), exaggerated mouthing of words and a fair amount of lip-reading - because the staff are almost all deaf.
It's a simple bar that harbours a range of customers, from non-deaf to deaf and mute people, all flocking here for the same purpose: a drink and a chat in a relaxed space. It invites a mix of young customers silently conversing away with their hands, intermittently pausing for a sip of their drink, as well as older men gesturing to each other over mouthfuls of mortadella panini (unforeseen pro of sign language: you can talk with your mouth full without revealing the contents of it). The bartenders here are friendly, the appending toilet signs are handwritten and playfully drawn with pictures explaining the correct sign language for "WC" and the place tinkles with noise, chatter and music just like any other bar. Regardless of whether you can hear any of it or not, it is a welcoming space and enjoyable to everyone. For Bologna-dwellers out there that don't know of this place, this one I will leave for you to seek out. So keep your eyes peeled, or whatever functioning senses you have at your disposal (I, for one, am as blind as a bat), and go for a wander around the vicoli and vie behind the market... you might just manage to sniff it out too.
Opening times: Tues - Sat 15.00 - 3.00, Sun 15.00 - 23.00
No comments:
Post a Comment