SOTTOVENTO

Sottovento is a spot in Pavia that someone has called a “Literary Tavern” a very nice description, don’t you think?

The sign itself reads “coffee and refreshments.”

“Refreshments” a word that perhaps evokes a slightly retro concept, yet one that’s certainly emblematic.

Shelter (sottovento) and refreshment.

The reason I’m telling you about Sottovento is controversial.

Or, if we want to play with words: controvento.

The City of Pavia fined Sottovento for the stickers you see in the image.

I quote verbatim:
Referring to Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Pavia Local Police Regulations, which states: “Owners or managers of commercial establishments… are required to keep their storefronts clean,” someone has decided that our stickers are dirt.

Now, are stickers on a storefront really dirt?

Before continuing, I’ll turn the question back to you.

After all, these stickers are retro, a symbol of a time that no longer exists.

For example, I used to collect stickers as a child; now, in the era of digital images created by artificial intelligence, what can a sticker represent?

To the managers of Sottovento:
It literally tells a part of its own story, bearing the mark of hundreds of people from all over the world who have passed through here. They bear witness to presence, satire, anger, political commitment, and thought all the serious and the playful moments that have passed through our doors. They are a sign, an expression, they are art, a splendid collective work of art.

What do you think?

We’ve never been to Sottovento before, but I invite you to check out their social media to form your own opinion.

Sticker bombing aside, as a resident not of Pavia but of the province I’d rather see law enforcement focused on other priorities, given that people are now afraid to go out at night.

From being in the wind to being under siege, if anything.

And, honestly, I happen to see a whole host of businesses that apparently show no particular inclination to comply with fire safety regulations, let alone tax laws and so on.

I’d like to think that just as many fines have been issued.