Trafika Europe 14 - Italian Piazza

Irene Chias

CHAPTER 4: CORSO LODI I park on Corso Lodi because I’ve recently discovered that there’s an eatery there that ’s open unti l late. I can leave my car here because the party happens also to be nearby. I figure I’l l enjoy walking along these streets, the streets of my chi ldhood. When I was a l ittle girl , I l ived in a house on Viale Isonzo, right near here. I’m only there a minute and sti l l locking the anti- theft device that my mother gave me for Christmas when a horrific scene erupts involving the car in front of me. I see two guys stomping on a Pakistani guy, or maybe Sri Lankan; one of those types who in Mi lan sel l flowers and take photos of couples around the city. They ’re hitting him and laughing. And as they laugh, they accuse him of scratching “Battazzi ’s Porsche.” The Porsche is the car parked in front of mine, I real ize now. Thank God I park wel l , I think. A third guy is simply standing back and enjoying the show. He has keys in his hand, and every now and again, he says something I don’t understand because he’s speaking in a low voice. But I understand that he is “Il Battazzi.” I also learn his first name is Piergiorgio because his friends keep shouting it as they ’re carried away by the frenzy this ass-kicking. I also learn he is “someone with bal ls,” who looks on, amused, as his friends get al l macho with the Sri Lankan guy (who is now crouched on the sidewalk,

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