A few days after I ran into  the Director of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze of my years ( student from 1983, graduated 1989), I received an email regarding the exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi- Dawn of a Nation, together with a note about a meeting , to be held at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, at Orsanmichele n.4. The note reads, Testmonianza ( witnessing)1948-1968, with an introduction by Professor Domenico VIGGIANO, the Director of the Fine Arts Academy Of Florence in the eighties and the nineties.

for those who are not familiar with the distinction between the Fine Arts Academy Of Florence and the Academy Of the Arts Of Drawing, you will find It interesting to navigate on their websites in order to further be delighted by the connection these institutions have with Michelangelo, Varsari , Cosimo I Of the Medici, the Company Of San Luca etc.

The above sequence was filmed because since 1983, the year I first met Director Viggiano, I have never had the chance to visit this prestigious location, where one sees Pontormo’s triptych on the wall of the conference room.

The only connection I have with this Academia delle Arti del Disegno ( apart from being a student at the Accademia di Belle ArtI di Firenze ) is the fact that I was married at their chapel: the Capella of Painters , part of the church of  SS Annunziata, yet a property of the Academy in ORSANMICHELE n.4, Florence

The following is a jotted diary I made during my train trip , on my return to Castelnuovo di Porto from Rome- couple days after I had been to the meeting

Dreams, Courtyard Dreams

From Rome to Castelnuovo di Porto

A diary- 1/06/2018

It must have been years

since I last ran into Director V ( VIGGIANO)

The Director who has served the Academy Of Fine Arts for twenty 

years

Antonio says, V is perhaps seventy years of age

He is older than Antonio, I recall.

Antonio is now 63 years old.

The first time I met Director V, I was 25 years old.

And Director V must have been in his forties.

He reminded me of the Hong Kong actor KWAN HOI SAN during the sixties, with an added touch of handsome manner.

So young to be a Director of an important Fine Arts Academy, he was definitely in tune with the young spirits of the Art students.

Perhaps it was precisely because of his young age, he had the energy to perhaps transform the complicated Italian bureaucracy at the Academy, then required especially for foreign students.

At the time, if I wanted to study at an Italian Fine Arts Academy, I had to make several trips to all the places where I had previously studied, ( Scotland, Canada , Hong Kong ) and to make the application from the local Italian Consulate of those cities.

It was not only costly, such a request ( nobody at the time had studied in various places in the world before applying), but also time consuming.

By the time all these applications had gone through, I would have been so exhausted that I might not even think of enrolling anymore, of a program with a duration of four years.

Just how to avoid such a complicated procedure?

I asked my only Italian law studies friend , D. 

I met D ( Daniela ) on the plane, upon my return from Florence to London. Her mother was sitting next to me, and had warmly invited me to stay in her house whenever I would come back to Italy.

So kind and generous, such is the renowned attitude of the Italians.

Thanking the lady, we saluted each other before she flew back to Rome on her next flight.

She had only wanted to keep company of her daughter and make sure she would be safe in arriving London.

I told her D would be very welcome to look me up in Edinburgh.

Sometime later D did manage to come over. I was able to put her up in our rented apartment , only for a night.

So when I finished my Postgraduate studies in Drawing and Painting, I was in turn the guest of D’s family in Rome.

I put forward the question of a possible simplification of my application procedure to an Italian Art Academy to D, who consulted her father who was a Law Professor.

The next morning, at around seven o’clock, I heard the Professor speaking on the phone.

The next moment D already told me that her father had made an arrangement for me to speak to someone from the Ministry of Highest Education.

We took a tram and reached the Trastevere area.

D translated my question.

The representative of the Highest authorities of Italian Educational department advised me,

Simply go to the Fine Arts Academy you wish to apply and if the Director of the Academy agrees to accept your application, you do not need to fly physically to all the places where you had studied, as the documents of verification could be sent directly by the consulates respectively.

So from Rome I saluted the kind family of D thanking Lawyer G for all his help and their hospitality, reached Florence by train the next hour.

Before reaching the Academy, I managed to make friends with some students from an interpreters school, who acted as translators for my everyday pilgrimage to the Fine Arts Academy.

I must have gone there everyday for a week in order to explain my problem.

I guess, the final day arrived and the young Director V and the vice Director ( ex -assistant director of film maker Visconti) finally gave me the permission.

A letter was typed in front of me by the secretary, allowing me to come back physically to the Academy in September, for a week of entrance exam.

It must have been a miracle.

It was a miracle, not only the meeting with D’s family who guested me in their house, but also how I ran into Victoria , my best friend of those years who cared about helping me with all the Italian translations , not to speak about my daily struggle to live in a city which was not that English speaking at all.（ thank you Victoria and your friends and thank you my first Italian teacher Patrizia who exchanged Italian lessons with my Drawing lessons when I was in Edinburgh)

I thank you all for your love and hospitality.

But there was another aspect worth mentioning which perhaps no one really knew.

The Story goes like this:

One day, I remember chatting with Susie, my roommate from Vienna.

It was right after my trip to Florence, where I had spent after a month, with the travelling scholarship offered by Edinburgh College of Art.

I said to Susie,

You know, as I went past the Fine Arts Academy in Florence and spotted those young students there, sitting carefree in the courtyard- it dawned on me that they must have been the happiest art students in the world.

Why?

Because we were in Florence, the most artistic city in the world , which breathes air of pure artistic inspiration.

Oh, how I wish I could be a student there!

So that day, in September of 1983, when I returned to take my seven-day entrance exam, My dream was then united with all the dreams of those students I happened to see,

in the courtyard.

So in a way, that corner of the courtyard, was the germination of my dream.

It was in that courtyard, the tourists were never able to locate David Of Michelangelo,who was standing on guard next door, in order to safeguard every single dream hidden in the hearts of the young students.

So that day when I happened to walk on Via dei Pucci , something happened 

a familiar figure almost going past my sight-and

luckily I managed to stop him-

Ah, Director V

Remember me? 

Sono Bernadette

We chatted couple minutes and as always, Director V was rushing to another important appointment 

This time to a show curated by him

Where?

At the courtyard of the Academy.

V Director did not realise

His mentioning of the courtyard

Had somehow

Allowed me to visually evoke

The dream of the past  ( 2018 minus 1983- i.e 35 years ago)

Of the casual encounter of a scene: the students, happily chatting with one another, at a corner of the courtyard, not realising they were the luckiest artists / students in the world

That was a corner of an old but renewed dream

A corner where the Spirit across the street

The wings of Beato Angelico

Of San Marco

Somehow

Began to take their First sprouts 

Within my heart

Wings of the angels

Wings of hope 

Wings of faith 

I flew

With them

Once they are fully grown

But those wings of dreams

Are ageless

Forever young

Like the beautiful presence of God

Forever fresh

Tender

Ageless

Eternal

So again

I was once again

reminded of my hidden ageless wings

Revealed

Through

The casual encounter of Director V

Somehow

I never managed to leave Italy for a long time

Perhaps

Only To conserve 

Those beautiful ageless wings

Artistic wings

Within my heart

Thank you Director V, I became a bit younger from that day onwards ( though I have turned sixty recently).

Bernadette 

多年了

多年沒有再踫上V教授

那個在Accademia 藝術學院作了廿載的總Director

Antonio說，V應該也有七十歲左右。

他比Antonio大些；Antonio已有六十叄歲。

而我，在第一次認識V Director時，我應是廿五歲。

而V教授看上去像是四十歲左右。

有著年輕時關海山的面容, 其丰度翩翩更不在話下。

多麽年青便當上藝術學院的Director，想必與藝術學生們更能溝通。

也許可能因他年青，便可以將當時極複雜的入學手續簡化。

當時，如果要入藝術學院，我必需要在我讀過的學校之當地意大利領事舘作申請手續。

我讀過的學校跨越三個地方：香港，英國蘇格蘭，加拿大愛門頓。

不用說，要到這三個地方的領事館直接申請的話，費用昂貴外，還費時勞心。

究竟如何才能避免如許繁複的手續？

我不能不將此難題給一個正在修法律系的女生解決。

這女生是我從意大利回英國途中，在飛機上認識的。

坐在旁邊那位太太，倍著女兒飛到倫敦。扺達後又立即在當天飛返羅馬。這個苛護女兒無微不致的母親給我留下深刻印象。

後來我從蘇格蘭藝術學院讀畢後，再飛羅馬時，便作了這家人的客人，住上了數天。（意大利人的好客熱情是著名的，在此要再謝G律師家人）

法律系的女生父親是個法律教授，其母親與女兒邀請我住他們家，好使他父親能明確了解這特殊情況，再作決定。

一天清晨，相信是七時左右，只聽見這位律師教授在電話跟某方傾談。過了數分鐘後，這女生說他父親已經替我安排與某高層人士見面。

就在當天早上，乘上了羅馬電車，到了教育部總部。

女生向那高層人士提及我的入學手續要經三個國家的問題。

高層人士告訴女生：

原來我可以直接地向我欲就讀的藝術學院申請，不需經過那如許繁複的手續，到三個不同國家申請。

只要那藝術學院接受我的申請書，我便可以如其他外國學生般，在某時某日親臨藝術學院，作七天的考試。

其他外國學生，在未飛意國考試時，只需在其就讀地方的意國領事申請。

倘若我依照這手續的話，必需從蘇格蘭（當時正在愛丁堡藝術學院讀Postgraduate 藝術課程）飛加拿大及香港—即是説：

1）我需要從蘇格蘭意大利領事館申請（剛拿了Postgraduate 文憑）

2）從加拿大愛門頓意大利領事館申請（4年的BFA 文憑）

3）從香港意大利領事館申請（中學文憑）

相信如成功申請的話，需時至少一年半載，到最後更可能不想繼續去讀這需時的四年課程。

所以，當那天V Director 接受我的直接申請（即無需飛那麼多國家，只需由當地國家學院直接寄上文件），那差不多可以說是奇蹟。

（其實由一開始便是奇蹟；在飛機上遇上Daniela 是奇蹟，在她羅馬家住上兩三天得到其父親法律係教授指點迷津是奇蹟。在翡冷翠中咖啡室

遇見正在讀翻譯的Victoria是奇蹟。因為Victoria 與其友人其後作了我的私人翻譯，替我在翡冷翠學院呈上了意文申請書（在這裏也得提及我的意文速成師：Patrizia- 遇上她也是奇蹟）

Director V 及副Director (曾是Visconti 的副導演）每天清晨總是要聽我們這一羣女生以英文法文及意文去解釋我的特別要求—一連七天，把翡冷翠藝術學院的秘書室變成臨時有趣的劇場。我想那七天的沒放棄請求，終於感動了上天，再𧶽大奇蹟。）

但真正的奇蹟背後又有另一個心靈故事：

話說有一天，當我在蘇格蘭家中時，還記得跟來自維也納的Susie 談天...

我告訴Susie,

知道嗎？我在翡冷翠那一個月的日子裏，曾在翡冷翠藝術學院門前流連。(是愛丁堡藝術學院頒我的一個月travelling scholarship)

只見不少年青藝術家在學院門前的courtyard 開心地談天說地...

我想，他們是世上最快樂的藝術家/學生，因為他們在全世界最有藝術氣息的城市裏就讀藝術。

就在那一剎那間，我有了奇想：

多好，如果有一天，我也能在此當上其中一個學生，在此藝術學院就讀。

故此，那年的九月，我踏進了翡冷翠藝術學院,考過入學試後，便如那班藝術學生般

如許這般的

在門外留連

發著

我的

我們的白日夢

所以那courtyard 可算是我的夢想的開始

而就是在那courtyard 

不少遊客要找Michelangelo 的David 時

找不到

因為

David 正在隔璧

䇄立著其永遠的心靈自由

好使那自由的夢

與courtyard 的學生們

拍著同一拍子

那天

就在Via dei Pucci

我看見了久遺的V Director 

迎面而來

我叫著

教授

我是Bernadette 

過了幾分鐘的寒喧

他説

我正要參與藝術學院的畫展禮

是我策展的

那一個畫廊？

那個在courtyard 的畫廊

V教授不知他其實是

一言驚醒夢中人；

我的那個古夢

竟然就是從那天

2018減1983 的那一天

即35年前

偶爾經過時

再次轉頭再望那些發藝術夢的學生時

開始

我的夢

心中的夢

開始發芽

如天使般的

在

Beato Angelico

的S.Marco 廣場

心靈般的

加上了夢翼

飛呀飛的

真的飛

我的藝術夢

就在這感覺常新的那麽多年裏

我的心

仍時常有著

那時的翼

沒有年紀的翼

因為

藝術的真正年紀

如上主般

是

永恆的

（三十五年後憶當時古夢）

就因為這個夢

我沒有長期的再離開意大利

故此

那天

再在街上偶遇 V Director 時

我的心

又

年輕了

少許

（雖然我已過了六十個寒暑）