Roads and bridges in our area were built long before there were cars. They probably started out as mule trails and gradually widened to allow horses pulling carriages. At around this time, most of the houses that still exist in the village were built. Once cars appeared it was too late to build roads wide enough to carry 2 lanes of traffic easily. A corner of our house was removed at one stage to allow enough room for cars to turn the corner onto the bridge.
The roads on either side of our river are now major thoroughfares between Lucca and Abetone and on to Modena. The roads are always busy with cars and sometimes very large trucks. On occasion these trucks find themselves in the wrong place and have to turn around and go back the way they came. This involves crossing the bridge. This is all leading to my story about Marco, the traffic warden. He is not really traffic police, he is the lovely Marco of Ristorante Vinicio fame, but he leaps to the fray when needed.
A truck event happened yesterday and I was on the balcony to watch. I grabbed my camera in time to catch some of the action, which I will now attempt to describe.
The truck decides it needs to cross the bridge. To do this it needs to do a 6 point turn to get in the right position. In the meantime, traffic edges closer and closer to the truck. This is when Marco appears to get them out of the way so the truck can do its thing. I missed getting on film Marco actually pushing Edoardo’s car(with Edoardo in it) out of the path of the truck. I may have been laughing too much.
Marco leading the truck across the bridge
showing the way
I could almost touch it
looking for cars coming the other way
the truck edges closer to the corner
the Carabinieri arrive
around it goes
raking over the details
I detect a smirk
This was a very tame truck event because there was not a lot of traffic around. The best ones are when the cars back up and the drivers leap out and shout at the truck driver and each other, blast each other with their horns and get really agitated. People visiting our apartment return with tales of traffic events that have kept them laughing for half an hour or more. In summer when there are more people and cars about you can sit on the balcony with a glass of wine and watch the spectacle unfold.
Click here to see Edoardo and here to find out more about Marco