The Moor: We Visited Verona, In Italy Accidentally. We Were

THE MOOR: We visited Verona, in Italy accidentally. We were tired of driving. It was a good place to stop, and we headed for the city. It turned out to be a GREAT place to visit. We found the 3rd. largest Roman circus, called La Arena di Verona, which was a great venue to watch an opera on a summer night. We visited La Basilica, a beautiful Romanesque-style cathedral, we climbed the tower at the Piazza dei Signori, to be captivated by vistas of the city, and we finished visiting La Casa di Giulietta, (Juliet’s house). Every one wants to see the balcony where Juliet stood to make her call, “Romeo, Romeo, where art thou”. Of course the house was never owned by the Capulets. It was a bordello which was purchased by the city to transform it into the city’s greatest money-making attraction. We enjoyed it just the same, and still enamored with the city, we proceeded to Venice. In Venice we visited museums, churches, and piazzas. We took a trip on a gondola to watch the sun-set and boarded the Vaporetto, a small water bus which is the main means of transportation for the locals. One of our stops was the islet of Murano, famous for its grass industry. We noticed DHL, Federal Express, and UPS representatives hauling big cargoes to their boats, and we visited the glass-blowers room in one of the biggest factories in town. The place was called Desdemona’s, and it had a small museum of pieces manufactured through the last 450 years. A showcase displayed a picture of a black dude holding a white woman. Except for the tight-fitting leggings, he could have been a successful black man in modern Europe or the U.S. The lady’s attire was definitely 14th. Century. She was dressed in a loose gown held by a sash - Empire Style - under her breasts. Next to the picture there was a sign which said “Desdemona and Othello”. I smiled when I saw the sign, recalling the scam of Juliet’s house in Verona. There was also a small leather-bound book next to the picture labeled “Il diario di Othello”. An older lady had been observing my interest in the showcase and approached me. I opened the conversation using my New-Jersey-mafia-hoodlum version of Italian. She listened attentively and responded in British-accented English. I had asked if the picture was from a Shakespearean play ad, and if the diary was a fake. She said that the picture was a photograph of a real painting, and that they were real people. Back in 1584, Giraldo Cinthio had visited Venice and met the couple. He then used their names on a novel titled ‘Il Moro di Venezia’. Shakespeare must have inspired his work on that novel, though he added characters and innuendo. I enquired again, “and the diary, is it real too?” She said “Yes, of course, would you like to borrow it? ”. “Of course”, I replied. The lady, who introduced herself as Dessie, asked where I was staying in town, and I mentioned the Albergo San Marco. She knew the place and suggested that I take the diary to read, and bring it back in the morning. She placed the diary in a zip-loc plastic bag and admonished me. Please be careful. It is a family treasure and it is a bit of history. That evening I perused through the diary and found the first 2 or 3 pages devoted to military jargon. Othello had been a general of a small army which defended the interests of Venice and ventured to Crete and Cyprus to protect the financial interests of the CityState. My beloved was at my elbow to help me interpret any passage difficult to understand. When we got to the personal notations, this is what we found: Day 1: Yesterday, my friend, lieutenant Cassio, obtained an invitation to a very exclusive ball. He was at my side to introduce me to luminaries of the city. Among them we met a rich senator, Signore Barbantio and his lovely daughter, Desdemona. She is a lovely girl. 1

Apparently she is one of the choice young ladies in town because every young man wanted to guide her to the dance floor each time the music started. I glanced at her from time to time but my interest lay in making contacts with the rich merchants of the city. During a lull in the music I retreated to a table where drinks were being served. Suddenly I noticed that Desdemona was right at my side. I enquired if I could fetch her drink and she smiled in the affirmative. I fetched drinks and joined her. Since she is less than half my age, I assumed her conversation would be banal, but she surprised me asking about my responsibilities as the defender of the city, and then making wise responses when I explained what my duties were. We were interrupted by a youth, who asked her to dance, but she declined stating that she had already promised to dance with me. I extended my arm in her direction, she grabbed my forearm and we headed for the dance floor. I enjoyed dancing and talking with her until the end of the party, but I kept an eye out to ensure that her father would not be alarmed. Day 2: Today I can not get Desdemona out of my mind. Several subsequent entries stated the same message. Othello was thinking constantly of her. Months passed and after a trip to the isles Othello requested and obtained a meeting with Signore Barbantio. When they met the Moor expressed, in an earnest oration, that he was very impressed with young Desdemona, and if the Senator would accept him he would like to obtain his permission to court her. Barbantio seemed unaffected by the Moor’s request. He sat silently for a while and finally called a servant and asked her to summon Desdemona. The time elapsed slowly while the gentlemen waited, since Barbantio remained silent and austere. When she arrived Barbantio addressed her and said, “Daughter, the General has come to ask my permission to visit you and to court you. I feel that it should be your decision. However, I must remind you that since you talked to him at the ball, your conversation becomes animated and happy only when you refer to the General so, if you allow me, I would suggest that you consent to his request”. Desdemona blushed as she pinched the corners of her handkerchief, and then addressed her father. “Dear father, please grant the General his request, I would so like to be able to visit with him again”. Barbantio turned to the Moor and exclaimed, “Well, General, we would be very happy to have you visit Desdemona and we would like to invite you to dinner on Saturday nights”. Othello visited Desdemona almost nightly and within a month they asked Barbantio for his blessing to get married. The wedding was arranged, they were married and for all practical purposes we could give this story a happy ending except that: Othello had another assistant called Iago, who was somewhat egotistic and thought he should always be selected for promotion or for special treatment from the General. At the time of the wedding Othello asked Cassio to be his best man and Iago felt both insulted and dejected. He mentioned his frustration to his own wife, Emilia, who reminded him of all the occasions when the General had selected him for special duties, and even made him his confidant. Iago feigned that he was reconciled with her assessment, but inside he was incensed and decided to discredit Cassio and eliminate any future challenge for the General’s attention. In time, Emilia befriended Desdemona since both ladies spent idle time waiting for their husbands to return from military assignments. They shared an interest in glass, and had visited together an old glass blower who made very artistic pieces. Desdemona asked old Roderigo if he would teach them to work glass. The old man said that blowing glass 2

was a man’s job, and women should not be allowed near the furnaces. It was dangerous enough for them to get close to the fire in their own kitchens. The 2 ladies were about to twist his scrawny neck when he agreed to their request. Emilia and Desdemona spent days on end at Roderigo’s while their husbands were away. Their efforts at learning the art of working with glass turned into a competition. At home Desdemona was regaled with stories about Othello’s childhood in Kenya, where, at 13, he had to prove that he was a man. His father had taught him to handle the lance and the bow and he had proved his skill killing rabbits, and hyenas while he guarded the family flock. On the eve of his test his father walked him to a meadow where lions, cheetahs, and jaguars competed for pray. Othello was left alone, and waited for night fall. All the beasts came out to hunt. Packs of lions ganged up on antelope herds, cheetahs virtually chased impala to death and jaguars stealthily closed in on big game and overpowered them with their fierce attacks. Othello identified with the jags. He moved stealthily from one death scene to the next watching each meat eater lustily gnaw at its dinner while keeping guard so no other beast would dare share its meal. After one jag had sated its hunger, it dragged the remains of its victim to the highest branches of a tree. The jag came down, growled, marked its territory and then leaped back up to find a resting place along the lower branches. Othello took aim and as the jag leaped, so did Othello’s arrow which found its target in the jag’s throat. The jag roared. Then it felt the arrow shaft protruding from both sides if its throat and tried to dislodge it while groaning in pain. Othello remained silent and watchful till dawn. He checked his pray which had torn its throat trying to extricate the arrow. Othello picked up the bloodied arrow, wiped it on the grass and plunked it back in its quiver. Then he ran to the village to waken his dad and ask his assistance to bring back his pray and the jag’s pray as well. Othello summoned his closest friends and they walked with him and his dad to bring back the booty. Desdemona tried, for months, to make a medallion in glass to resemble a jag with an arrow at its throat. Finally she completed one that she liked and offered it to Othello on their anniversary. He was so proud of her, and so pleased with the medallion that he asked her to hang it from a chain around his neck. Iago found the gift an ideal excuse to apply his cunning devices to get rid of Cassio. He went to Roderigo and asked him if he could duplicate the medallion that Desdemona had made. His pretext was that his General wanted a copy to send back to his family in Kenya. Roderigo offered to have a copy ready in a week and agreed to secrecy at Iago’s request. After Iago had secured the duplicate he approached Cassio and, with hypocrite guile, convinced him that the General wanted his right-hand lieutenant to display one as well. He suggested that he wear it hidden and display it at the next ball. Cassio was pleasantly surprised and asked Iago to help him hang it around his neck. Iago proceeded to report to the General that he suspected a liaison between Cassio and Desdemona, and reported that he had seen Cassio wear – in secret – a medallion like Othello’s. Othello was distraught, and quietly dismissed Iago, who went home pleased with the result of his intrigue. Othello thought that fair Desdemona could not so betray him, but then he had heard Iago’s statement, and Iago was an honorable man. He proceeded calmly to question Desdemona if she had made a duplicate of the medallion, and she said that she had made many, trying to make the one she had given to him. Then she proceeded to show him a box full of medallions, and laughingly derided some for being so poorly made. 3

Othello inquired if anyone else knew about her collection, and she mentioned that the ones who had laughed the loudest about her initial attempts had been Roderigo and Emilia. Othello really wanted to believe her, so he sought Roderigo and asked him about the medallion. Roderigo, like a proud teacher, mentioned all the failed attempts by Desdemona, and the one piece that had pleased her so and now hung in the middle of Othello’s chest. When Othello pressed him for more medallions, Roderigo mentioned that he had made a copy, purchased by Iago, and had promised secrecy about the transaction. Othello proceeded to query Cassio, who proudly showed him the medallion that he wore under his tunic, and confirmed the extent of Iago’s involvement. Othello returned to Iago and demanded why he had brewed this deception. Iago attempted to explain, but could proffer only the excuse that he had done it to discredit Cassio and hence bring the attention of the General upon himself. The General told him that he had once earned his trust but, to regain it, he would have to agree to be vanished to northern territories where Venice was establishing new trade routes. He would have to go to Britannia or Germania. Ashamed Iago accepted the assignment, promised to change his name to avoid the embarrassment of having it linked to treachery, and promised that neither he nor his progeny would ever disparage the name of another moor. Othello, seeing him so contrite asked him what names he had considered, and Iago replied that it would depend on his destination: If it was Britannia, he’d call himself Glenbeck, and if it went to Germania he would call himself Limpbaugh. A few years hence, Othello retired from military duty and with Desdemona acquired Roderigo’s glass business. They kept in touch with Emilia, who following her husband had established a similar business in Ireland, at Waterford. My beloved and I finished reading the Diary and the following day I took it back to Dessie. She received it and dropped it in a drawer. She asked if I’d be interested in acquiring a piece, and I replied that I’d be interested in a copy of the Jag with the arrow piercing its neck. She opened a second drawer and pulled a glass medallion. It was beautiful. She informed me that it was one of a limited run, and they had it on sale for a measly 225 Euros. She looked over her lunettes when she saw me drop my jaw in disbelief, and proceeded to ask me what I could pay. We haggled, and I got her to drop the price to 200. She offered gold and silver chains so I could hang it around my neck, but when I declined she opened another drawer to pull out a string so I could wear it out of the store. As she hung it around my neck, I spied in her open drawer and saw multiple copies of Othello’s Diary, in any language you could request. No one could erase the smile on my face as I walked out of the store with my beloved hanging on to my arm and the medallion hanging from my neck.

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