Alessandro Cattelan is pop even if he writes a travel guide
There are many guides on New York on the market. You just have to look not too carefully among the shelves of the most well-stocked bookstores to realize it, but something so pop – it already is from the cover – was missing. It’s called My New Yorkis signed by Alessandro Cattelan, in collaboration with Alexio Biacchi, and published by his publishing house, Accento Edizioni. The host, speaker and showman from Tortona ideally takes on the role of Virgil to lead readers into a different ‘Big Apple’, seen through the eyes of those who know the metropolis well. It must be said from the beginning that the work transcends the trappings of classic guides, and takes the form almost like travel notes, memories, even autobiographical anecdotes, references to more or less contemporary culture, all organized – that is – to watertight compartments. What is not missing, among the two hundred pages that make up the book, is the use of ‘colourful’ prose, in the good sense of the term, which highlights the verve of the savvy showman.
My New York it is a “brazen” guide, as Cattelan himself declares (an adjective that fits perfectly). His travel handbook – let’s call it that, why not – is aimed in particular at those who have already visited New York at least once in their life. The author has no intention of reporting ‘the 10 things to absolutely do or see’, but rather offers a look at what the more ‘fast’ tourism normally does not take into consideration, due to lack of time and the legitimate desire to touch and visit as many iconic places as possible before packing your bags and returning to Italy. It is rather a long and detailed series of notes and ideas for those who are already satisfied with museums, squares and parks rightly inflated and ‘beaten’ by tourists from all over the world. A guide, certainly, for those who are lucky enough to be able to return periodically to the States and can allow themselves the luxury of spending days, or rather weeks, discovering what is unusual in New York. But be careful, it’s not just this: it can also be a very valuable additional support for those who are just beginners: some interesting tips can have universal value for anyone, even for those who will probably visit the city only once in their life. Therefore, if there is an empty space left in your backpack, it can easily be occupied by this guide, after all it is not that bulky in terms of size.
A book is made up of contents, which are certainly not lacking My New York. If in his considerations, Cattelan often allows himself the license to digress, the guide is divided into defined sections: it begins, in order, with the “essential places”, starting from the Yankee Stadium and a particular sunset over Manhattan which can be admired only at two specific times (in particular conditions) of the year. Following, in a row, are the sections dedicated to houses, museums, churches, parks and gardens, with in the middle some iconic places that used to exist, but are no longer there. And then there are the places where you can look for the Italian spirit from overseas, some places where you can eat Italian or watch a football match (do you miss the national team or Inter on holiday?). The last ‘blocks’ are also interesting: Cattelan recommends particular places and views that have become iconic because they have found fame in books, films, TV series or in music. And finally it ends with the places where these cultural products can be breathed and purchased: bookshops and music shops. Ah, if you are not superstitious there is also a section dedicated to cemeteries.
Cattelan’s effort is embellished with contributions from exceptional guests, who told their story of New York in a personal way. So the reader can discover the places near the water that are essential for Paolo Cognetti (writer, Premio Strega 2017 with The eight mountains), and those in which the starchitect Renzo Piano carves out moments of peace and serenity. Furthermore, the reader can decide to eat in the vegetarian and vegan places frequented by the rapper Rose Villain or in the restaurants and trattorias recommended by Growing Up Italian, a successful social project born from the minds of three cousins, children of immigrants from Campania. Ludovica Sauer, model and wife of Alessandro Cattelan, suggests some attractions with which to engage their children (but actually also their parents) during their stay in the city, and then, in series, Gabriele Romagnoli, Roberto Saviano, Francesco Costa and Jovanotti they reveal their places of heart.
Alessandro Cattelan talks about New York because it is his ‘second home’, but who knows if this new editorial experiment may not find fertile ground in the future, with guides to other cities. Equally cheeky and sincere.