Bonatti Day Courmayeur: the show A way of being and the video of Rossana Podesta recounting her Walter Bonatti

The sky above Courmayuer seemed suspended, while Mont Blanc pushed forward the Dent du Géant as if to spy and see what was going on. A narrator's voice, that of Vasco, gave form, lightness and and depth to the words. Sergio's (harmonic) accordion expanded beyond all limits, lost itself in the breeze while Richard, with his clarinet, gave life and breath to the story. George sang and made the strings of his guitar dance as these blended and merged into one. While images representing a mix of dreams and reality provided by "storyteller" Raffaella transported all into other realms. The protagonist of the story recounted in words, music and images was that Walter Bonatti who explored the inaccessible mountain boundaries. The man who went one step beyond, to seek and find what he was looking for, to continue to hope and fuel all our dreams.

This all happened on Tuesday, July 31 during the Bonatti Day staged at Courmayeur. The Jardin de l'Ange staged "A way of being, words by and about Walter Bonatti" and for a moment I seemed to grasp the meaning of it all. Perhaps it was the illusion of a fleeting moment, but it suddenly seemed clear to me that it's always worthwhile telling a story. Those real experiences, some special, at times strange even, most certainly unattainable, which talk about the essence of man himself. They talk about all of us. Because these stories, these testimonies give us hope. They teach us something out ourselves. And the mountains. And the "landscape" which surrounds us, of which we are nothing but a fragile and infinitesimal part.

Thanks go to Walter Bonatti, who with his extraordinary life allowed us to recount and listen to these stories. And thanks to Vasco Mirandola, Giorgio Gobbo, Sergio Marchesini, Riccardo Marogna, Raffaella Rivi for the experience, for those words which recount a life, through the eyes of an artist. Above all, a sincere embrace goes to Rossana Podesta who was a part of this story and who wanted, once again, to be there to share with us these emotions. A Rossana who, in the video below (screened at Courmayeur after the show) offered us some insight into her life with Walter Bonatti.




> Un modo di essere - parole di e su Walter Bonatti
voice Vasco Mirandola
video by Raffaella Rivi
live musci Piccola Bottega Baltazar
Giorgio Gobbo vioce and guitar, Sergio Marchesini accordion, Riccardo Maragna clarinets
based on an idea by Vinicio Stefanello (editor planetmountain.com)
art project by Vasco Mirandola
organisationMountain Network srl
with the support of Comune di Courmayeur