How to be a tourist guide
I want to be boasty. Last night I went out in Bologna downtown for a tour with this cultural association. The topic was really charming: Dante and Bologna.
It was about Dante Alighieri, claimed as the "father" of the Italian language, and his relationship with Bologna, which he visited at the age of 21. Dante wrote a supreme poem, the Divine Comedy, where he criticized his society by putting a lot of contemporary famous people either in Hell, in Purgatory (waiting for the Paradise), and in Paradise. Lot of Bolognesi were put in Hell, I'd say all of them, as Dante couldn't stand some of this city's habits. However, he was fascinated by its towers (Bologna counted about 100 towers in the Middle Age, built between 1000 and 1250), especially the tower of Garisenda (the lowest of the famous "two towers" of Bologna), so much that he talked about a huge and terrifying giant (Anteo), describing him like the Garisenda. There our walking tour ended.
As you see, I learnt plenty of things last night, and I'm happy of that. But I have to admit that I'm a tour leader, used to listen to guides, and that I already knew pretty much of Bologna and pretty much of Dante Alighieri (separately). A great part of the public (about 40 people), although motivated to come - there was a reservation and a 6 euro admission ticket, not properly cheap - got bored. This because our guide, even though she was very committed on her job, she found all the referrings to Bologna's people and places, and she knew the subject pretty well, didn't know how to involve people in her speech. It was like at the Primary school, the teacher with some yawning bored pupils, and this is not good for a guide.
A guide, actually, has to be - first of all - an entertainer. We are talking about tourism, not about Academy neither school. The education, at some stage of one's life, become emotion. Adult people find the culture as an emotion, since they even spend money to have a guided walk at 9 in the evening, when other people are thinking to go to bed. Given that, the guide has to be easy, voiceful, has to change the tone of his voice, has to put some mottoes or some jokes in the midst of a discussion. Dante is very easy to be linked to some interesting and funny stories, and these were to be told yesterday. It's a way to interrupt the mind's labour on memorize what the guide is telling, and at the same time a device to help in memorizing it.
I want to be hazardous: better to tell a wrong thing, but in the proper way. It might be more interesting, funny and emotionally rich than a right thing told in the wrong way.
Our guide last night was exactly the contrary, and this really disappointed me. She did a great preparatory job, but she didn't express it in the right way. She prepared the cake, but she didn't put it in the oven.
The sad point is that at least 85% of guides in Italy is like her.
It was about Dante Alighieri, claimed as the "father" of the Italian language, and his relationship with Bologna, which he visited at the age of 21. Dante wrote a supreme poem, the Divine Comedy, where he criticized his society by putting a lot of contemporary famous people either in Hell, in Purgatory (waiting for the Paradise), and in Paradise. Lot of Bolognesi were put in Hell, I'd say all of them, as Dante couldn't stand some of this city's habits. However, he was fascinated by its towers (Bologna counted about 100 towers in the Middle Age, built between 1000 and 1250), especially the tower of Garisenda (the lowest of the famous "two towers" of Bologna), so much that he talked about a huge and terrifying giant (Anteo), describing him like the Garisenda. There our walking tour ended.
As you see, I learnt plenty of things last night, and I'm happy of that. But I have to admit that I'm a tour leader, used to listen to guides, and that I already knew pretty much of Bologna and pretty much of Dante Alighieri (separately). A great part of the public (about 40 people), although motivated to come - there was a reservation and a 6 euro admission ticket, not properly cheap - got bored. This because our guide, even though she was very committed on her job, she found all the referrings to Bologna's people and places, and she knew the subject pretty well, didn't know how to involve people in her speech. It was like at the Primary school, the teacher with some yawning bored pupils, and this is not good for a guide.
A guide, actually, has to be - first of all - an entertainer. We are talking about tourism, not about Academy neither school. The education, at some stage of one's life, become emotion. Adult people find the culture as an emotion, since they even spend money to have a guided walk at 9 in the evening, when other people are thinking to go to bed. Given that, the guide has to be easy, voiceful, has to change the tone of his voice, has to put some mottoes or some jokes in the midst of a discussion. Dante is very easy to be linked to some interesting and funny stories, and these were to be told yesterday. It's a way to interrupt the mind's labour on memorize what the guide is telling, and at the same time a device to help in memorizing it.
I want to be hazardous: better to tell a wrong thing, but in the proper way. It might be more interesting, funny and emotionally rich than a right thing told in the wrong way.
Our guide last night was exactly the contrary, and this really disappointed me. She did a great preparatory job, but she didn't express it in the right way. She prepared the cake, but she didn't put it in the oven.
The sad point is that at least 85% of guides in Italy is like her.
Labels: Italy
posted by Angelo at 6:53 AM
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