L’Olivo Santa Barbara is a blog about cultural similarities and differences between Italy and the United States, with some emphasis on Santa Barbara, California. The blog addresses history, travel, film, music, art, food, and people and animals. Following an introduction in English, you can choose to read each post in Italian or English. Comments are welcome, as are ideas for future posts.
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Our film group met recently, as usual, by Zoom. We marveled how Zoom could connect 5 people who were, at the time, in 4 different times zones: Katia in Italy, Gina in Massachusetts, Susie in New Mexico, and Giovanna and I in California. And we mused over the Italian term for time zone, fuso orario. Orario, which refers to time, was fine, but fuso, as in formaggio fuso, melted cheese?
So began the research. A time zone is defined as an area that observes a standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In the past, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of local solar times. To minimize the chaos, North American railroads designated in 1883 four standard time zones across the United States and Canada. A few years earlier, in 1879, Canadian engineer Sandford Fleming—who is often credited as the inventor of time zones–had proposed a global 24-zone system.
But it was an Italian mathematician and politician, Giuseppe Barilli (1812-1894) who first developed the modern, global system of time. In 1858, more than 20 years before Fleming, he published a book titled Miranda! under the pen name Quirico (from Latin meaning Roman citizen) Filopanti (from Greek meaning “one who loves everyone”), which he coined out of his admiration for ancient Rome. He proposed dividing the earth into 24 “longitudinal days.” Each would span 15 degrees of longitude from its east and west neighbor, and each zone would differ from its neighbor by one hour. He chose Rome as the prime meridian. Filopanti also proposed a single Universal Time to be used worldwide for astronomy and telegraphy.
Miranda! was an eccentric work, a mixture of science, political ideology, and mysticism; it was largely ignored at the time. In the 1830s and 1840s, Barilli was a graduate of and professor at the University of Bologna. A political figure in Italian unification, he also participated during the 1849 establishment of the Roman Republic. After the end of the republic, he sought shelter in the United States and London, where he wrote Miranda! When he eventually returned to Italy, his appointment at the University of Bologna ended, because he repeatedly refused to take an oath of allegiance to the monarchy. In 1876 he was elected to Parliament in unified Italy. He died poor in Bologna in 1894.
Filopanti’s legacy is undeniable: he supplied the conceptual map of 24 zones, one-hour steps, and a universal reference; he also understood the communications significance long before synchronized timetables and transcontinental telegraphy. The modern system that we use today differs from Filopanti’s in 3 ways: The prime meridian was changed from Rome, Italy, to Greenwich, England. Both the 1883 Rome Conference and the 1884 Washington, D.C, Meridian Conference formally endorsed Greenwich to unify global time. After all, 72% of the world’s shipping and commerce already used Greenwich-based sea charts, making it the most practical choice for international navigation and science.
The other two are more subtle adaptations: The meridians initially followed exact lines of longitude; today, for practical reasons, the borders today curve to accommodate national, state, and economic boundaries. Finally, the terminology changed from “longitudinal days” to “time zones.”
Fuso orario? The Italian word “fuso” in this context, comes from the Latin fusus, which means spindle—the wooden tool used in spinning wool or flax. When cartographers first divided the globe into 24 equal segments, the resulting map strips were wide at the equator and tapered to a point at the North and South Poles. This wedge shape resembled a textile spindle, inspiring the metaphorical name.
Di recente il nostro gruppo di cinema si è riunito, come al solito, su Zoom. Ci siamo meravigliati di come Zoom potesse mettere in contatto cinque persone che, in quel momento, si trovavano in quattro fusi orari diversi: Katia in Italia, Gina in Massachusetts, Susie nel New Mexico, e Giovanna ed io in California. Abbiamo anche riflettuto sul termine italiano per “time zone” —fuso orario. Per noi americani, è chiaro che “orario” si riferisce al tempo, ma non capivamo la parola “fuso”—abbiamo pensato al formaggio fuso– melted cheese!
Così ha avuto inizio la nostra ricerca. Un fuso orario è definito come un’area che adotta un orario standard per scopi legali, commerciali e sociali. In passato, esistevano centinaia, se non migliaia, di orari solari locali. Per ridurre al minimo la confusione, nel 1883 le compagnie ferroviarie nordamericane stabilirono quattro fusi orari standard per gli Stati Uniti e il Canada. Qualche anno prima, nel 1879, l’ingegnere canadese Sandford Fleming — spesso considerato l’inventore dei fusi orari — aveva proposto un sistema globale basato su 24 zone.
Tuttavia, fu un matematico e politico italiano, Giuseppe Barilli (1812-1894) a ideare per primo il moderno sistema orario globale. Nel 1858, oltre vent’anni prima di Fleming, pubblicò un libro intitolato Miranda! sotto lo pseudonimo di Quirico (dal Latino, “cittadino romano”) Filopanti (dal Greco, “colui che ama tutti”), nome che aveva coniato per la sua profonda ammirazione verso l’antica Roma. Propose di suddividere la Terra in 24 “giorni longitudinali”: ciascuno avrebbe coperto un’ampiezza di 15 gradi di longitudine fra il vicino ad est e ad ovest, e differendo di un’ora fra da quella confinante. Scelse Roma come il meridiano fondamentale. Filopanti propose inoltre l’adozione di un unico Tempo Universale da utilizzare a livello mondiale per l’astronomia e la telegrafia.
Miranda! fu un’opera eccentrica, un misto di scienza, di ideologia politica e di misticismo; all’epoca, passò per lo più inosservata. Tra gli anni Trenta e Quaranta dell’Ottocento, Barilli si laureò e insegnò all’Università di Bologna. In quanto figura politica del Risorgimento, partecipò anche alla proclamazione della Repubblica Romana nel 1849. Dopo la caduta della repubblica, riparò negli Stati Uniti e a Londra, dove scrisse Miranda! Al suo ritorno in Italia, perse il suo posto all’università perché rifiutò ripetutamente di prestare giuramento di fedeltà alla monarchia. Nel 1876, fu eletto in Parlamento nell’Italia unificata. Morì in povertà a Bologna nel 1894.
L’eredità di Filopanti è innegabile: fornì lo schema concettuale basato su 24 zone, intervalli di un’ora e un riferimento universale; comprese inoltre l’importanza di tale sistema per le comunicazioni ben prima dell’avvento di orari sincronizzati e della telegrafia transcontinentale. Il sistema moderno che utilizziamo oggi differisce da quello di Filopanti per tre aspetti: il meridiano fondamentale è stato spostato da Roma (Italia) a Greenwich (Inghilterra). Sia la Conferenza di Roma del 1883 che la Conferenza sui meridiani di Washington D.C. del 1884 sancirono formalmente Greenwich come punto di riferimento per unificare l’orario globale. Dopotutto, il 72% del traffico marittimo e commerciale mondiale utilizzava già carte nautiche basate su Greenwich, rendendolo la scelta più pratica per la navigazione internazionale e per la scienza.
Gli altri due cambiamenti sono adattamenti più sottili. Inizialmente i meridioni seguirono linee di longitudine precise; oggi, per ragioni pratiche, i confini si curvano per adattarsi ai limiti nazionali, statali, e economici. Finalmente, la terminologia è cambiata da “giorni longitudinali” a “fusi orari”.
Fuso orario? In questo contesto, la parola “fuso” deriva dal Latino fusus, che indica lo strumento in legno usato per filare lana e lino. Quando i cartografi divisero per la prima volta il globo in 24 segmenti uguali, le strisce risultanti sulla mappa erano larghe all’equatore e si ristringevano fino a una punta ai poli nord e sud. Questa forma a cuneo ricordava un fuso tessile, ispirando così il nome metaforico.
Two of my favorite Italian films are Cinema Paradiso (1988) and Il Postino (1994). Both are romantic, tender, sweet…and bittersweet. Recently, our film group of five women watched Il Postino again, this time on YouTube. It’s just as good, if not, better than the first time around.
It is the story of Mario, who lives on a remote island (perhaps near Naples) and takes no interest in fishing, the main occupation of the island. One day, the postmaster asks him to deliver mail by bicycle to a new arrival on the island. The new resident is the famous poet Pablo Neruda, who has been exiled from Chile for political reasons. Mario notices that most of his mail is from women, and he wonders if he can learn poetry to attract women. Slowly, Mario and Pablo become friends, and the poet teaches him the meaning and richness of metaphor, a word I will forever associate with this film.
I won’t spoil your enjoyment of the film by revealing much more of the plot other than to say that Mario is successful in wooing his Beatrice. But it wasn’t easy over the objections of the young woman’s protective aunt, Donna Rosa. She is offended when Mario uses poetic language to win her niece’s heart—“your smile spreads across your face like a butterfly.” And she becomes even more outraged when Mario sends Beatrice a sensual poem borrowed from Neruda. Donna Rosa declares “words are the worst things ever.” She believes that verbal seduction is far more dangerous than physical advances, saying that she would rather have a drunkard at the bar touch her niece’s backside than touch her with his words.
The film is about many things, particularly for me about the power of language, poetry and metaphor –not only in love, but also in politics. It earned many award nominations and received critical praise for its quiet charm, emotional depth, and gentle humor.
The ending is bittersweet, as is the back story. The guiding light behind the production was Massimo Troisi, who plays Mario. He was also an Italian director and co-wrote the film’s screenplay. He had heart disease from childhood rheumatic fever. He postponed heart surgery in order to act in the title role. He died the day after the film was completed.
