Tobacco manufacture. The prison

We go on with our walk, to realize how big this area is. We reach the end of the first side, where there’s a curved turn in Esperia street. Here is where the fence ends to leave space to a 3 meters wall, plus a fence on top of it. It reaches at the end at least 5 meters, which doesn’t help to let me see what happens inside, nor leaves any possibility to get inside the place. On this side there’s a huge gate, which makes me think of the passage of trucks: it wouldn’t have any sense to put such a big entrance just for cars. It looks good enough for tanks. On the other side of the path we are walking on, that was the passage for trams, there is a green spot. A green triangle, not bigger than median strip, not good enough as a park, not used and not acceptable as a green lung. Some trees wouldn’t be bad around here. The only piece of urban furniture, is given by a druggy staggering in the middle of the isle. Completely lost, out of the world. At the beginning it looks like he didn’t notice us, wihch makes me feel better, but i accelerate, anyway, cause i don’t want to risck any nasty meeting. He isn’t in a state of communicating anyway. I talk with Alessandro, trying to distract myself. I’d like to stop and study the huge gate, but the guy is starting to notice us. I look around, but there’s nobody else except us. Few cars pass by, but to fast to be worried about a druggy and two people dressed in black, walking where normal ones don’t even think of passing. This curved side is short, but it seems like eternity before i manage to see what’s behind it. It’s not a nice walk, loneliness is the only compagnon of the druggy too. Finally we turn and i hope i can feel reliefed. What i see instead is even more sad. A very large street, too large from what i’d expect from the few cars passing and from what’s on the sides. On the other side of the street there’s not much too see. There’s a military area, with high walls, big fences, security cameras, barbed wire, and whatever can be usefull to keep anyone in a good distance, enough not to feel a gun pointed against. Or at least this is the sensation i have when i happen to walk close to these places: all those yellow signs full of exclamation marks and impressive words like “don’t pass!”, or “you are observed”, or armed people inside... how can’t i feel disturbed by all this? I’m afraid i could do a wrong step and find myself inside one of those subway thrillers, where an innocent gets mixed up in misunderstoods and conspiracies, and has to run away or spend it’s entire life in jail: cause of course the real criminals get out the next day, the innocent has to follow infinite justice trials, like in a story from Kafka. I comfort myself deciding to stay on the side of the abandoned area, hoping to pass in a hurry the military one. The sidewalk is very large and used by cars as parking lot. Everything here is bigger than normal: the walls, that remind me of castles more than industries, the street, the sidewalks and the buildings. I feel like a citizen of Lilliput. At the end we have to go on the other side, cause from here there’s no way we can see anything. The wall is so long i can’t see the end of it, always the same, giving to the walk a very boring tune. I have to forget about my fear for military areas and we cross. If i walk on the street side of the sidewalk i might not feel so observed. The view from here is much better. And disturbing at the same time. This side of the area is perfectly simmetric: two huge yellow buildings are separated by a white one slightly smaller. The entire façade seems quite new, as if it has been restored recently. There’s no sign left by humidity, the light hasn’t faded the covering, unfortunately. Eaves and gutters look quite new too. Everything looks perfect, if it weren’t for the windows. Beyond the wall i can see that the first floor is much higher than it should be and it’s protected by a roofing sticking out. The first row on top of it is protected by gratings: probably to avoid anyone to climb over the roofing to get inside the building. All the windows of the yellow buildings are slightly arched, which gives a bit of elegance to a façade otherwise too squared, regular and repeatitive. The windows of the white building are instead perfectly rectangular, as too underline the simmetric axis, the diversity in the middle. The window frames aren’t in good condition: i can easly see the white paint coming off, showing the underneath wood. The windows are all closed, but they are all different in small details: some are opaque, and from here i can’t tell if it’s the glass that has been covered, or if there are shutters inside; others are opaque only partially, letting me see the darkness inside; some are missing parts of glass, letting the cold winter air inside; some have been covered not to let the air in, where the glass came off. The left building is the one in worse conditions, cause there are more windows without glass. I don’t see any kind of sign that makes me think somebosy’s working on this area. Silent is absolut. No cars covering imaginary noises. Everything tells me that this area is not in function, althought is in such good conditions. The majesticity and impenetrability remind me of the layout of a prison. If i hadn’t see the side on Fulvio Testi with the cimney on the background, it would have been my first thought.