THTooLongDon'tRead

Earlier this week I learned of the death of Orlando Gelli, the patriarch of the family that housed, fed, and cared for me during my junior year abroad in Florence, Italy. 

Over the past 45 years I have returned to Florence frequently for periods ranging from a few days to a year. I have only just arrived for my fourth extended stay of just under 90 days. When I arrived I learned from Manola, Orlando’s daughter, that her dad had been in the hospital for about 12 days. A day later I learned of his passing, something that while not unanticipated, still hit the family hard. Even in her grief she informed me and my husband John of the plans to hold a final visitation event at the Cappelle del Comminato near the hospital. She extended the invitation and acknowledged that she and her family would understand if we couldn’t make it.

I understood it to be an opportunity to see Bruna, Orlando’s wife, as well as Luca, Manola’s brother. All of these people are very important to me and I felt honored to have the opportunity to express my condolences and affection in person! I did not hesitate to search for “Cappelle del Comminato” on Google Maps in relation to my apartment. Only one option came up and it appeared to be at the end of the line of one of the buses that stopped just 5 minutes away from out front door! How convenient was that! 

Our good intentions began auspiciously when the #6 bus arrived at the stop just moments after we did. It has been very warm but very rainy over the past few days, so the timing was good in that we were safely on the bus before heavy rain recommenced. No sooner than we got on the bus, other riders started to approach the driver with concerns about a deviation from the normal route. I pieced together from what I heard that there was some work being done in the center that required a reroute that would keep him from stopping at several of primary stops along the normal route. Following the progress on Google Maps I was able to tell when and where we rejoined the route. That calm was short lived as the bus neared another key interchange, the driver was advised of the road closure due to an accident. All of this combined with heavy intercity traffic and we were well beyond our estimated travel time. 

By this time the bus was primarily empty with only a few die-hard travelers. One older lady with a poodle-cut was upset and tried to convince the driver to let her off in traffic. He politely explained that it was too dangerous to do that–and that he would stop at the next bus stop. Nevertheless she persisted in asking multiple times for him to make an exception for her. Exasperated, he finally and forcefully said, “Signora, non chiedermelo un’altra volta!” (Ma’m, do not ask me one more time!). I think he meant it! She remained silent until she descended at the next stop. 

It was about this time when were finally entering the periphery of the city where traffic started to move more smoothly and quickly. Following our process on Google Maps, I knew that we were getting closer to our destination. For clarity I approached the driver and explained where we were going and he dropped us at the next stop. 

It was just as Manola had said it would be, a bus nearby followed by a short walk. Signage was good. Signs pointing to the hospital, signs to emergency care, even signs to the Cappelle del Comminato. We had arrived! 

Or had we? The walk took us across a large parking lot and down a long deserted driveway toward a building on the backside of the hospital that faced the opposite direction. I would guess it was a building dating from the late 1960s or early 70s, there was something of a community center feel to it and one entered into a large round space with double doors fanned out around the outside. There was someone on duty who knew nothing about a visitation for Orlando Gelli. We had not arrived…we had gone to another Cappella del Comminato behind a different hospital! What is life without a few unexpected funereal adventures. Facing public transit of over an hour versus a 20 minute taxi ride, after some frustration trying to use a taxi app to call a taxi, we approached the first taxi we saw and he knew exactly where we needed to go! 

I am lucky that I have an above average ability to laugh at myself and whatever bumps in the road I encounter. Luckily, I was in good company for this one. John and I did make it to the visitation and we were able to spend time with Bruna, Manola, and Luca along with others who knew and cared deeply for Orlando. There will be other stories to share, but for now, I will wrap up this funny thing that happened on the way to the funeral home.