Zirma

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sngiS dna seitiC sngis dna seitiC sngis dna seitiC

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1. ...

Cities and memory. 1.

Cities and memory. 2.

Cities and desire. 1.

Cities and memory. 3.

Cities and 2. desire. 2.

Cities and ... signs. 1. 3 memory. 5. 4.

Cities and Cities memory.and 4. ... ... 5. 5. desire.and 4. desire.

Cities and Cities desire.and 3. Cities ...

Cities and signs.

5. signs. and 3. signs.

4.

Cities and Cities signs. and 2. Cities 6.

Thin cities.

5.

Thin cities.

4.

7.

Thin cities.

2.

Thin cities.

3.

Thin cities. ...

1.

Trading cities.

4.

Trading cities.

3. ... 5.

8.

Trading cities.

1.

Trading citiers.

2.

Trading cities. ...

Cities and eyes.

Cities and eyes.

2.and 3.

Cities4.and eyes. ...

5. ...

Cities and eyes.

1.

Cities eyes.

9.

Cities and names.

2.

Cities and names.

1.

Cities 4. and nam Cities and names. ...

Cities and names.

3. ... and theand dead.

1. ... Cities Cities Cities and2.the dead. the dead.

Cit Cities and3. the .... Cities and the Cities sky.

2. the sky.and 1. the Cit Cities and Continuous cities.

1. cit ...

Con Continuous ...

Hid Hidden cities.

Cit ...

Con Hid Con Hid Hid ...

. mes.

5. ties and4. the dead. 5. e dead. ties and e sky.

3. the sky. 4. ntinuous ties.

2, cities. 3. dden .

1. cities. 2. ties and the sky. 5. ntinous cities. 4. dden cities. 3. ntinous cities. 5. dden cities. 4. dden cities. 5. .

.5 .se .5 .daed eht .4dn .a das ee di .4 .yks eht .d n a s e 3 .yksi .3 .seitic s ,u 2ou .n si et i .2 .seitic n e .1d .5 .yks eht dna sei .4 .seitic suonit .3 .seitic ned .5 .seitic suonit .4 .seitic ned .5 .seitic ned

srelevarT mor f nruter fo ytic eht htiw am riZ tcnitsid :seiromem

Travelers return from the city of Zirma with distinct memories:

a bl lu gi teet man walk a sk in t with corn on a

unatic lind blac irl tering on shouting king kyscraper the h a crowd puma nice, a leash. a blind black man shouting in the crowd,

a lunatic teetering on a skyscraper’s cornice,

a girl walking with a puma on a leash.

alc bit da nn i l r o nig tn ui or he s g n i e wp oa rr ccs ey h a m u p a .hs,aeec li

Actually, gniklamany w lrof igthe a blind men who tap citheir tanucanes l a on Zirma’skobblestones calb dnilb a n o a m u p a h t i w n o g n i r e t t mad; all nilunatics gnituospend hs nam are black; in every skyscraper there is someoneee going .hsael a s’reparcsyks a ,dworc eht hours on cornices; there is no puma that,some ecinrgirl oc does not raise, as a whim.

l b a g e ne m l at w s na i ti w ro nc o

senotselbbo s’amriZ no senac rieht pat ohw nem dnilb eht fo ynam ,yllautcA dneps scitanul lla ;dam gniog enoemos si ereht reparcsyks yreve ni ;kcalb era .mihw a sa ,esiar ton seod lrig emos taht amup on si ereht ;secinroc no sruoh

Actually, many of the blind men who tap their canes on Zirma’s obblestones are black; in every skyscraper there is someone going mad; all lunatics spend hours on cornices; there is no puma that some girl does not raise, as a whim.

The city is redundant: it repeats itself so that something will stick in the mind.

al ll li im mr rA A a eo ol lh hC C e ad da ar rd dl la aV V a

ar ro od de eF F a eo oZ Z e ai ib bo on ne eZ Z a ai im me eh hp pu uE E a

imoduaL

htnireP

ipocorP assiaR

cinereB

rodoehT

sehtneP

aizoraM

ailiceC

airdnA

ai it ta ap py yH H a

ed di ie eb bo oZ Z e ai il li ir ru ua aM M a

sicuaB

arualgA

edurmeZ

ainaleM

ardnaeL

ainorhpoS aiportuE

ailisrE

aivilO

aivatcO

edurT adnilO

aipasuE

ahrryP abehsreeB

aixoduE

amledA

sillyhP

ainoeL

alkehT

eciralC

adlaremsE

aigrA

anairoM

enerI

a ar ru ua as sI I

am mr ri iZ Z a

an ni ip ps se eD D a

ar ro oZ Z a

aramaT

:amriZ morf gninruter ma oot I

I too am returning from Zirma:

Tamara

Zora

Despina

Zirma

Isaura Isaura

Moriana Moriana Esmeralda Esmeralda

Irene Irene Argia Argia Clarice Clarice

Zobeide Zobeide

Thekla Thekla

Olivia Olivia

Octavia Octavia

Sophronia Sophronia

Phyllis Phyllis Ersilia Ersilia

Maurilia Maurilia

Eusapia Eusapia

Baucis Baucis Hypatia Hypatia

Trude Trude

Adelma Adelma Eutropia Eutropia

Fedora Fedora

Perinth Perinth

Beersheba Beersheba Pyrrha Pyrrha Leonia Leonia Leandra Leandra

Armilla Armilla

Zoe Zoe

Procopi Procopi

Olinda Olinda

Eudoxia Eudoxia Zemrude Zemrude

Chloe Chloe

Zenobia Zenobia

Berenic Berenic

Theodor Theodor

Penthes Penthes

Marozia Marozia

Cecilia Cecilia

Andria Andria

Laudomi Laudomi

Melania Melania Aglaura Aglaura

Valdrada Valdrada

Raissa Raissa

. tsixe ot nigeb nac ytic eht taht os sngis staeper ti :tnadnuder si y romeM Euphemia Euphemia

My traveling companions, on the other hand, swear they saw only one dirigible hovering among the city’s spires, only one tattooo artist arranging needles and inks and pierced patters on his bench, only one fat woman fanning herself on a train’s platform. my memory includes dirigibles flying in all directions, at window level; streets of shows where tattoos are drawn on sailors’ skin; underground trains crammed with obese women suffering from the humidity.

Memory is redundant: it repeats signs so that the city can begin to exist.

si yromis eM Memory :tnadnuder redundant: staeper ti it repeats taht osos sthat ngis signs nacity c ytican c eht the beginottonigeb

Memory is redundant: it repeats signs so that the city can begin to exist.

Zirma: An Invisible Cities Chapter Text by Italo Calvino Design by Betsy Medvedovsky

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Cities and signs Cities and signs Cities and Signs