WITHOUT STONES, THERE IS NO ARCH.
THE
ARCH
“Without stones there is no arch.”
Polo answers:
Marco Polo describes a bridge, stone by stone. “But which is the stone that supports the bridge?” Kublai Khan asks. “The bridge is not supported by one stone or another,” Marco answers, “but by the line of the arch that they form.” Kublai Khan remains silent, reflecting. Then he adds: “Why do you speak to me of the stones? It is the arch that matters to me.”
As mentioned previously, Polo described visiting f ifty-f ive cities to Kahn so that he could divert the emperor’s attention from the demise of his empire to tales of exploration and greatness. However, it is later revealed that Polo is talking about only one city, Venice. The above excerpt is taken from a dialog ue between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan, and metaphorically correlates with this development in the novel’s storyline. The arched bridge serves as a metaphor for the city, while the stones that support the arch are the many dif ferent facets of cities discussed by Marco Polo through his description of his fantasy cities. The stones also represent the fragmented literary nature of Calvino’s writing style, in which many small parts (the tales of Polo’s cities) are that become united with the realization that they are all part of the same bridge (all cities). Even further enhancing this metaphor is the attention to the signif icance of the center stone holding the bridge together, the keystone. This quote is located almost exactly in the center of the book, so in ways, this quote serves as the keystone for the framework of the book. All material discussed in the chapters of Polo’s adventures will refer back to the idea that each story is a metaphor for a what a city is, but is not independent of any other story or city.
ersilia
relationships
spiderwebs of intricate
Marco P o lo E r s il ia a d e s c r ib e s w it h r e la s a c it in h t a io b y n s h ip s a it a n t s . H e c on ne c te d sat u rated nd ne t w fa c t t h a t c o n t in u e s b y a a o r s t e r h t k r e s t r in g s e q u a l, r a t s a mon g in g , w h o s to say t h nu me rou s a r e d if fe r h e r, t h e y e c o lo r d at each h suppor t s it s t h a t e y r e p e a t in g n c e o o a t t r u c a n no e r m in e s t u s e in E e m a in .” ( n b e d iv id c o lo r s in d t he pro c e r C h lo s e d in t o a ic a t e t h a t e nat u re a lv in o , 76 il ia is nger pa ss s s . C a lv in o f r e la t io ) T he re s system of t h is c it y a mon g t h o m a ke s n a id s c e h h ip . T h e e nt s at te m k n o w le d g m , t h e in ie r a r c h y. it a p p a r e n e s n o t a ll h a b it a n t s C a lv in o w pt to se t t t hat re s le r r e u it a ve : t he h la t io n s h ip p E r s il ia e s , “ W he n id e n t s a n d s ou se s a re in f u r t h e r t h e s t r in g t he we b s d is m a n t le d t e r r it o r ie s s o f s t r in g b e c ome so ; o n ly t h e , b u t a lw a re de pen ays end u de nt on o s t r in g s a n d t h e ir p a ba ndo n e an ot he r, n in g t h e ir home s a n as th e re fu ge es d co n si de r th e ab an do ne d ne tw or k of re la ti on sh ip s E rs il ia , w h il e th e ab an do ne d “s pi de rw eb s of in tr ic at e re la ti on sh ip s” se ek re si de nt s to gi ve th em fo rm ag ai n (C al vi no , 76 ). M ar co Po lo de sc ri be s E rs il ia as a ci ty sa tu ra te d w it h re la ti on sh ip s an d ne tw or ks am on g it s in h ab it an ts . H e co nt in ue s to sa y th at ea ch h ou se in E rs il ia is co n ne ct ed by a st ri ng , w h os e co lo r de te rm in es th e na tu re of re la ti on sh ip . T h e fa ct th at th e st ri ng s ar e d if fe re nt co lo rs in d ic at e th at th is ci ty ac kn ow le dg es no t al l re la ti on sh ip s ar e eq ua l, ra th er, th ey ca n be d iv id ed in to a sy st em of h ie ra rc hy . C al vi no w ri te s, “W h en th e st ri ng s be co m e so nu m er ou s th at yo u ca n no lo ng er pa ss am on g th em , th e in h ab it an ts le av e: th e h ou se s ar e d is m an tl ed ; on ly th e st ri ng s an d th ei r su pp or ts re m ai n.” (C al vi no , 76 ) T h e re si de nt s at te m pt to se t up E rs il ia in
seeking
further territories, but always end up abandoning their homes and repeating the process. Calvino makes it apparent that residents and the webs of string are dependent on one another, as the refugees consider the abandoned network of relationships Ersilia, while the abandoned “spiderwebs of intricate relationships” seek residents to give them fom again (Calvino, 76). The use of string as a metaphor for human networking is relevant because string’s primary purpose is to bond two entities together. It is apparent Calvino intended Ersilia to be built out of string to trace social relationships and comment on how interconnected urban dwellers are simply by living in the conf ines of a city. Calvino also touches on how involuntary social networking can be at times, in which our contacts can become exhausted, muddled, and tangled when not properly tended to. A web of string also represents a larger concept of interconnectedness, in which simply being an agent in the urban setting denotes an involvement in the process of negotating environment. This interconnectedness branches into the way we behave on an everyday basis, whether it is recycling our trash or saying hello to our neighbors, to preserve a favorable and pleasant living condition. Similar to the residents of Ersilia, when we feel we’ve exhausted the relationships in our communities, we tend to move to other neighborhoods, cities, and countries to to continue growing and building our social rapport.
Bauc i s is a ci ty su spend ed in t he s k y, s u p por te d by st i lt s t h at st ret ch f rom t he e a r th i nto t h e c loud s. To a c c e s s t he e levated c i t y, o n e mu st c li mb la dde r s t ho u sa nd s of fe e t t a l l . None of t he i n h a bit a nt s or a rch itec t u re f ro m Bauc i s i nt e r ve n e w it h t he e a r th b e l o w, c reati ng a cle a n b a r r ier b et we e n t he spr a wl of t he c it y a n d t he de s o late ea r th it re st s on. Ca l v i no w r ite s t h at t he re a re t h re e hy p ot he ses abo ut t he re s ide nt s of Bauc i s , wh ich a re t hat “t hat t h ey hate t h e earth ; t h at t he y re spe c t it so m uch t he y a void a l l c ont a ct, a nd t h a t t he y lo ve it a s it w a s b e for e t he y e x isted a n d w it h spyg la s s es a nd tele sc op es a i me d d ow nw a r ds t he y n e ve r t i re of e x a m ining i t, le a f by le a f , sto ne by s ton e , a nt by a nt , c o nte mpl a ti ng w it h fa scin at ion t h e i r ow n a b senc e .” T he la dder a s a me t aphor c o u ld re pr es e nt hu m a n’s t e ndenc y t o distan ce t he m se l ve s f r o m nat u re , e spec ia l ly whe n s ubmer se d in an e x t reme ly u rba n e nv i r on me nt . T he la dde rs i n Bauc is a re e xt remely ta ll, an d wou ld pre su ma bly t a k e days to c l i mb. This r elate s to rea l c it ie s , be cause it t a ke s a n e x tende d per iod of t i me to a s si mu l ate on es e l f i nt o an u rba n en v i ron me nt b e fore it is ev en not ic e a b le how d i s t a nt one fe e ls tow a r d s t h e ‘g r e at outdoor s .’
ll y, t h e A d d it io n a e m a de la d d e r s a r nat u ra l of wo o d , a s o it is m a t e r ia l, to see hu morou s d is t a n c hu m a n s s t h e m s e lv e in g r e , w it h f rom nat u nat u re. r ld a p A r e a l- w o o f C a lp li c a t io n f ic t io n a l v in o ’s Ne w la d d e r s is crapers. Yo r k s k y s B a u c is , S im il a r t o g spac t h e s e li v in n d it s e s su spe in t h e r e s id e n t s o m li fe s k y, fa r f r e e t le v on t he s t r er tha n e l. R a t h la d d e r s , c li m b in g le v a t o r s w e r id e e r u s fa r t h at u she g e ne r a l f rom t he a nd p o p u la t io n in t o o u r propel u s w o r ld s . p r iv a t e e e ve n T he re a r hy p ot h s im il a r t h e in e se s a bout of t he se h a b it a n t s d e v e lo p k in d he re a re me nt s a s t , que s in B a u c is he t he r t io n in g w s cho se in h a b it a n t r f rom t o b e s o fa el be g r o u n d - le v y p r e fe r c a u se t he t he m t o e x c lu d e it , o r s e lv e s f r o m r e s e ir because t h t he sk y id e n c e in a more w il l a f fo r d obser b e a u t if u l, e r ie n c e v a t iv e e x p r ld t h a t of t he wo t he m . su r rou nd s
.
There are three hypotheses about the of Baucis:that they hate the earth; that they respect it so much they avoid all contact; that they love it as it was before they existed and with spyglasses and telescopes aimed d o w n wards they never tire of examining it, leaf by leaf, stone by stone, ant by ant, contemplating with fascination their own
fe
r a od
Fedora was already no longer the same as before, and what had until yesterday a possible future became only a toy in a glass globe.
own snow globes, essentia lly bottling their su bjective spirits of the city. The scene of a Fedora inhabitant at the center of the city, glancing into a replica of the city inside itself connotates a mis en abyme effect. By the inhabitants projecting their imagination onto the miniatu re model s of Fedora , they consequ ently project them onto the city itself. Fedora becomes a city that encou rages its inhabitants to negotiate their idea l futu res and u rban aspirations, while recognizing that the city is genera lly incapable of requ esting or dismissing the individua l s’ dreams. R ather , the inhabitants’ fantasies remain with them as a second city, of equa l importance to the gray, disma l one that they reside .
imagined a way of making it the ideal city, but while he constructed his miniature model,
Utopia. Both with Utopia and the “idea l Fedora ,” the imaginer has the u nderstanding that a perfect place cannot ex ist outside of itself. Therefore , the residents of Fedora will carry their imagined idea l Fedora with them in their hea ds a longside the actua l Fedora , each equa lly deservingan ex istence in the wor ld. A l so, the concept of a model city inside a crysta l ba ll is qu ite similar to the snow globe , a sou venir item often sold to captu re the spirit of a city. It is possible Ca lvino was describing a city in which its inhabitants can create their
contains what is accepted as necessary when it is not yet so ; the others, what is imagined as possible and, a moment later , is possible no longer.” The crysta l ba ll is a symbol of foresight, a tool for the clairvoyant, so it makes sense that Ca lvino wou ld choose this manma de object to be the metaphor for individua lly imagined futu res. The concept of imagining one’s own perfect Fedora is reminiscent of one fantasizing about
model of a different Fedora. These are the forms the city could have taken if, for one reason or another, it had not become what we see today. In every age someone, looking at Fedora as it WAS,
M arco Polo describes Fedora as a “gray stone metropolis” (Ca lvino, 32) with a “a meta l bu ilding with a crysta l globe in every room.” Inside these globes are different model s of Fedora , that correlate with a ll the different ways the city cou ld have grown if it ha d not developed in the way it developed. The meta l bu ilding became a museum for the globes, where inhabitants can visit and choose which city corresponds to their idea lized Fedora. As inhabitants created their idea l city in their hea d, and projected their fantasies and day dreams onto the globe , the city was a lrea dy changing arou nd them. This constant evolutionary process cannot be hau lted by mere fantasy, as Ca lvino writes, “the one
Looking into each globe, you see a blue city, the
you leave Tamara without having discovered it.
Your gaze scans the streets as if they were written pages: the city says everything you must think, makes you repeat her discourse, and while you believe you are visiting Tamara you are only recording the names with which she defines herself and all her parts. However the city may really be, beneath this thick coating of signs, whatever it may contain or conceal,
In Tamara, “you penetrate it along streets thick with signboards jutting from the walls,” (Calvino, 13) and images “of things that mean other things.” Some forms of signage direct wanderers to locations, like the tavern, grocery, or barracks. Other signs, such as statues and shields adorned with a coat of arms refer to societal status. There is signage that warns wanderers what is forbidden in certain areas (i.e. urinating in public, f ishing on the bridge, entering an alley with a wagon), while other signage refers to what is allowed (watering zebras, cremation, games). More sculptural signif iers are the temples of gods, created to provide Tamara’s inhabitants with the proper environment to pray. Then there are invisible signs, in which a location’s name is represented merely by “its very form and the position it occupies in the city’s order” (Calvino, 13). Calvino also describes how manmade objects like kale bracelets and embroidered headbands stand for elegance and voluptuousness. In this city, the gaze is not only the inhabitant’s tool for observing the plethora of information around them, but it is trained to respond with associations to the visual discourse that surrounds them. Calvino writes, “the city says everything you must think, makes you repeat her discourse, and while you believe you are visiting Tamara you are only recording the names with which she def ines herself and all her parts.” (Calvino, 13) These signs are metaphors for the bombardment of semiotics in our urban land-
scapes. Take for example a neighborhood like Times Square, where virtually every inch is saturated with f lashing LED signage, massive marquees with ticket sale prices, and a countless street signs that assist navigating around for residents and visitors. The super-saturation of semiotics in cities is very characteristic of modern urban space, and is one of Calvino’s strongest assertions in universally addressing the city. The chapter makes a point to state that “beneath this thick coating of signs, whatever it may contain or conceal, you leave Tamara without having discovered it.” (Calvino, 14) Jean Baudrillard, in his essay on Simulacra and Simulation, claimed that “modern society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that the human experience is of a simulation of reality rather
than reality itself.” We see this belief prove evident in the city of Tamara, as Calvino even goes so far to say that you can experience Tamara without even discovering it. In reality, it is quite possible to leave a space like Times Square without feeling like you have seen anything more than a heap of signif iers and imaginary signif ieds. The inhabitants of Tamara can be compared to the inhabitants in many modern-day cities, as we have grown dependent on semiotics to establish rank, direction, and most importantly, order. Some entire systems are based on the universal understanding of certain symbols, such as the traf f ic system, in which we associate red with ‘Stop’ and green with ‘Go.’ Many of Baudrillard’s arg uments can be discussed in context of Tamara, and it would be interesting to see if the citizens of Tamara ever devise tactics to overcome the government’s control over symbols, signs, and ultimately behavior.
CONCLUSION In conclusion, Italo Ca lvino employed the
it is ev ident that
metaphor
device
quite of ten in his novel. By
exa mining
the
manmade
objec ts
Ca lv ino used for metaphors, we ca n see that a lthough the novel is more tha n thir t y yea rs old, the way cities a re discussed is still ver y releva nt. The most pa ra mount metaphor, the
a rched
bridge,
not
only
responds
to the idea that cities a re dependent on
the ba lance of its many sma ller par ts , but it ack nowledges Ca lv ino’s litera r y
layout.
Discussing
cities
like
Ersilia , Baucis, Fedora , a nd Ta ma ra prov ide metaphors that address facets of cities like socia l net work ing, dista ncing onesself f rom nat ure, negotiating imag ina r y f ut ures w ith one’s env ironment, a nd ex isting in a world chock f ull of sy mbols a nd sig nif iers.