La Nagel: with her oversized sunglasses (dark round lenses surrounded by thick plastic frames), which she had just unearthed from the depths of her handbag to protect her eyes from the strong Italian sun, she bore a strong resemblance to Sophia Loren in her heyday. She was a researcher in Medieval Astrology and my future collaborator at the University of Pavia. Her straight hair, dyed raven black, gave the impression of an eventful past, a girl who must have turned many heads in her day. But today, the staircases of the old university buildings demanded her every last breath and she did her utmost to avoid the characteristic cobblestones of Pavia’s historical streets: her fashionable shoes and tired feet couldn’t even contemplate walking over them.
She lived in Milan, as did nearly all my other colleagues in the faculty, and commuted every day by train to Pavia. The journey was too dangerous by car because in the autumn the plain of the River Po is shrouded in a persistent, thick fog that can last for days. The sub-faculty, Medieval Philosophy was led by la professoressa Crisciani and was made up of five researchers, all of them women. Last year, I had succeeded in convincing la professoressa that her research group would be the perfect setting for my placement. But when I turned up last summer to visit the group for the first time, they could barely hide their astonishment. They expected the intern to be a woman. The fact that on my profile picture which I e-mailed to them I was obviously bald and was sporting a beard, was apparently not enough evidence to prove my masculinity. General common sense does not seem to apply to Medieval Philosophy!
I received a warm welcome, nevertheless, and my arrival was celebrated with lunch at a restaurant in Pavia’s city centre, called the Osteria alle Carceri, the dungeon inn so to speak. Hmmm, could I detect a hint of foreboding in this name? Following la dottoressa Nagel’s advice, I ordered a risotto bianco, which promised to be delicious. But to me, the risotto seemed only to consist of rice, butter and cheese without any further ingredients, it tasted rather plain and bland. To the unexpected question of whether I liked it, I of course answered “buono” in order to avoid antagonising my medieval friends at such an early stage. Luckily, some time later, completely out of the blue, Giorgio forbade me ever to visit this very restaurant, as it was well-known for its over-pretentious food!
After lunch, la professoressa made a quick exit. She was not heading to the university; instead she was going home to look after a sick elderly relative who had suffered a stroke recently. My professoressa was very sorry to say goodbye to me so soon, but she was certain that we would come across each other regularly in the next couple of months. La Nagel was in charge now to give me a tour of the centuries-old university. She showed me the university buildings, the anatomy room and the library. At one point the conversation turned to where I should stay in Pavia during my 6 month-long visit. My dottoressa hadn’t the faintest idea how much trouble it had caused us in the last couple of days just to secure a roof over our heads. Her advice was well-meant albeit naive: “Dovreste prendere un appartamento con la vista sui tetti di Pavia! You ought to hire a nice apartment with a view across Pavia’s rooftops!”