III.i. Ognissanti

"I've got a waiting list of fifty people at that cemetery just dying to get in."
- Groucho Marx

Today, once again, there were no classes. I discovered this the hard way, waking up for my nine o'clock appointment with Modern Architecture. I walked half way to Santa Caterina, the former monastery that has been converted into lecture halls, before I became truly convinced by the deserted streets. True, daylight savings time had just come into effect, but I had taken that into account. Besides, it ought to be an hour later, not earlier. No, it was All Saints' Day, Bologna was empty, and the crowds were at the cemeteries.
    I know the main monumental cemetery of Bologna quite well, not because I have any relatives buried there, but because its parking lot is open to anyone free of charge, rather unlike the cemetery, I suppose. While my friend Marko was visiting last week, we decided to park his car there for a few days, since we didn't need it and wanted to avoid the relatively high costs associated with leaving it at a more central lot. Out we drove to the Parcheggio Mahatma Gandhi, situated next to the rows of flower stores that are so cynically situated across from the cemetery's main entrance. Peaceful resistance comes at a price, though, because as Marko and I left the parking lot on foot that day, I noticed a sign; parking was free every day of the year, except on Ognissanti.