The bar is a public meeting place, usually the biggest of the village, where you can find a lot to eat and it is also the most popular center where people meet in the afternoon to play scopa or briscola. This is not a habit, it has become a custom, something similar to a primary need. The people are of course the men of a certain age many or whom still wear their traditional felt hat with a brim, standing around a table with challenging eyes. One of them cracks a joke but the others don’t seem to appreciate it. When you play, you play. When you play, you put your skills to the test. And that means a lot. This same tense atmosphere continues in the billiard room. Billiards is both sophisticated and popular. Nowadays it isn’t so popular with young people but it is still alive at least for the limited circle or true enthusiasts. They are playing in the ‘Italian’ way. One of them plays with the coolness of an undisputed champion. Hi is about sixty. He has a thin, athletic figure, the hollow face of a smoker and the eternal cigarette in his mouth. He lives up to his image knowing that all eyes are fixed on him. Somebody lets out an unfortunate comment, one of those that makes the superstitious keep their fingers crossed. He just smiles while he prepares the cue rubbing it elegantly with the chalk. Then he bends down over the green table. He hits the ball, gains 180 points and wins. His adversary mutters under his breath because he was on the verge of defeating the local champion but didn’t succeed in beating him, not even this time. The others applaud, resigned to defeat. The victor goes towards the bar to drink a glass to his own health and to that of the submissive admirers.
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See also:

The Markets of Chianti, Meeting a Stranger, Tuscan Antique Furniture, Chianti by Bike, Chianti Artists, Portrait of a Land, Chianti Theatrical Festival, Music and Culture in The Vineyards, Villa Le Barone, The Art of Hospitality at Podere Terreno, Chianti English Style, The Legendary Millemiglia in Chianti

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