Caravaggio in his studio, among his paintings: the Deposizione, the Cena in Emmaus and the Crocifissione di san Pietro.
Caravaggio in comics, episode 1 of 12. In each episode we read a few pages of Milo Manara’s comic in simpler Italian, explain the words (swear words included) and tell the real history behind the panels. On Wednesdays we read it together.
Caravaggio is considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Before him, light in paintings was everywhere. With him it comes out of the dark, suddenly, as in a theater, and lights up saints with dirty feet, street boys, real women. For four hundred years painters, photographers and film directors have learned from him. When you see a strong light cutting through the darkness in a film, Caravaggio may well be there.
But what draws people in isn’t only the art. It’s the man: a restless painter who, in thirty-eight years of life, held together genius and brawls, prayer and sword, churches and taverns. Life tested him early. When he was six, the plague took his father and grandfather on the same day; before he turned twenty, his mother died too. And then Roma: a hard city for someone with no money and no protectors, and a Church that loved his paintings and feared them at the same time. Not everything can be justified, and he had his share of the blame. But episode by episode we want to understand his reasons.
Milo Manara, one of the great masters of Italian comics, was also captivated by him. In the two volumes of his “Caravaggio” he tells his story with the style that made him famous worldwide: elegant, light lines, characters full of life, a late-sixteenth-century Roma drawn down to every stone, and a warm light, like sunset. It looks as if it had stepped out of a Caravaggio painting. The art historian Claudio Strinati, in the preface, calls the work “impeccable from a scholarly point of view”. It is a story, but a story faithful to history. And where the records are silent, Manara fills the gaps masterfully, with plausible events and invented but entirely possible dialogue, turning them into scenes that sum up Caravaggio’s life.
Now let’s see how the life of this extraordinary artist unfolded…
The printable sheet — the whole dialogue of this episode, scene by scene. Keep it in front of you on Wednesday:
Caravaggio_1_L_arrivo_a_Roma_en.pdf
1. The cart and the bridge
(Late summer 1592. Ponte Salario, two miles from Roma. The sun is about to set.)
Late summer 1592: the checkpoint at Ponte Salario, at sunset.
Contadino Ecco il ponte! Ce l’abbiamo fatta.
Contadino Ehi, tu: io non ti conosco, ti ho solo dato un passaggio. Al posto di blocco ti arrangi da solo.
Caravaggio Tu pensa ai tuoi buoi: a me ci penso io.
Caravaggio Piuttosto, guarda un po’ laggiù chi sta arrivando…
“Better take a look at who’s coming over there…”
Contadino Oh, cazzo! Forza, belli, forza! Se quella carrozza ci passa davanti, stanotte dormiamo sul ponte!
Words
Ce l’abbiamo fatta! — We made it!
From farcela (to manage, to make it). You say it after an exam, after a long journey, when you catch a train at the last second.
dare un passaggio — to give someone a lift
Here it’s a cart, today it would be a car. «Mi dai un passaggio?» (Can you give me a lift?) is used all the time.
ti arrangi da solo — sort yourself out
arrangiarsi means getting by on your own, even without the means.
A me ci penso io. — I’ll take care of myself.
pensarci = to take care of it. «Ci penso io» (leave it to me) is a very handy phrase.
Oh, cazzo! — Oh, shit! / Damn!
A very vulgar word for the male organ. But in Italia you really do hear it all the time as a cry of surprise or anger. In front of people you don’t know well, say «Accidenti!» or «Mamma mia!».
The real history. Ponte Salario is the bridge where the ancient Via Salaria crosses the river Aniene, a few kilometres from Roma.
2. The quarrel at the checkpoint
Guardia Stasera ne facciamo passare uno solo. Guarda come corrono!
Contadino Fermi! Sono arrivato prima io!
Cocchiere Vuoi azzopparmi i cavalli, bifolco? Un mio cavallo vale più dei tuoi buoi e di tutto il carro!
Contadino Devo portare le verdure a Roma! Non posso aspettare domani!
Cocchiere Al diavolo le tue verdure!
Caravaggio Metti giù quella frusta, o ti apro la testa in due!
Cocchiere Non impicciarti, o ce n’è anche per te!
Caravaggio Provaci, stronzo!
Words
azzoppare — to lame (an animal)
Here it means the horse’s legs.
bifolco — yokel, boor
Originally a farmer who works with oxen. Said to someone, it becomes an insult: “boor”.
Al diavolo le tue verdure! — To hell with your vegetables!
Al diavolo…! = to hell with…
ti apro la testa in due — I’ll split your head open
A threat.
Non impicciarti! — Mind your own business!
impicciarsi means sticking your nose into things that are none of your business.
Provaci, stronzo! — Try it, asshole!
provaci is a challenge. stronzo is a vulgar insult: “jerk, asshole”.
3. The carriage from Siena
Capitano Chi passa stasera lo decido io. Chi c’è nella carrozza?
La dama Io, mia figlia e una sua amica. Veniamo da Siena e sono attesa a Roma per stasera.
Capitano Vediamo questi documenti… Salite.
(The lady goes up to the tower. From the carriage window, someone knocks Caravaggio’s hat off.)
Caravaggio Ma chi diavolo c’è qui dentro?!
Ragazza Non ti hanno insegnato a toglierti il cappello? E poi un contadino non parla così a due gentildonne!
Caravaggio Sono un pittore, non un contadino! E voi non siete gentildonne…
“I’m a painter, not a farmer!”
Ragazza Oh! Allora fammi un ritratto, maestro!
(The lady comes back from the tower.)
Capitano Fermate quei cavalli! Passa solo il contadino.
La dama Ehi! Non erano questi i patti!
Capitano Desolato, Madonna: i vostri documenti sono così interessanti che voglio guardarli anche domani mattina…
La dama Maledetto porco traditore!
(The cart crosses the bridge.)
Contadino Grazie per avermi difeso.
Caravaggio Di te non me ne frega un cazzo. È che non sopporto le prepotenze.
The cart crosses the bridge. “I just can’t stand bullies.”
Words
Lo decido io. — I decide.
Putting io at the end makes it strong: “I’m the one who decides, not you.”
sono attesa — I am expected
“Someone is waiting for me.” The way a person of high rank speaks.
gentildonna — noblewoman
A woman of high rank.
Madonna — My lady (old form of address)
Not the Madonna here, but the old «mia donna» (my lady): a way of addressing a woman of rank.
Desolato… — Terribly sorry…
A very formal apology. From this captain, it sounds sarcastic.
Non erano questi i patti! — That wasn’t the deal!
i patti = the agreement.
porco — pig → a vile man
Said to a person, it’s an insult: “dirty, vile man”.
Non me ne frega un cazzo. — I don’t give a fuck.
A very vulgar way of saying “I don’t care at all”. The polite version: «Non me ne importa niente».
le prepotenze — bullying, abuse of power
Using strength or power to crush the weak. In this one word lies all of Caravaggio.
The real history. The lady from Siena isn’t made up. In 1593 the eleven-year-old Fillide Melandroni came to Roma from Siena with her mother (whose name was, in fact, Cinzia) and her friend Anna Bianchini. Remember them: we’ll meet them again.
4. Porta Nevia, by night
(A few hours later. Roma, Porta Nevia.)
A few hours later. Roma, Porta Nevia.
Ufficiale Così saresti un pittore… Hai armi, oltre a quel bastone?
Caravaggio No, purtroppo.
Ufficiale Va bene, passa. E stai lontano dai guai.
Caravaggio (pensa) Roma…!
“Roma…!”
Words
Così saresti un pittore… — So you’d be a painter…
The conditional (saresti) expresses doubt: “you say you’re a painter, but are you really?”
stare lontano dai guai — to stay out of trouble
guai = trouble.
5. Under the bridge, by the river
Caravaggio (pensa) Devo mangiare qualcosa… Ma chi mi offre la cena, qui?
Una voce Aiuto! Mi ammazzano!
Caravaggio Ehi! Cosa succede qui?
Bandito Fatti i cazzi tuoi! Vattene!
Bandito Ce n’è anche per te, coglione!
(Caravaggio strikes with a club.)
Bandito Gli hai rotto la testa, figlio di una troia! Ci rivedremo: sei un uomo morto!
Il vecchio Lascia perdere quei disgraziati e aiutami ad alzarmi… Bravo, ragazzo! Vieni, andiamo all’osteria della Lupa: pago io.
Caravaggio Chi erano quei due?
Il vecchio Brutta gente, ragazzo: sono gli uomini dei Tomassoni! E tu come ti chiami?
Caravaggio Michelangelo. Michelangelo Merisi.
“What’s your name?” “Michelangelo. Michelangelo Merisi.”
Words
Fatti i cazzi tuoi! — Mind your own fucking business!
A very vulgar way of saying “mind your own business”. The polite version: «Fatti gli affari tuoi».
coglione — idiot, jerk
A vulgar insult: “fool”.
figlio di una troia — (the worst insult)
One of the worst insults in Italian: it attacks the other person’s mother. Understand it, but never use it.
Sei un uomo morto! — You’re a dead man!
A threat: “I’ll kill you.”
Pago io. — I’ll pay.
What the person treating says, at the bar or in a restaurant.
The real history. “Michelangelo Merisi” is his real name. Caravaggio is the name of a town in Lombardia, near Bergamo, where his family came from. In Roma he was called “Michelangelo from Caravaggio”, and in the end simply “Caravaggio”.
The Tomassoni were a real family, from Terni. They were powerful in the rione Campo Marzio, where Caravaggio would later live. Remember the name: you’ll hear it again.
6. The Lupa tavern
Il vecchio Vieni, ragazzo. Quanti anni hai?
Caravaggio Venti. Sono nato nel ’71, a Milano.
Il vecchio Eccoci. Salute a tutti! Posso sedermi con voi e offrirvi da bere?
Un cliente Chi offre da bere è sempre il benvenuto! Sedetevi.
The Lupa tavern. “Whoever buys a round is always welcome!”
Words
Quanti anni hai? — How old are you?
The simplest way to ask someone’s age. You can answer with just the number: «Venti» (twenty).
Sono nato nel ’71. — I was born in (15)71.
The apostrophe replaces the first digits of the year (1571). A woman says «sono nata».
offrire da bere — to buy (someone) a drink
Paying for everyone’s drinks. At the tavern, whoever does it is always welcome.
History and story. The ambush under the bridge and the night at the tavern are entirely plausible: Manara uses them to show how rough life was for ordinary people in the Roma of the time, and to take us inside the taverns. That night stands for all the taverns in Caravaggio’s life. Perhaps from the very first night, or within a few days, it was in places like this that he met his first friends, looked for a way into the world of painting, or simply sought a bit of human warmth. The Lupa tavern really existed, in the rione Campo Marzio, and Caravaggio went there.
Michelangelo Merisi was born in Milano on 29 September 1571. Milano was then ruled by Spain, and the Church, after the Concilio di Trento, asked painters for clear, devout images. A few days after his birth, on 7 October, the Battle of Lepanto was fought.
In the next episode
In the comic, that same evening, at the Lupa’s table, Michelangelo meets his first Roman friends: Onorio Longhi, a lively architect from Lombardia; Prospero Orsi, a painter of grotesques; and a Sicilian boy, Mario Minniti. They all really existed, and they will matter a great deal in his life. And first of all he has to find work in some workshop. The names that come up are Antiveduto Gramatica and one of the most popular painters in Roma, the Cavalier d’Arpino… Episode 2, “The first night in Roma”, is already online.
Let’s read it together on Wednesday
Every Wednesday at 9 pm Japan time (lunchtime in Italia) we hold a free online Italian conversation meetup. Listening only is OK: just say “Preferisco ascoltare” (I’d rather listen). How to join: sign up for free, log in, and tap “Talk Room” in the menu.
So you don’t miss an episode, join the free group “Italian”. All the articles are collected there, and you can ask questions. The answers help everyone.
About the images. The panels are from Milo Manara, “Caravaggio – La tavolozza e la spada” (Panini Comics, 2015), pages 1, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17. Colors by Simona Manara and Milo Manara. The dialogue above is our own simplification for learners of Italian.
To be continued
